Semantic Shadows

Saša Pančić: This Time Undoubtedly Represents an Introduction to the Unknown

The exhibition Semantic Shadows by Saša Pančić opened on Friday, December 12, at MSUB Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Serbia | Gallery | Legacy of Milica Zorić and Rodoljub Čolaković in Belgrade, Serbia.

The exhibition presents an overview of Pančić’s artistic production over the past twenty years, including recent works in objects, sculpture, drawing, and video. The exhibition is curated by Dr. Rajka Bošković and Miroslav Karić.

On the occasion of this exhibition, we spoke with the artist Saša Pančić.

Question: Your works speak the language of abstraction, and the exhibition is titled Semantic Shadows. How do you understand meaning in your work in relation to the emotional experience of the viewer in a museum or gallery space?

Saša Pančić: Every attempt to realize a work of art contains an intention to address the viewer. Once the work is completed and leaves the artist, an unpredictable process begins: the encounter with the observer. Many theoretical interpretations, built on assumed positions, are inevitably infused with the spirit of their time and, through it, generate dominant meanings. In this process, a network of interdependence often takes over the content of the work and redirects it into a constructed field of interpretation.

I maintain a certain distance from such positions. Rather than emphasizing social conditions, I have always been more interested in what we might call the encounter between the individual and the ontological elements of reality. For me, that encounter is an experience, a crucial point from which rational reflection may proceed toward understanding. Everything that escapes the prevailing spirit of the time and defines us on a deeper, personal level leads us into a confrontation with ourselves.

From this perspective, semantics in my work represents a personal effort to reach a universal meaning of space, primarily through abstraction, which is free of narrative. A more precise description of my position may be found in the concept of concrete art. Here, the artwork is not an indirect transmitter but a direct address. For this reason, I often refer to the resulting objects as subjects. 

Saša Pančić, Installation view, Experiment 5, 2025, Semantic Shadows exhibition, MSUB Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Serbia | Gallery-legacy of Milica Zorić and Rodoljub Čolaković. Photo: Saša Pančić, 2025.

Q: What role do shadows play within your semantic system?

S P: Within the works themselves and through the title of the exhibition, the notion of the shadow points to the paradoxical nature of light and its concealed role as a link between the immaterial and material worlds. In this context, Kazimir Malevich famously stated that he did not know the content of the Black Square, describing it instead as a form of latent energy. By inverting the object world, he emphasized the direction of visual revelation. A similar principle can be found in the inverted perspective of the Byzantine icon or in the positive and negative relationships in Egyptian reliefs.

Engaging closely with these approaches, even simply reading about them, gave me a sense of confidence in my own poetics. It became clear to me that the shadow does not emerge from the object but, on the contrary, dynamically outlines the original environment of the world of subjects. Although this may seem paradoxical, the shadow carries the same value as a steel plate. It even holds a certain primacy for our senses, as it maintains the latent spatial event within the visual field.

Q: In an earlier interview, you noted that the poetics of your work may be closest to Vedic doctrines or Taoism. What is personally important to you in these traditions, and how do they relate to your artistic practice?

SP: To avoid misunderstanding, I should emphasize that we are referring to a wide range of historical and philosophical reflections on space. Some of the traditions you mention articulated these ideas with particular clarity. However, in terms of artistic expression, the most direct influences on my understanding of space are the Black Square by Malevich and the Endless Column by Constantin Brâncuși.

Saša Pančić, Installation view, Semantic Shadows, MSUB Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Serbia | Gallery-legacy of Milica Zorić and Rodoljub Čolaković. Photo: Saša Pančić, 2025.

Both works carry a subtle Eastern resonance, which speaks to the universality of their approach and to the way the past continues to shape the present. When viewed through this lens, seemingly distant examples such as the Temple of Hatshepsut, Zumthor’s thermal baths, Tatlin’s counter-reliefs, Richard Serra’s curved steel forms, or Eduardo Chillida’s sculptures reveal a shared sensibility. They address the inexhaustible theme of our relationship to space, emphasize the wisdom of the body, as articulated by Juhani Pallasmaa, and reveal the non-historical dimension of human movement.

The interweaving of personal poetics with universal meanings produces results only at the level of synchronicity. It is difficult, and perhaps impossible, to separate the personal from the artistic. Permeation exists, but not always, and not according to a fixed rule.

Q: If we consider the semantic potential of materials, which materials do you repeatedly return to? Does their meaning emerge primarily through the working process, or do you begin from their generally accepted meanings and place them within a personal context?

SP: By focusing on the transformation of two-dimensional space into objecthood, I was able to free the resulting objects from narrative. The development of my sculptural work began with the extended body of the line and with negative space as a structural foundation for what followed. Over time, I worked with a range of materials, including paper, thin sheets, rubber, steel plates, corten steel, and stainless steel.

The relationship between the general potential of a material and personal poetics is always a creative act marked by risk. The selection process begins with an assessment of how much a material can contribute to the idea. Can its physical and chemical properties express what has been envisioned? In my case, panel materials have proven capable of meeting most of these requirements. What remains concerns scale and the conditions of display.

Ultimately, meaning arises through the process of transformation itself. For this reason, within my semantic field, I place an equal value on shadow and steel.

Saša Pančić, Installation view, Counter Form 2, 2022, Semantic Shadows exhibition, MSUB Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Serbia | Gallery-legacy of Milica Zorić and Rodoljub Čolaković. Photo: Saša Pančić, 2025.

Q: Your use of black and white is particularly striking. What draws you to this relationship?

SP: For me, color functions primarily as sensation and as an expression of emotion. By contrast, the relationship between black and white brings me closer to structure. It simplifies the path toward what I would call greater reality and leads naturally to the well-known principle that less is more, as articulated by Ad Reinhardt and deeply rooted in Taoist thought.

Q: This exhibition surveys your work from the past twenty years. What new or recent tendencies can be identified, and how has your approach evolved in terms of technique, materials, or engagement with new technologies?

SP: There is a moment of recognition, something akin to a biological clock, that must not be missed. For me, that moment may have occurred with my exhibition at the Cultural Center of Belgrade in 2006. It marked a decisive shift, presenting works in which the surface first emerged into free space. The foundations established at that time, in terms of language, poetics, monochrome expression, and material choices, have remained consistent to this day.

In recent years, this framework has not constrained me. On the contrary, it has provided a sense of freedom. It proved broad and stable enough to accommodate the changes that inevitably occur over time. I hope that the upcoming exhibition at the Čolaković Pavilion will demonstrate this continuity.

As a member of the generation that transitioned from analog to digital technology, I am familiar with both worlds, and I consider this an advantage. I regularly make use of digital tools such as photography, laser technology, video, and contemporary modes of communication. At the same time, I maintain a critical stance toward software-driven systems, particularly the unrestrained application of artificial intelligence.

We are undoubtedly entering the unknown. The writings of Paul Virilio, John Zerzan, and others warn of the dangers inherent in surrendering agency to algorithms as future mechanisms of control. Although their visions are often bleak, it remains difficult to predict the outcome with certainty. What I can anticipate is a renewed valuation of personal experience, the capacity for individuals to acquire experience directly, without mediation or suggestion. Such experiences, when elevated to a universal level, remain accessible to all, much like what persists within the realm of art today.