DISTANCING
RANKA RADOVANOVIĆ
23. АПРИЛ – 19. МАЈ 2026
ПАВИЉОН У ТВРЂАВИ
(UN) NATURAL DISTANCE
The cycle of paintings by Belgrade artist Ranka Radovanović is called “Distancing”, as the paintings primarily depict interior segments that create a distance between man and nature. These scenes establish a boundary between the landscape and the large glass surfaces of the apartments through which we observe it. It feels as though the cold would rush in the moment a window was opened. Yet, this is not that pleasant morning chill one welcomes wrapped in a blanket with a cup of tea. The coldness in these oil paintings is almost metaphysical. The urban individual seeks to escape the nightmarish clamor of big cities and traffic, but only for a weekend, without the actual responsibilities and expenses that living in nature demands. He seeks an instant solution for happiness and health. One such solution is renting luxury apartments in nature – being outside the city, yet still safely removed from mud, insects, and wild animals. A true return to nature is inseparable from a return to oneself, yet, few have
courage for such a challenge. The comfy “armchair traveler” is not ready for deprivation or selfdenial. The composition of Radovanović’s large-scale painting titled “Apartment II” is almost entirely occupied by a grey-black curtain, drawn just enough to reveal a sliver of a mountain in the mist. What fascinates in this painting is the materialization of something as aesthetically unexciting as grey curtain. The draped curtain is rendered so skillfully that one can almost feel the texture of the fabric under his fingertips.
The painting “Apartment I” is divided into two sections by a similar grey curtain. On one side are the forest and mountains, while the other features a turquoise couch with a chandelier and large glass surfaces through which the view extends. These misty scenes viewed through the glass of minimalist apartments instill a sense of unease, almost anxiety in a focused observer, probably because the landscape is confined, standing in direct contrast to the notion of the outdoors as a symbol of freedom and infinity. There is nothing in these interiors to suggest human presence—not a breadcrumb nor a candy wrapper; nothing individual or authentic, and thus, nothing essentially human. The painting “River”, from the “Distancing” cycle, also depicts a river›s flow through the large glass surfaces of an apartment. In Radovanović’s work, a range of grey tones is present both in her interiors and her depictions of the river. Grey is also dominant in the painting titled “Sun”. Likewise, within this context, we observe the contrast between the straight lines and right angles that define the interior space and the organic lines of the hills in the distance. The sun blinks faintly, bringing in only a touch of light without any real warmth.
If we are hit by nostalgia for a childhood spent at a grandmother’s countryside home, we look for warmth, love, and freedom in paintings of nature. Such concepts cannot be found in these works. This cycle of oil paintings by Ranka Radovanović visually conveys the extent to which we, as a civilization immersed in conformism, have become alienated from nature. The feeling that overwhelms us if we observe these paintings a little longer is one of an uncomfortable emptiness, void of words and emotions; the overall impression is deeply claustrophobic. The depictions on these paintings resemble generated interiors that artificial intelligence might offer if we requested the perfect image of a weekend getaway apartment for a businessman returning to the stock market by Monday. The observers cannot immerse themselves in or enjoy the scene, as they subconsciously feel there is no place for them there—they simply do not fit in. Everything in these oil paintings feels like an uncomfortable and ominous simulacrum of reality.
Dragana Garić Jovičić