EXPO Chicago: Radenko Milak - solo

Radenko Milak (Bosnia, 1980) investigates the notion of private and public memory through the medium of painting. His watercolors and paintings are based on documentary photo, photojournalism, old newspaper, postcards, posters, documentary movie and other propaganda archives. His practice as an artist has always been heavily influenced by the idea that our relationship to the world and its history is largely determined by the uninterrupted and continuous flow of images that documents the world. In 2017, Milak was represented as the main artist at the National Pavilion of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Venice Biennale.

Milak: ‘For me, the role of the image today is crucial, especially in the era of digital revolution. I am also very interested to understand the status of images today as a political fact to use them and to construct them as new versions of stories. This relationship has become even more important with the expansion of social networks and new information technologies. I’ve placed at the heart of my activity as a painter the question of what a painting could be at the age of the digital time and continuous accessibility to images. This global corpus of images, impossible to mentally embrace in its entirety, vast as it has become, is one of the fundamental elements of our imagination, be it individual or collective.’

EXPO CHICAGO – NASA: Secret Space Program

The ‘NASA: Secret Space Program’ watercolors are inspired by archive photographs of space programs led in total secrecy by NASA after World War II. These research programs were one of the beginnings of the mode of observation of the universe that keeps pushing further the unveiling of what is invisible to the naked eye such as dark energy, dark matter or black holes. At the same time, the aesthetic of these images reminds us of the black and white cinema of the 50s. His work is expressive and extremely subtle; two extremes that are not naturally present at the same time in an artwork. His dark stripes, spots and sweeps are honest, sharp and are directly transferred in different shades of black watercolor to paper, revealing the image in extreme details while making sure the painterly quality is not lost.

Entering its eighth year as a leading international art fair, EXPO CHICAGO, The International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art hosts more than 135 leading international exhibitors in Navy Pier Festival Hall, presented alongside one of the highest quality platforms for global contemporary art and culture. The exposition draws upon the city’s rich history as a vibrant international cultural destination, while engaging the region’s contemporary art community and collector base. The 2019 edition of EXPO CHICAGO will align with the 2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial (September 19, 2019 – January 5, 2020) and present various programs and events throughout Chicago during EXPO ART WEEK (September 16–22, 2019).

EXPO CHICAGO is located at Chicago’s historic Navy Pier in the Festival Hall | 600 E Grand Ave, Chicago IL 60611