Interview with visual artist Isidora Krstic

I was born in Belgrade, former Yugoslavia in 1987 and spent a portion of my childhood in Johannesburg, an exciting time when Nelson Mandela became president. After finishing my studies in Painting at the Academy in Belgrade, I moved to Vienna, where I received an MA in Art & Science from the University of Applied Arts.

I am based in Vienna since the last 7 years. Shortly after finishing my studies, I co-founded U10 Art Space, an artist-run space with 6 of my artist friends. It turns 8 this year. With the U10 collective, we exhibited in exhibitions in Budapest, Ljubljana, Vienna, and at LISTE Art Fair in Basel. I have also exhibited my work at Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Arts in Turin, parallel to the Istanbul Biennale, at the 1st International Roaming Biennial of Tehran, at the Athens Photo Festival, 12-14 Contemporary Vienna, at Chapelle du Quartier Haut in Sète, France, where I also spent some time working within an art residency and many more. I have also been active in organising exhibitions, working on art publications and writing.

Greatest inspirations or influences?

I get inspired by things that deal with life in all of its complexities in an honest, vulnerable way. I get inspired by a good book, a series or a film, music, a piece of art, and a good conversation. Most recently, it was the film Midsommar that left a strong impression.

I really enjoy artworks that completely immerse the viewer, in a sort of a multimedia experience. Most recently, the sound installation by Austrian artist Peter Rehberg seen at the Viennese Kunsthalle left quite an impression on me and the work Noise Aquarium by Los Angeles based artist Victoria Vesna comes to mind too. I also get continually inspired by Antiquity, Egyptian and Baroque art.

I am always trying to discover more work by female artists. Some that inspire me are; Kiki Smith, Louise Bourgeois and Marina Abramovic. My peers inspire me a lot too.  

How do you feel the art world is going to change in the coming decade?

I feel we are seeing so many different points of view, art that transcends disciplinary boundaries and that is not tied to or dependent on a specific media for its expression. I think we will see more interdisciplinary collaboration between art, sciences and other fields.

I also think that painting and some more so-called traditional expressions are finding a new place in today’s world, and I think that is really exciting. I also think there will continue to be a re-definition of what art is and what it does. 

Favourite websites, publications or social media handles? 

I listen to a lot of podcasts while I work. I love listening to good interviews. I like This American Life, WTF with Marc Maron, Multi Story from BBC and others.

Recently, I haven’t been much on social media, I feel I came to some sort of a saturation of it. But I’m not completely off it either. That being said, I love the internet! I usually like to go to Artsy for news from the art world. I like reading the New Yorker sometimes and there are some illustrators and comic artists I also like to follow. I can also get caught up in the endless YouTube scroll late at night, mostly bits involving cooking, so that deserves an honorable mention too! 

Challenges of what you do? 

There are many. I guess the first one is the financial instability or better said, uncertainty. Often times I wanted to just throw everything away as it is not always encouraging balancing one, two or three side jobs with sustaining an art career. On the bright side of it, I learned a lot through the jobs I did too, so somehow I wouldn’t change the previous experience either. 

• Art all Images copyright Isidora krstic

• Cover art Self-soothing , 2018/ 47.2 x 39.3"/ Acrylic on canvas

• Strange Place, (c) Susanna Hofer & Philipp Pess, 2019

  Wood, acrylic paint, shredded newspaper, plaster, natural Norwegian moss, Looped sound, whale, water and fire sounds, 20”

• Pink Nightingale, 2018

  Plaster, clay, plastic, bandages, shredded office paper, woolen thread, reflective surface, wooden panel, looped sound (5'58"), looped video (1'00"). Exhibition view: AQB Project Space, Budapes