Radovan Kraguly - The Milky Way. Page Three

‘The continuing distance and isolation of man from nature is the primary subject explored in my work. We live in a society where our bonds are increasingly fewer; the relationship of our lives to the fundamental basis of nature, breached by abstraction. In establishing our daily lives, we have evolved a society creating and surrounding us with an artificial ‘unnatural’ environment.’

Radovan Kraguly 1980

Kraguly’s exceptional graphic work of the 1960s first established his career as a brilliant draughtsman. But it was not until his move to Wales in 1970s that his work was so absorbed with the estrangement of society from nature typified by our relationship with livestock. His meticulous drawings and prints of the 1970s are realistically drawn works dwelling on issues of animal welfare, farming practices and livestock breeding. Recurring images of cages and crates emphasise the subjugation and separation of animals from everyday life.
(click here for illustrations)
In the 1980s, graphics give way to painting, sculpture and installation, collaborative dance performances and experimental theatre. The black and white shapes that pattern the hide of the cow are developed into a recurring motif, abstracted to the point of ambiguity. A multi-media exhibition with the cow as the central symbol was first shown at the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris in 1989.re touring Europe.
(click here for illustrations).
From the start of the 1990s there is a gradual progression from abundance to contemplative space. New works include mezzotints and embossed prints, three-dimensional paintings and graphite drawings. More new works will be produced for the proposed exhibition.
(click here for illustrations)

‘Radovan Kraguly occupies a special position in the recent development of contemporary art, one which can perhaps be linked to the special nature of his background and life-experience. In the language commonly employed by professional critics, he can be labelled a ‘conceptual artist’– that is to say, an artist who is primarily concerned with expressing a system of ideas. In his case, these ideas are usually connected with ecological issues, in other words, with the relationship between human beings and their surrounding environment.’
Edward Lucie-Smith 1998

‘The underlying theme in Radovan Kraguly’s work is one of man’s subjugation of nature, and its subsequent processing to our own ends. Reference to the animal world, through an abstracted pattern of animal hide and specifically that of the cow, recurs in a variety of manifestations depending upon whether the individual work is primarily painterly, sculptural, or technological. There is a striking juxtaposition of materials and media within the body of works as a whole, and within individual installations, which reflects the often disturbing or uneasy contrast between the man-made and the natural.’
Stuart Cameron, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff 1995.

‘He bought a small farm. The old house was scarred by three hundred years of living and dying. Animals lived in it now. When he first moved in, they left. But he lived there sporadically and each time he went away, the animals moved back in. This pattern repeated for several years. And then slowly it changed. Coming back from his travels, he’d open the door and the house would fall silent. But the animals didn’t leave. He’d carefully put his knapsack down in the corner and throw open the windows to bring in the sun and the breezes. The animals would unfreeze, skittering quietly, their conversations muted in his presence. In time, they grew bold and began to share their conversations with him. One day, as he prepared to travel, he left his knapsack where it rested. He realized then that his art had left the wall. He walked down the path to the road. Behind him, the windows of the house lay open.‘

Lorne Falk, Omaha 1988.

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‘The continuing distance and isolation of man from nature is the primary subject explored in my work. We live in a society where our bonds are increasingly fewer; the relationship of our lives to the fundamental basis of nature, breached by abstraction. In establishing our daily lives, we have evolved a society creating and surrounding us with an artificial ‘unnatural’ environment.’ Radovan Kraguly 1980 Kraguly’s exceptional graphic work of the 1960s first established his career as a brilliant draughtsman. But it was not until his move to Wales in 1970s that his work was so absorbed with the estrangement of society from nature typified by our relationship with livestock. His meticulous drawings and prints of the 1970s are realistically drawn works dwelling on issues of animal welfare, farming practices and livestock breeding. Recurring images of cages and crates emphasise the subjugation and separation of animals from everyday life. (click here for illustrations) In the 1980s, graphics give way to painting, sculpture and installation, collaborative dance performances and experimental theatre. The black and white shapes that pattern the hide of the cow are developed into a recurring motif, abstracted to the point of ambiguity. A multi-media exhibition with the cow as the central symbol was first shown at the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris in 1989.re touring Europe. (click here for illustrations). From the start of the 1990s there is a gradual progression from abundance to contemplative space. New works include mezzotints and embossed prints, three-dimensional paintings and graphite drawings. More new works will be produced for the proposed exhibition. (click here for illustrations) ‘Radovan Kraguly occupies a special position in the recent development of contemporary art, one which can perhaps be linked to the special nature of his background and life-experience. In the language commonly employed by professional critics, he can be labelled a ‘conceptual artist’– that is to say, an artist who is primarily concerned with expressing a system of ideas. In his case, these ideas are usually connected with ecological issues, in other words, with the relationship between human beings and their surrounding environment.’ Edward Lucie-Smith 1998 ‘The underlying theme in Radovan Kraguly’s work is one of man’s subjugation of nature, and its subsequent processing to our own ends. Reference to the animal world, through an abstracted pattern of animal hide and specifically that of the cow, recurs in a variety of manifestations depending upon whether the individual work is primarily painterly, sculptural, or technological. There is a striking juxtaposition of materials and media within the body of works as a whole, and within individual installations, which reflects the often disturbing or uneasy contrast between the man-made and the natural.’ Stuart Cameron, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff 1995. ‘He bought a small farm. The old house was scarred by three hundred years of living and dying. Animals lived in it now. When he first moved in, they left. But he lived there sporadically and each time he went away, the animals moved back in. This pattern repeated for several years. And then slowly it changed. Coming back from his travels, he’d open the door and the house would fall silent. But the animals didn’t leave. He’d carefully put his knapsack down in the corner and throw open the windows to bring in the sun and the breezes. The animals would unfreeze, skittering quietly, their conversations muted in his presence. In time, they grew bold and began to share their conversations with him. One day, as he prepared to travel, he left his knapsack where it rested. He realized then that his art had left the wall. He walked down the path to the road. Behind him, the windows of the house lay open.‘ Lorne Falk, Omaha 1988.