Margarita Cappock visits Barbara Knežević’s exhibition, in which she explores her Balkan heritage through sculpture and film
‘Gvozdene Kapije’ (‘The Iron Gates’), by the artist Barbara Knežević, is an exhibition of new large-scale sculptures and a single-channel film of forty-six minutes’ duration, described by the artist as ‘a sculptural film’. Knežević’s first, it is an impressive, complex and visually stunning piece. The exhibition is an exploration on multiple levels of the rich archaeological, cultural and industrial history of Gvozdene Kapije, a deep, scenic gorge on the River Danube on the border of Serbia and Romania. The area is now the location of the colossal Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station, built between 1964 and 1972 as a collaborative project between the governments of the former Yugoslavia and Romania. Iron Gate II was completed in 1984.
To read this article in full, subscribe or buy this edition of the Irish Arts Review
A Surrealist influence is evident in With Tomorrow, where the use of the Rückenfigur – a person seen from behind – dominates and where the surrounding space creates a tense and intriguing setting, writes Róisín Kennedy
Zsolt Basti talks to Francis Halsall about his accomplished practice, in which abstraction is an act of empathy
Niamh NicGhabhann Coleman explores the paintings of Swedish-born artist Cecilia Danell and her playful use of colour and line