The American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center is pushing the boundaries of contemporary art with a lineup of exhibitions running from Feb. 8 to May 18. With a diverse array of artists and themes, the new season highlights Serbian identity, mathematical precision in painting, social critiques and personal explorations of history and loss.
Presented by Art for All Gallery and co-curated by Museum Director and and Curator Jack Rasmussen, the 12-artist exhibition features a blend of traditionalist ideas while incorporating technological, modern ideas, such as Serbian painter Vladislav Šćepanović’s “Adam and Eve” and a collection of oil paintings, one of which displays a scannable QR code.
After almost two years of searching for a space, Marija Milosevic, co-curator and director of the Art for All Gallery, chose the museum at the Katzen Art Center to display an exhibit that broke stereotypes about Serbian contemporary art.
The overarching message of the exhibit is to display Serbia in real time, actively breaking a stereotype that Serbian people aren’t artistically inclined.
“We are alive, we create,” Milosevic said.
Milosevic’s mission to promote Serbian art began alongside her friend Elizabeth Escobar, who connected with Serbian art during her stay in Belgrade.
Escobar met her husband, Gabriel Escobar, in Belgrade, Serbia. After her travels, she wanted to preserve Serbian culture outside of the country. She moved to D.C., where she began on her artistic endeavors with Milosevic.
The two started working on the project “Finding A Way” at the Anacostia Arts Center in 2022, which expanded to a gallery in Manhattan, New York in December 2023. Now they have a private initiative covering different spheres of Serbian identity at the University Museum, with the help of consulting creator Vesela Sretenović, as well as Elizabeth and Rasmussen.
One of the 12 carefully chosen artists for the exhibit, Nemanja Ladjic, created a 3D, five channel video projection with sound that is titled “Stroll.” This interactive, surreal piece drops the viewer into the streets of Belgrade.
Playing with concepts of nostalgia and blending themes of traditionalism and the influx of technology, Ladjic described the piece as a timeline of modern Serbia, adding that the photo scans better embodied a living reality of the country, rather than a falsified, flat copy.
“I find that it’s like passing through a memory,” Ladjic said.
One of the exhibit’s artists, Jovanka Mladenović, used one of her own memories in her piece, “Playground 05,” an oil and acrylic on canvas with 3D objects that features an icy scene from her childhood, complete with computerized glitches, errors and pixels that merge digital and material reality.
Mladenović said the piece is a reference to a desolate landscape in western Bosnia that she visited when she was young. Describing the work as post-apocalyptic, she warns her viewers of the dangers of the future of the technological revolution and how it has impacted people in the past.
Milosevic also emphasized the importance of the more sarcastic and humorous works, such as an LED installation of the cartoon character Peppa Pig, since humor is a large part of Serbian culture.
“Artists communicate the beliefs and values of the cultures that shaped them through the medium of art,” Rasmussen said. “This exhibition challenges preconceptions, offering an authentic portrayal of Serbian creativity and evolving identity.”
The works delve into the impact of war, globalization and political transformation, questioning the role of tradition in an increasingly digital age.
Fiber artist Arpad Pulai’s “Army of Felt Dreamers” presents surreal textile sculptures that examine childhood memories and biomimicry, the approach of modeling innovation through emulating nature and biological processes.
“I shape with fibers using the technique of needle felting that allows me to realize complex three-dimensional forms by extracting certain elements from nature and multiplying them through different structural variations,” Pulai said.
Dajana Peric Douglas, whose work “Prayers List” uses melted beeswax and church candles, describes her process as deeply personal.
“Each visual prayer differs in color, wax density, rhythm and format,” Douglas said. “For me, prayer is the highest level of giving; it is a thread that manifests the most intimate act of love.”
Scepanovic’s “Adam and Eve,” “Adam and Eve 2” and “Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden” make a compelling and mind-bending triptych.
“I see art as the last gate of freedom in our world,” Šćepanović said. “Technology nowadays has become a condition of being without which we become disoriented in society.”
On the second floor, the works of American artist Otho D. Branson Jr. take a different approach to artistic expression. Curated by Phyllis Rosenzweig, Branson’s paintings embrace dynamic symmetry and mathematical principles.
“His use of the Munsell color system guides his exploration of primary colors — red, yellow and blue — and their permutations,” Rosenzweig said.
Branson himself emphasizes the structure behind his art.
“I work within self-imposed limitations, using mathematical and scientific principles to create balance and harmony in each piece,” Branson said. “My goal is to explore the intersection of logic and creativity.”
The Alper Initiative for Washington Art presented “Women Smoking” and “Last Call,” two series by American artist Fred Folsom. In “Women Smoking,” Folsom’s intimate portraits capture melancholic reflections on mortality.
“Cigarettes killed my mom at 58 and my sister Susan at 30,” Folsom said. “These paintings are somber, introspective Rorschach tests appropriate to their sad inspiration.”
In contrast, “Last Call” documents honky-tonk nightlife through a massive triptych featuring 97 portraits.
“Originally, I considered myself a surrealist,” Folsom recalls. “But the situation inside that nightclub was way weirder than any of my surreal artwork.”
He describes the process of creating the paintings.
“Each portrait is drawn, underpainted, then oiled out and fully articulated in oil paint. After three and a half years, I was sick of painting Budweiser labels, denim seams, leather, buttons and cigarette packs, but the result was worth it,” Folsom said.
Another exhibition, “Looking for Mushrooms,” explores the beat generation and psychedelic influences on Bruce and Jean Conner’s work during their time traveling in Mexico from 1961-62. Featuring drawings and the kaleidoscopic film “Looking for Mushrooms,” the exhibition reveals the impact of Mexico’s culture and landscape on artists’ evolving artistic vision.
“Bruce and some ex-pat friends, including Timothy Leary, would search for magic mushrooms and hidden Aztec pyramids,” according to the exhibition catalog. “Meanwhile, Jean stayed at home, recording aspects of the local culture.”
Bruce Conner’s artistic experimentation was deeply shaped by these experiences. His observations of Mexican culture served as his inspiration.
“I would go by an auto repair garage, and in the midst of the greasy tools and objects on the wall would be a shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe,” Bruce Conner said. “Right next to it might be a monkey wrench, an electric light bulb, plastic flowers and a pinup of a half-naked girl.”
Jean’s drawings from this period reflect her quiet observations of the local surroundings.
“My work often focused on floral memorial wreaths, rich church ornaments, circus magicians, and the daily lives of the people around me,” Jean Conner said.
From Serbian identity and artistic mathematics to intimate reflections on loss and social transformation, the University Museum’s latest exhibitions offered something for students and artists from all walks of life.
“These artists invite us to engage in a dialogue — not just with their work, but with the world around us,” Rasmussen said.
This article was edited by Jessica Ackerman, Cara Halford, Tyler Davis and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Olivia Citarella, Hannah Langenfeld and Sabine Kanter-Huchting.
