Nikola Vudrag: World-Class Sculptures

After the Iron Maiden sculpture was sold at a charity auction in Warsaw for a whopping 712,000 euros, everyone wants a piece of Varaždin sculptor Nikola Vudrag’s genius mind
Written by: Mladen Pleše 
Photos: Jurica Galeković 

The interview with Nikola Vudrag (35), an internationally acclaimed sculptor, was unexpectedly drawn out. After his stay in London, we discussed his upcoming commissions in England, but we were interrupted by a new interlocutor on the other end of the call he received. The caller wanted to know if he would be interested in exhibiting his works in Dubai. So, we included that in this interview as well… However, not a moment passed before he got yet another offer from Malta, followed by a call to exhibit his works at the Venice Biennale, so we went on to talk about that, too…

This massive interest in Vudrag’s work is hardly surprising. After the Iron Maiden sculpture was sold at a charity auction in Warsaw for a whopping 712,000 euros, everyone wants a piece of Varaždin sculptor Nikola Vudrag’s genius mind. He tells us that the record price of the sculpture in Warsaw helped establish him as a class act on the art scene and unlocked new opportunities for him to present his works to the Polish audience.

– Thanks to this auction, I gained more visibility in the art community in Poland and got my foot in the door leading to potential collaborations, exhibitions, and projects involving local galleries, institutions, and art collectors.

This recognition, as he points out, may be crucial in spreading his artistic influence and forming bonds with new audiences. It also provides an opportunity for cultural exchange and new artwork inspired by the Polish culture and art scene.

Iron Maiden

Vudrag’s prediction soon came true in the best possible way. At the official auction at the Dom Aukcyjny Polswiss Art in Warsaw, just a month after the aforementioned charity auction, his sculpture of a netted face from the same series of works was sold for as much as 200,000 euros. He says that this sale provided a realistic estimate of the current value of his works.

– This accomplishment carved my value as a sculptor in stone, solidifying the interest of art collectors and the art market in works such as mine. With every new auction, my sculptures gain more and more recognition and appreciation, which inspirits me to continue exploring and creating within my artistic domain.

Nikola Vudrag first caught the eye of art dealers and connoisseurs in Paris in 2019, where he exhibited his works in iron as an up-and-coming 29-year-old artist. He let us in on his secret to success, claiming that art enthusiasts were drawn to a concrete piece of iron, its strength and weight, and a sort of aura about it.

– Most international sculptors don’t pay much mind or hand to this material anymore, and since iron is my principal material, I was off to a solid start in terms of visibility. For me, iron is the elemental ore of any and all logos or manifestations, a symbol of solid, concrete matter.

J.R.R. Tolkien

Vudrag made the scene at a time when people were fed up with pop art and street art, and all sorts of artistic gags and antics, as he says, and they became wary of new, subversive materials such as polyester, aluminium, polyurethane foam or silicone, while bronze, wood and glass had become too classic.

– At that time, galleries in Paris were all about installations, concepts, and paintings, so I thought it was high time someone broke the mould and filled it with molten metal – he tells us.

In the French capital, Vudrag collaborated with Galerie Bartoux, one of the most esteemed European galleries, as well as the Carré d’artistes and De Medicis galleries.

He explains that iron, unlike clay or other materials, comes in an industry-standard form factor – blocks, bars or plates – and in given dimensions.

– Creating art from these fixed external dimensions is out of this dimension. That’s the most difficult part of the process, but I also find it the most interesting. Weathering steel is the surface finish material – there is no casting or metalworking that would somehow change the form of the material, as it goes with the clay-bronze bond, so I have complete control over the process. Iron has been in my blood for generations. I have been surrounded by it ever since I was a child and I am sensible to it, always able to grasp the warmth and strength of that material.

And precisely these differences of Vudrag’s creative approach from the mainstream caught the attention of the international gallery Kiseki from Dubai. He was invited to exhibit his works at the Jetex private VIP terminal for COP28, the UN Climate Change Conference.

– I presented seven black diamond sculptures made of weathering steel in sandy matte black, respectively shaped to the sizes of each region of the United Arab Emirates. The diamonds rising from the clear background symbolise the resilience and progress of the Emirates over the past 70 years – from a desert(ed) world to the mecca of commerce and development.

Critics assessed that this work represents a fusion of art and symbolism, which highlights the transformation and progress of the Emirates and conveys a powerful message about their evolution and influence on the global arena.

– Side by side with the series of black diamonds, I exhibited a mesh wall hanging resembling a steel geometric grid. This tapestry fits perfectly into the epistemology of geometry and the development of geometric shapes from the Arabian Peninsula.

Vudrag points out that he used this work as an opportunity to explore and expose the abundance and complexity of geometric shapes that are traditionally an important part of Arabic art and architecture.

– The combination of diamonds and the mesh wall hanging delves deeply into the chasm of meaning and creates a bridge between modernity and culture and history of the region, all the while providing visitors with a visual and symbolic experience that underlines the importance, as well as the aesthetic opulence of geometry. This exhibition aims at highlighting the aesthetics and symbolism of geometry as an important element of the identity and development of the Arabian peninsula – explains Vudrag, adding that he believes that “the continuity of the material itself, be it bronze, stone, iron or clay, recedes into the background, in the shadow of the artist’s profile, and sometimes even gall. But consistency and continuity in creativity are still very important.”

Vudrag is full of life and inexhaustible vigour, which he candidly extends to others as a confident artist who takes his mission as gospel. Unlike many of his colleagues, not only is he not introverted, but he is also extremely communicative, proactive, and eloquent, which was instrumental in establishing contact with people poles apart and adjacent. And that, along with his ironclad talent, welded him into the monumental artist he is today.

Vudrag’s artistic expression is purely anthropomorphic.

– Whether it’s Atlas holding the weight of the world on his back, Sisyphus pushing the rock, Prometheus beaconing progress, Hercules striving to overcome his weaknesses and become better in order to earn his place on Olympus… These archetypes can be found in the (conscious or subconscious) mind of every human being, and they’re an inexhaustible source of philosophical, scientific, and artistic inspiration – he claims.

Aside from his works, Vudrag’s personality also shines through his physical and fashion transformations. Since 2019, when he made a name of himself, Vudrag has changed his physical appearance several times: first, he had a short haircut, then he grew his hair out, then he shaved his head, just to go back to long hair – with the addition of a beard forest this time.

His fashion statement has also conveyed his moods – from black uniforms and ski suit carbon copies to actual elegant white and black suits.

As part of the grand Malta Biennale exhibition at Villa Luginsland, he recently put up works inviting a new dimension into the picture – the element of light.

– Light penetrates through all the pores or joints of the metal sculpture. This creates an effect where the material form becomes a mould for ideas represented as light.

The Seven Realms

Vudrag explains that he was inspired by Plato’s and Aristotle’s principles when forming these lucid ideas in his head and bringing them to life and light as raw matter.

– Having in mind Malta’s rich history and legends of the giants, I shaped the apples specifically for that historic garden, opening a window into the mythological world of the Hesperides Gardens and Atlas’s golden apples, legends that have been passed down throughout the history of these areas – he says.

This combination of corporeality, light, and mythology, notes Vudrag, creates a unique experience for visitors, inviting them to explore the deeper layers of meaning and history woven into the artwork.

Given the monumentality of his sculptures, Vudrag brings his sculptures into being in a 350-square-metre studio located on the premises of a former factory. His sculpture called Glazba (“Music”) is literally larger than life. It is an interactive violin with a 4-metre-high weathering steel bow, serving as an instrument for musical expression of the passers-by in Varaždin.

His monument to Nikola Tesla is a “sculpture-transmission line” that combines functionality and aesthetics, as well as urban design and Croatian heritage. It is 12 metres high and weighs 2 tons.

Monty Shadow

The space in which he works is an amalgam of a mechanical workshop and an art studio. It is jam-packed with heavy iron blocks, metal rods, and there are also several huge iron structures, as well as dozens of sculptures in the making. And the walls are teeming with metal reliefs and various sketches… In the morning, Vudrag deals with large projects, for which he needs the help of several assistants, sometimes even a dozen people, because he makes sculptures that require foundations of as much as 20 cubic metres of concrete each!

In the afternoon and the evening, Vudrag is usually gladly left to his own devices.

– That’s when I enjoy myself the most, jumping from one project to another, concocting all sorts of ideas, and eventually coming up with something new, which then captures my attention and effort. I usually work on 4 or 5 sculptures at the same time since I have plenty of creative energy to go around – he explains.

During this year’s Venice Biennale at the European Cultural Centre, Vudrag will exhibit two sculptures in the garden, at the entrance to the famous Palazzo Mora. They are totems of sorts – in addition to representing constructive symbolism as push and pull forces, they also convey a deeper symbolic message.

– Atlas carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, symbolising the burdens and challenges of life, while Prometheus, bound by a chain, represents rebellion and the pursuit of freedom and knowledge. I use these sculptures as a medium for denoting the struggle of individuals against social restrictions and pressures, working almost as hard as Sisyphus to labour the point of human resilience and willpower – emphasises Vudrag.

During his stay in England, Vudrag lined up a job making a bust of the great English writer, poet and philosopher J. R. R. Tolkien.

– The bust is finished, cast in bronze and modelled in a classic, timeless style with a small nod to modernism.

Without a single written word, the bust contains all the signs that point to Tolkien’s work – from the one ring, the dictionary, and the books, all the way to the Silmarillion, his most complex literary work. Vudrag is convinced that every Tolkien enthusiast will find at least one detail on the sculpture that will bring a smile to their face.

– And I will be grinning like a Cheshire cat if this sculpture, along with Tolkien’s works, continues to resonate with the readers…

Vudrag asserted that it is safe to say he broke through certain barriers and limitations that were imposed on him over the years.

– Nowadays, ain’t no sculpture high enough and ain’t no coin small enough to keep me from getting the work done, babe!

Over time, Vudrag started making smaller and smaller coins and larger and larger sculptures.

– The biggest difference is that my thinking hours used to be far exceeded by my working hours, and now I’m thinking overtime so I don’t have to bust my brass.

Finally, he points out that he has reached a new level in the game of creativity, which, in addition to the artistic work itself, includes statics, logistics, and other accompanying elements without which one cannot achieve truly great things.

– My concept of work has come a long way. From a sort of criticism of the world in the beginning, I reached timeless motifs and archetypes that unite and connect us all – concluded Nikola Vudrag.

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