Plentiful layers of illusive patterning, pigment stalagmites and complex abstraction characterize Dragan Simic’s acrylic collage on canvas. Interested in color as a psycho-physiological stimulus, Simic adopts a palette dominated by earthen hues such as olive, teal, rust, crimson and burnt umber, mapping the ‘geography of inner experience.’ An artisan and nomad, Simic notes that his voyage from his native Serbia to Australia via the expansive terrain known as the Nullabor plains marked the emergence of a strong vertical line in his work. This fused with his appropriation of classic Australian aboriginal motifs to forge a quicksilver topography which carries the viewer through a psychological subterranean dusk. Simic also credits food and the concepts surrounding it - particularly the cross-cultural importance afforded to the breaking and sharing of bread – as having a direct influence upon his creative process.
Dragan Simic was born in Serbia, the former Yugoslavia, and currently lives and works in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.