Bojan Šar?evi?: A Curious Contortion in the Method of Progress – L’ellipse d’ellipse

She He The basic principle of the work of Bojan Šar?evi?, who was born in 1974 in Belgrade but now lives in Berlin and Paris, is the open form, or, in his own words: »My exhibitions are not the expression of a position, but rather a reflection of the origins of that position.« And thus this book on the two exhibitions at Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz and the Institut d’art contemporain, Villeurbann/Rhône-Alpes shows a sculptural style of work that meanders between monumental sculpture, filigree mural and multi-layered films. When it comes to Bojan Šar?evi?, the observer never knows what’s coming next. Only one thing is certain, namely that these are aesthetic questions, which confront us in an almost simplistic, Brechtian manner with how the divide between art and life can be overcome. In contrast to this, however, there is also a modern vein in Bojan Šar?evi?’s work, when he develops a resistant form that appears also as sculpture and therefore essentially as a stark opposite to a divide overcome between life and art. This practice feeds off countless historic forerunners, be it the Moscow constructivists or the architects Hans Poelzig, Erich Mendelsohn and Hans Scharoun. Yet it leaves all formalism behind, because »the fact that art aims to transform into a form of life«, as Michel Gauthier writes in his essay, »does not mean that life rids itself of that form of art.« The catalogue we have now published is indeed something of a sensation, because for the first time ever it grants the artist (who played an active role in this regard) retrospective illustrations, descriptions and clarifications of a number of his widely varying works dating back to 1999, although predominantly from the last five years. Thus we now finally have the book that an intrigued art world has long been waiting for. Exhibitions: Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz, 10/2–6/5/2012 Institut d’art contemporain, Villeurbann/Rhône-Alpes, 21/9–18/11/2012