Sadko Hadzihasanovic brought out a crowd of excited friends and guests to his opening at Paul Petro Contemporary Art Gallery. Though the room was small it was full of people itching to talk to the artist about his most recent collection of drypoint prints. Each piece was made from a photograph of Romano people taken by Sadko Hadzihasanovic during his travels in North Serbia. Although printmaking has never been seen as the highest form of art, Hadzihasanovic’s pieces show a reinvigorated interest as the artist himself describes how the delicate lines of the drypoint drew him to reconsider the medium.
Sadko Hadzihasanovic at his Opening Reception in Paul Petro Gallery, January, 2016. Photo: Jelica Jovin
Although at first it may seem that the drawings are overly simplistic, Hadzihasanovic manages to successfully portray the briefest of moments in each one. It is fitting that his prints are based on photographs, as everything about each image appears brief and fleeting; whether it is the mischief of the young girl in, “Girl With Sunflower” or the joy of the boy in “Rose”. The drypoints manage to capture moments that are unlike those portrayed in more elaborately planned paintings as they explore Hadzihasanovic’s creative energy and his intuitive connection to the world around him.
Sadko Hadzihasanovic, Girl with Sunflower, 2015, drypoint, 11″ x 15″. Photo: Rhiann Moore
Sadko Hadzihasanovic, Rose, 2015, drypoint, 11″ x 15″. Photo: Rhiann Moore
Hadzihasanovic left Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, with his wife in 1993. The impact of his perceived status as an outsider is blatant in his prints as he captures figures that are alienated and unexpected. He spoke about the connection between outsiders and printmaking, as each needs to be treated with a certain delicacy; the outsider must be approached as lightly as the drypoint in order to be properly comprehended.
An image of the same young girl is seen twice, in the large scale “Young Frida” and the much smaller “Frida Girl”. Although both prints appear to capture the same young woman at similar times there is uniqueness to each as a result of the scale. In “Young Frida” the viewer is able to see the melancholia of the girl. While in the smaller drawing she appears more youthful and lost. The comparison of these two drypoints shows how the medium allows for similar images to appear both united and separated from each other. In the larger images Hadzihasanovic is able to show more emotion, however in the small images his central idea of the delicacy of the outsider and the lines depicting them is clearer.
Sadko Hadzihasanovic, Young Frida, 2014, drypoint with watercolour handwork, 22″ x 30″. Image courtesy of the artist
In the artist’s other prints, namely “Punk on Beach” and “The King” the viewer is once again confronted with the inherent rawness of the imagery. As they show young men who stand out from the world; the punk who is an outsider by nature and the king who appears isolated yet regal. Hadzihasanovic allows for the figures detachment to become a source of powerful confrontation. Although they are less obviously delicate than the Frida figure or the young boy holding a rose, they are treated with the same lightness in approach. Hadzihasanovic seeks to show that the need for delicacy can be unanticipated, but still necessary.
Sadko Hadzihasanovic, Punk on Beach, drypoint, 2014, 15″ x 11″. Image courtesy of the artist
Sadko Hadzihasanovic, The King, 2014, drypoint, 15″ x 11″. Image courtesy of the artist
Hadzihasanovic’s Centre of Gravity is a step outside the norm for the painter. He said that he thinks it is vital to break from one’s particular practice in order for the work to remain fresh for both the viewer and the artist. Although he said, as a student, he was not partial to printmaking but it appears completely natural that later in life he has found a connection to the medium. The history of printmaking and photography are inherently connected as each has been used in the past as a way to allow for art to reach more people than large-scale paintings naturally can. Though these photography based prints Hadzihasanovic successfully captures fleeting, emotional moments.
Sadko Hadzihasanovic, Selfpotrait as Clown, drypoint with watercolour handwork, 2014, 15″ x 11″. Image courtesy of the artist
The exhibition will run at Paul Petro gallery until February 13th and is undoubtedly worth seeing as Hadzihasanovic’s prints are unique not only to his own canon of work, but also to the art world itself.
Rhiann Moore
*Exhibition information: Sadko Hadzihasanovic: Centre of Gravity, January 8 – February 13, 2016, Paul Petro Contemporary Art, 980 Queen St West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat, 11 – 5 p.m.