ISBN 978-86-86237-10-1

The Iwano Project

Silent Women
www.iwano.org.rs
cbeer21@gmail.com
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK UVLAK
 Silent Women
The Iwano Project
C o n n e c t i n g a r t i s t s
«Congratulations on a very imaginative project and
excellent example of East-West collaboration»

Dr Mark Nesbitt, Curator

United Kingdom
The Iwano Project - SILENT WOMEN was supported by:

The paper for this cataloque was donated by Sappi

Com.Net - United Media Association, Novi Sad
City of Novi Sad, Culture departement

Special thanks to all who was supported thic project till nowdays.

iwano.org.rs cbeer21@gmail.com
 The Iwano Project
Silent Women

PREMIERE E X I B I T I O N

Contemporary art Gallery PROGRES,

Knez Mihajlova 27, Belgrade – Serbia
Duration: October 29th - November 04th 2018
 The Iwano Project
Silent Women
www.iwano.org.rs
cbeer21@gmail.com

The Iwano
Project
 Aleksandar Pedović
Founder and CEO of The Iwano Project

Silent Women exhibition is dedicated to all of women artists as a vulnerable

social group, and is direct support to their creativity and production ...

“The Iwano Project” was conceived as an international art project in the domain of
visual arts. Its essence is the interactive communication between the rich Far East
culture and tradition of Japan and our common European cultural heritage – resulting
in a “new cultural product”, a valuable works of art which combine these two sources
giving a new cultural quality never seen before.
So far, almost 300 professional artists from 24 countries and four continents took part,
creating large-scale works of art on the famous hand-made “Washi - Kumohada Mashi”
Japanese paper. A more serious conceptual development unfortunately depended on
the ones who could have provided assistance but chose not to. However, in spite of
this, the project has set reference standards in its domain, developing regional/
European and global cultural heritage, underprivileged social groups, gender
equality – through Workshops for women-artists exclusively, with the highest possible
standards.
This is substantiates by the fact that all large-scale exhibitions in all 11 cycles have
been opened by more than 23 foreign ambassadors and first secretaries of foreign
countries, who thus showed their appreciation of the unique qualities of the project.
Hadayuki HASEGAWA Heizaburo IWANO

A leading entrance to fresh creation

Nadayuki Hasegawa

It will surely be known quite widely that present day

Japan is a leading industrialized country also in the
world. However, how many persons who know that
Japan is a leading also in the world which has refined the
quality of paper over long, long times . It is said that the
process which passes to present day paper was born in
China at the beginning of the 2nd century. It will be that
the process got across to Japan at the end of the 4th
century, or the beginning of the 5th century, and got
across to the Iberian Peninsula of the European
Continent through the Islamic world at the beginning of
the 12th century. How it is refined as for the process of
the paper produced in China, the fundamental principle
is a hand made paper using the fiber of the skin of trees.
The fiber must make always to be soft, homogeneous
and thin. But the industrial paper manufacture method
born by the Industrial Revolution differs from the
process of a hand made paper fundamentally. It use
pulp as materials and is mass production from what.
Everyone enabled it to use paper naturally as for mass
production of the paper by the industrial method. Paper
has been immediately close to daily life and it is
considered by nobody that paper does not exist any
longer. Although the spread of such papers and being
buried in the everyday world of paper, have surely
carried out the greatest contribution to a life of man or
improvement in culture, it Is also clear to have lost the
fresh human feeling to the paper when it was born.
Heizaburo Iwano is the authority of the paper milling
craftsman of present age of Japan. Imadate-cho, Fukui
in which he lives is one of commune of the paper milling
most famous for Japan and the paper milling studio of
50 houses has still survived stubbornly here. The super
hand made papers for a painter by Mr. Iwano are mixed
hemp by the technique as about 1000 years before. It
is one sheet of only paper. However, it is not mere paper.
Facing Iwano‘s paper is facing the first human feeling to
the paper which has purified in 1000 years of time. And
this act will surely become a leading entrance to
creation fresh for a sharp artist.
 The Iwano Project
The Iwano Project was founded in 1999 as an international
artistic author's project by Aleksandar Pedović, an artist and designer
from Novi Sad in cooperation with Mr. Nadayuki Hasegawa and Mr.
Heizaburo Iwano, the manufacturer of the famous Japanese hand-
made paper.
The aim and the purpose of the Iwano Project is to join together the
far east Japanese culture and tradition with our European cultural
practice, thus creating a new quality and cultural products in the form
of works of art which form the base of the project and a new
multidimensional quality.
Such new cultural product is the spirit and the product of
communication between two so different civilizations, and at the same
time it is a factor of regional communication, which often comes
before politics as a positive impulse to cooperation and good
relationships in the region and beyond.
This unique art project, the only one based in Novi Sad and Serbia, has
represented our cultural area with great success through its activities,
and as far as we know, there no similar project anywhere on the world
which constitutes a great advantage.

WORKSHOP, a major part of the annual cycle of the Iwano Project

As part of the annual cycle of the Iwano project, an
international art colony is organized each year, this time it is
WORKSHOP X/10, which can be attended by younger generation
women-artists exclusively, on the location of a stately villa in
Čortanovci owned by the provincial government.
It will most likely be organized from begening of July for the sixth
time, with some 16 younger generation women-artists from Europe,
USA, CA, China and Japan taking part by creating on hand-made
Japanese paper and trying to create connection between these two
civilizations through their work.
As before, cutting-edge ITC solutions will be used, while the new web
site will feature photographs and videos documenting each day and
constituting the base for the future documentary DVD Workshop X/10.
Apart from admitting women-artists exclusively, another unique
feature is the use of the most up-to-date technology, and the second
DVD documentary film presentation of the art colony.
Most of the participating women-artists came to our country for the
first time and left with positive experiences and impressions.
 The Iwano Project VIII

06
Photo: Maja Pučl, Tanja Vergles

Connecting artists
One of the principal activities of the Iwano Project is the
WORKSHOP, an international art colony created in 2002. It is
held each year in August at a representative villa owned by the
Vojvodina provincial government in Čortanovci, a place on the
Danube some 25km downstream of Novi Sad, pearched at a top
offering a magnificent view of the river.
The workshop accommodates exclusively women artists from all
around the world, including Japan for the first time as of 2006.
Some 60 women artists have taken parts so far, creating on the
famous Japanese hand-made paper.
Apart from being unique by the fact that it admits women only,
the workshop has also been applying state-of-the-art IT
standards, top Hi-Fi equipment from the beginning, and was the
first to use wireless Internet connection and GPRS for
instantaneous updating of the site.
The main role of the art colonies is to detach the artists from
their usual environments and bring them together so that they
would create works of art inspired by the Japanese tradition and
our European cultural heritage.
The theme of the Workshop 06 was -"Fade to Gray".

Special edition - Documentary DVD presantation of live W06: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjZmRFZc5Fs&t=1s

The Iwano Project

CHRONOLOGY
CHRONOLOGY
The Iwano Project I - e x h i b i t i o n s:
The first exhibition was held in Novi Sat at the NOU gallery which was the executive
organizer, from March 14th to 21st. ten artists created works of art on 50 hand-made
Japanese papers (dimensions 110 x 56 cm). The exhibition was opened by the
president of the Executive Board of Novi Sad, Mr. Predrag Filipov.

The Iwano Project II - e x h i b i t i o n s:

The exhibition was held in Novi Sad at the Vojvodina gallery from May 21st to June
4th 2001 in cooperation with NOU: Nineteen artists from Yugoslavia and abroad took
part working on 55 hand-made Japanese papers of more impressive dimensions this
time (195 x 110 cm). The exhibition as then transferred to Banja Luka at the Gallery of
Fine Arts where it was on display from June 21st to August 9th 2001, after which it
was taken to Belgrade and displayed at the Progres gallery from August 21st to
September 5th 2001. This exhibition was opened by the first secretary of the Swiss
embassy, Mr. Daniel Ruch. The exhibition was later set in Vršac at the People's
Museum and the Center for Contemporary Arts – Konkordija from November 6th to
20th 2001, and was opened by HE the Swiss ambassador, Gaudenz B. Ruf.

The Iwano Project III - e x h i b i t i o n s:

The exhibition was held from September 5th to 21st at the Gallery of Matica Srpska in
Novi Sad and was opened by the president of the provincial government, Mr. Đorđe
Đukić, while Mr. Nadayuki Hasegawa was a special guest from Japan. The exhibition
was realized in cooperation with UPIDIV – Association of Applied Arts Artists and
Designers of Vojvodina and NOU – Novi Sad Open University.
Unlike in previous years, this time the Iwano Project was a true regional project with
29 artists from Central and South-Eastern Europe taking part, each working on three
works of art made on hand-made Japanese Paper (dimensions 110 x 146 cm). The
exhibition was also realized in Belgrade at Muzej 25. maj from December 3rd 2002 to
January 8th 2003 and was opened by the first secretary of the Bulgarian embassy, Mr.
Stojan Stankulov. It was also held in Subotica from
February 12th to 28th 2003 at the gallery Likovni susret, and in cooperation with
HDLU Istria, it was held in Pula, Croatia from March 22nd to April 9th 2003, with Mr.
Nadayuki Hasegawa attending the opening by the president of HDLU, Mr. Davor
Kliman.

The IwanoProject IV - Activities:

WORKSHOP 02.
Simultaneously with the regular cycles of the project, from July 21st to 31st, the first
The Iwano Project IV – WORKSHOP was held at Villa Stanković in Čortanovci, owned
by the provincial government of Vojvodina, with 10 women-artists from South-
Eastern Europe taking part, who in turn served as selectors choosing additional two
artists from their region. This is one of few art colonies featuring exclusively women-
artists, this being a small contribution to gender equality by this project.
Workshop 02 was officially visited by the president of the provincial government of
Vojvodina, Mr. Đorđe Đukić and the secretary for culture, Mr. Zoltan Bunjik.

EXHIBITIONS:
The exhibition of this cycle of the project was held in Novi Sad from September 18th
to 29th 2003 at the Gallery of Matica Srpska in cooperation with UPIDIV and NOU.
Twenty-seven artists from nine countries of the region took part with 119 works of
art on hand-made Japanese paper courtesy of Mr. Heizaburo Iwano. This exhibition
was opened by the president of the provincial government, Mr. Đorđe Đukić, and it
was attended by the director of the Hiroko Mori & Stasys Museum from Japan, Mr.
Nadayuki Hasegawa. The exhibition was held in Belgrade in Muzeju 25. maj from
December 24th 2003 to January 18th 2004 and was opened by the third secretary of
the Japanese embassy, Mrs. Kondo Miho. This exhibition was visited by 60,000
visitors from the country and abroad during the winter holiday season.
The Iwano Project V - Activities:

WORKSHOP 03.
This unique Workshop intended for women-only was held in Čortanovci, some 20 km
downstream from Novi Sad on a hill overlooking the Danube from August 24th to
September 5th 2003 for the first time with 10 women-artists, the author of the
project and a web master taking part. Part of the activities was presented in a photo
gallery on the project's web site. The documentary photos were taken using a digital
camera and were instantaneously updated on the web site after being processed
using wireless connection and GPRS service – this was the first time such technology
was used in civilian purposes in South-Eastern Europe.
After their return home, these women acted as selectors choosing another two
artists who finished their works until the end of the year.

EXHIBITIONS:
The first exhibition of the fifth cycle of the project was in Belgrade in Muzej 25. maj
from December 20th to January 15th 2005. Twenty-nine artists from the region took
part with 129 works of art on hand-made Japanese paper. The exhibition was opened
by the second secretary and culture attaché of the Japanese embassy, Mr. Tecuja
Cubota. This exhibition was visited by 60,000 visitors from the country and abroad
during the winter holiday season.
The exhibition was displayed in Novi Sad from January 18th to 31st 2005 at the
Vojvodina museum, and was opened by HE the ambassador of Slovakia, Mr. Miroslav
Lajčak.

The Iwano project VI - Activities:

WORKSHOP 04
The third workshop was held in the Čortanovci villa from August 18th to 25th 2004.
Nine women-artists from the region working on the famous hand-made Japanese
paper participated, while the theme was: "All in RED". Activities during this art
colony were documented using a digital camera and instantaneously transferred to
the web site by means of wireless connection and GPRS, as can be seen at
WORKSHOP/Photo Gallery, with some 20 photos per each day.

EXHIBITIONS:
The first exhibition of the Iwano VI project was held in Belgrade at the gallery of
Muzej 25. maj from December 21st 2005 to January 14th 2006, and was opened by
HE the ambassador of Japan,
Mr. Tadashi Nagai. Twenty-five authors from ten countries of the region and the USA
worked on some 120 large-scale works of art made on the famous hand-made paper.
The second exhibition was held in Novi Sad in the Vojvodina museum from January
16th to 31st 2006, and was opened by HE the ambassador of Slovakia, Mr. Igor Furdik
(Tomaš Ferko, the first secretary).
At the beginning of 2006, selected works were displayed in cultural institutions of
Sombor and Vrbas and there was a possibility that this exhibition would be set in the
neighboring countries as well. Selected works were displayed in Vrbas from March
10th to 22nd 2006.

The Iwano project VII - Activities:

WORKSHOP 05
The fourth workshop was held from August 15th to 25th with ten women-artists from
Central and South-Eastern Europe taking part.
At the Čortanovci villa, women-artists from the region worked on the famous hand-
made Japanese paper courtesy of Mr. Iwano. Activities during this colony were
documented by digital camera and transferred via wireless connection and GPRS to
CHRONOLOGY
be instantaneously updated on the web site, as can be seen on Gallery/Workshop VII,
containing 20 photos per each day.

EXHIBITIONS:
The first exhibition of the Iwano Project VII was held in Belgrade at the Muzej 25. maj
gallery from December 22nd 2006 to January 15th 2007, opened by Mrs. Alessandra
Bertini, the director of IIC in Belgrade. Twenty-two authors from ten countries of the
region worked on some 60 large-scale works of art made on the famous hand-made
paper.
The second exhibition was held in Novi Sad at the Vojvodina museum from Jaunary
16th to 29th 2007 and was opened by the Bulgarian culture attaché, Mr. Ivajlo Kirov.
Upon invitation by the Istrian region and the culture representative of the city of Pula
(Istria – Croatia), a group exhibition of the Iwano Project VII was held from October
12th to 30th 2007.
The exhibition was opened by Mr. Fabrizzio Radin, deputy mayor of Pula.

The Iwano project VIII - Activities:

WORKSHOP 06
The fifth workshop was held from August 14th to 21st with twelve women-artists
from Europe and Japan taking part.
At the Čortanovci villa, women-artists from the region worked on the famous hand-
made Japanese paper courtesy of Mr. Iwano. Activities during this colony were
documented by digital camera and transferred via wireless connection and GPRS to
be instantaneously updated on the web site, as can be seen on Gallery/Workshop 06,
containing 20 photos per each day and a documentary DVD presentation W06 also
was realized.

EXHIBITIONS:
The first exhibition of the Iwano Project VIII will be from December 20th 2007 to
January 10th 2008 in Muzej 25. maj in Belgrade, with participation by the director of
Istituto di Cultura Italiana, Mrs. Alessandra Bertini Malgarini
The second exhibition will be displayed in Novi Sad from January 15th to 31st 2008 at
the Vojvodina museum, and will be opened by Mr. Artur Demek, reporter of The
Asahi himbun and Executive governer of Japan Economic Chamber in Serbia.

The Iwano project IX - Activities:

EXHIBITIONS:
The first exhibition of the Iwano Project IX was from December 22th 2008 to end of
January 2009 in Muzej 25. maj in Belgrade. The exhibition was opened by H.E.
Ambassador of Republic France Jean-François Terral.
The second exhibition will be displayed in Novi Sad from February 17 – 28th 2009 at
the Museum of Contemporary Arts, and will be opened by Mrs. Pascale Delpech,
director of Centre Culturel Francais in Belgrade.

WAS:
From April 3rd to 10th 2007, the first The Iwano Project I – IV was held in Japan in
Imadate Town at the Paper Museum, with more than 100 artists from the first four
cycles taking part.
The big retrospective exhibition of all X cycles is scheduled to happen in Tokyo during
2011...

December 2010
The Iwano Project is organizing a charity auction whose entire proceeds are aimed to
help the earthquake relief efforts in Kraljevo.
The auction will be held on: 14. December 2010 at the gallery Progress from 12 pm to
7 pm in Belgrade. It will feature outstanding large-scale works of art made on the
famous hand-made Japanese Kumohada-Mashi paper, by a selection of authors from
the previous two cycles of the project. Only embassies of the countries of
participating authors will have the right to take part at the charity auction. These are:
Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Germany, France,
Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania,
Serbia, Spain, UK, and USA.

The Iwano Project X - Activities:

EXHIBITION:
The exhibition of The Iwano Project X was from February 1 – 8. 2011 in Museum of
Contemporary Arts in Novi Sad. The exhibition was opened by Counsellor Embassy of
Canada in Belgrade Mr. Kenneth Sooly.
…
WAS:
From April 3rd to 10th 2007, the first The Iwano Project I – IV was held in Japan in
Imadate Town at the Paper Museum, with more than 100 artists from the first four
cycles taking part.
The big retrospective exhibition of all X cycles is scheduled to happen in Tokyo during
2011...
…
NEWS/December 2010
The Iwano Project is organizing a charity auction whose entire proceeds are aimed to
help the earthquake relief efforts in Kraljevo (Serbia). The auction will be held on: 14.
December 2010 at the gallery Progress from 12 pm to 7 pm in Belgrade.
It will feature outstanding large-scale works of art made on the famous hand-made
Japanese “Kumohada-Mashi” paper, by a selection of authors from the previous two
cycles of the project. Only embassies of the countries of participating authors will
have the right to take part at the charity auction. These are: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Germany, France, Croatia, Hungary, Italy,
Japan, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Spain, UK, and
USA.

The Iwano Project RETROX - Activities:

EXHIBITION:
The exhibition of The Iwano Project RETROX was from February 14 – 24. 2013. in the
Museum of Contemporary Arts in Novi Sad. The exhibition was opened by
H.E. Ambassador of Japan Toshio Cunozaki / Mr. Kazuaki Kameda - minister advisor.
On this large retrospective selected international group exhibition was attended by
102 academic artists from three continents. They created their artworks at the
famous Japanese handmade large format paper WASHI - Kumohada Mashi, with the
intention to combine far-eastern influences of culture and tradition with our
European cultural heritage...
Will continue...
Silent Women
1999 - 2018

E X H I B I T O R S :

B E L G I U M
The Iwano Project IX
Author: Veronique Vanderhinste
Work title: PIU
Technique: Etching
Dimensions: 107 x 57 cm
Year: 2008
BULGARIA
The Iwano Project VI
Author: Mina Krassimirova Decheva
Work title: Night time
Technique: Screen rinting
Dimensions: 108 x 128 cm
Year: 2004

The Iwano Project VIII

Author: Cvetelina Maksimova
Work title: The spirit of the paper I
Technique: Mixed media, created in the Workshop
Dimensions: 118 x 108 cm
Year: 2006
C R O AT I A
The Iwano Project VI
Author: Tea Bičić
Work title: Black
Technique: Acryl and ink
Dimensions: 128 x 108 cm
Year: 2005

The Iwano Project IV

Author: Mirjana Grahovac
Work title: Jato II
Technique: Mixed media
Dimensions: 108 x 66 cm
Year: 2002
 E X H I B I T O R S :
The Iwano Project VIII
Author: Vanja Zenzerović
Work title: I wish
Technique: Mixed media – acryil with sand, created in the W
Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2006
CZECH REPUBLIC
The Iwano Project IV
Author: Michaela Nociarova
Work title: No title I
Technique: Mixed media on the paper
Dimensions: 106 x 74 cm
Year: 2003
FRANCE
The Iwano Project IX
Author: Philomene Zeltz
Work title: Portrait dé Aï Suzuki…
Technique: Mixed
Dimensions: 107 x 80 cm
Year: 2008
GERMANY
The Iwano Project VIII
Author: Babette Weidner
Work title: Silence (wood I)
Technique: Watercolour
Dimensions: 117 x 107 cm
Year: 2007
HOLLAND
The Iwano Project X
Author: Theodora Plas
Work title: The journey within I
Technique: Oil, collage, crayon, hand-writter text on paper
Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2010

The Iwano Project X

Author: Ellen van Toor
Work title: Mirror
Technique: Collage, acryil
Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2010
HUNGARY
The Iwano Project IX
Author: Anita Dorner
Title: Gray of chemical flipper
Technique: Ink on the large size hand made Iwano Japanese paper
Size: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2006
 E X H I B I T O R S :
J A P A N
The Iwano Project IX
Author: Miku Fuino
Work title: Mauntin II
Technique: Oil pastel & Watercolor
Dimensions: 108 x 118 cm
Year: 2008

The Iwano Project IX

Author: Atsuko Kotaka
Work title: Stars came to me
Technique: Pencil and water color on paper
Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2008

The Iwano Project X

Author: Juko Nagami
Work title: Silky rain
Technique: Mixed
Dimensions: 106 x 80 cm
Year: 2010

The Iwano Project X

Author: Zakuro Saoyama (Yumi Nakai)
Work title: Curiosity
Technique: Sumi
Dimensions 80 x 108 cm
Year: 2010
FYR MACEDONIA
The Iwano Project IX
Author: Petra Jovanovska
Work title: November No 1
Technique: Dry print
Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2008
OSTEREICH
The Iwano Project IX
Author: Manuela Hillebrand
Work title: From: Beseeltestadte
Technique: Graphite & black and color ink
Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2008

The Iwano Project IX

Author: Marie Neugebauer
Work title: No title
Technique: Mexed media
Dimensions: 107 x 80 cm
Year: 2008
 E X H I B I T O R S :
ROMANIA
The Iwano Project VIII
Author: Diana Duta
Work title: Hands with nails
Technique: Ink on paper
Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2007

The Iwano Project X

Author: Lea Raszovsky
Work title: Kerouac - shaver
Technique: Ink on paper
Dimensions: 108 x 118 cm
Year: 2010
S E R B I A
The Iwano Project IV
Author: Marija Čoban
Work title: Something infantil
Technique: Dry pastel drawing, created in the Workshop
Dimensions: 66 x 108 cm
Year: 2002

The Iwano Project I

Author: Branka Janković Knežević
Work title: Five faces of a portrait
Technique: Quash, mixed media
Dimensions: 108 x 66 cm
Year: 2000

The Iwano Project IV

Author: Nataša Teofilović
Work title: No title
Technique: Mixed media, graphite, salt; created in the Workshop
Dimensions: 108 x 66 cm
Year: 2002

The Iwano Project V

Author: Nevenka Stojsavljević
Work title: Bez naziva II
Technique: Mixed media, created in the Workshop
Dimensions: 109 x 98 cm
Year: 2003
SLOVAKIA
The Iwano Project VII
Author: Klaudia Kosziba
Work title: Circle
Technique: Mixed media
Dimensions: 108 x 119 cm
Year: 2005
 E X H I B I T O R S :

The Iwano Project VII

Author: Martina Lacova
Work title: Forest I
Technique: Pastel on paper
Dimensions: 80 x 107 cm
Year: 2005

The Iwano Project III

Author: Ksenija Čerče
Work title: Fire frescoe
Technique: Fire, shelack, watercolor
Dimensions: 145 x 108 cm
Year: 2002

The Iwano Project

Author: Tanja Milharčič (guest artist)
Work title: Together
Technique: Tempera
Dimensions: 107 x 78 cm
Year: 2011

The Iwano Project VI

Author: Joni Zakonjšek
Work title: Goldenhair I
Technique: Acryl
Dimensions: 128 x 108 cm
Year: 2006

The Iwano Project X

Author: Mojca Zlokarnik
Work title: Čas
Technique: Acryl on paper
Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2010
SWISS
The Iwano Project VIII
Author: Alessandra Rebeca Porto
Title: Frammento di Malena
Technique: Graphite on paper
Size: 107 x 80
Year: 2007
UNITED KINGDOM
The Iwano Project IX
Author: Sara Anne Barraclough
Work title: Mask II
Technique: Mix media print
Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2008
 E X H I B I T O R S :
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The Iwano Project IX
Author: Julia Jerkov Kline
Work title: Silk road
Technique: Tints all
Dimensions: 108
Year: 2008

The Iwano Project X

Author: Kathy Schorr
Work title: Magnolia
Technique: Watercolor
Dimensions: 118 x 108cm
Year: 2010

The Iwano Project VI

Author: Marija Tišma
Work title: “02005”
Technique: Acryl
Dimensions: 66 x 107 cm
Year: 2005
 
Progres Gallery - Belgrade, Serbia
 The Iwano Project
Silent Women
A RT W O R K S
 Silent Women
Dimitrije Vujadinović

The Iwano Project was founded some twenty

years ago and has ever since been organized by a
prolific artist Aleksandar Pedović. It is a unique
creative project in many respects – material used
by women-artists (hand-made Japanese paper),
workshop venue (villa “Stanković” of local
government perched above the Danube near Novi
Sad), selection process of women-artists
(international selection), bountiful and respectable
collection.
In the history of art, from antiquity, renaissance,
classicism to romanticism and modernism, women-
artists were very few. The reason not being their
lack of talent compared to men, but the
consequence of social and family gender roles. The
XX century brought changes, especially during the
Great War. Outstanding women-artists begin to
appear, including Frida Kahlo, Nadežda Petrović,
Milena Pavlović Barili, etc. They are among few
women-artists who achieved recognition in that
male-dominated world, primarily thanks to their
self-involvement in their works of art and constant
care for them.
However, in spite of significant breakthrough with
respect to acceptance of gender equality, the
context of the dominant cultural pattern prevailing
in the national cultural models is still masculine.
In most cultures, men have a dominant position.
The essential feminine values, such as cooperation,
care, and support are still underappreciated in the
value system of most contemporary societies which
value competition, calculation, planning, and
structuring.
The global political and cultural events at the end of
the previous and the beginning of this millennium
have brought the need to equally cherish the male
and female principles. There is no space to socially
and personally cultivate virtues unless the
development of both principles is made possible.
Hence gender equality, if it is honest, harmonizes
these two principles, keeping their differences and
not blending them together into one dominant
principle.
A modest, but by no means insignificant, support to
the expression of the female artistic values is the
exhibition “Silent Women”.

This unique exhibition is the result of two decades

of work in The Iwano Project and Workshops
intended for women-artists only.

I myself have been
tempted for a long
time by the cloud-
moving wind...
Matsuo Basho, A Narrow Road
Nebojša Milenković
Sights of the (In)visible
- One of many overviews of the first ten years
of The Iwano Project
I myself have been tempted for a long time
by the cloud-moving wind...
Matsuo Basho, A Narrow Road
In Roland Barthe's book Empire of Signs the principal difference
between the people of the (far) East and the people of the West is
explained through a story about handling and preparation of food. This
story features an account of two opposites - the use of chopsticks and
knives (i.e. forks as their grabbing substitute): While the Western knives
peel, cut, carve, and mutilate – the Eastern chopsticks are used to select,
turn, separate, part, carry, and stretch food. Another noted difference is
seen in the way politeness is treated: While in Eastern cultures it is
almost turned into a cult through the ceremony of salutation and in
every-day life - the Westerners are sometimes weary of politeness…
These two differences can also be used to illustrate the attitude towards
arts. While Western artists are prone to accumulation, in the (far) East,
they mainly opt for: cleansing, reduction. and simplification.
Of course, nowadays, such divisions must be taken with caution,
we could also discuss about the East in the West and the other way
round! It is in the treatment of the matter/material that dilemmas are
fewer. Such as paper. In Europe and the USA, we tend to think of factory-
made paper. Hardly anyone, save for rare professionals, would think of
parchment and papyrus. Hence it is no surprise that even artists treat it
mostly as a mere base, i.e. an auxiliary medium conveying: ideas,
messages, concepts or emotions that we need to be presented with. In
the Far East, especially in Japan, even nowadays there are numerous
manufactures and workshops continuing the centuries old culture and
tradition (almost a cult) of hand-made paper (from wood, rice, etc.). This
is particularly important for artists since such paper is characterized by:
exterior, interior, surface and inner part, much like personal identity…
Absence of violence as the dominant philosophical and life
approach/principle of the Eastern cultures and arts is present at various
levels. In calligraphy, for example, categories like: dependent primarily
on the relationship with material, i.e. the ability of the artist to adapt
and adjust to the paper, its structure as well as its entire prehistory:
Paper receives, it is receptive, it expects, it does not resist... Paper
soothes, everything finishes on it… it shows both the emphasized and not
emphasized strokes, its whiteness is the component part of the work…
I found this somewhat longer introduction important due to the
fact that the paper from the manufacture of Mr. Heizaburo Iwano
(Kumohada Mashi) is one of the papers with the highest quality being
produced in Japan today. Judging from today's point of view, the ten-
year-long presence of the Iwano paper in this region - through the
workshop run by Aleksandar Pedović - stands out among projects aiming
to find a way of establishing dialog/communication between the
Japanese and the cultures of the West, primarily Europe. Having in mind
the points made in the introductory part, the presented selection has
been made with the intention of pointing out the said
similarities/differences as well as the realized (im)possibility to
communicate. My interests were focused on the type of works which, in
a way, can be characterized as the art of gesture – opposite of the art of
scene, which is featured in a lesser degree in this selection. I was more
indorsed in concepts than in conceptions. In my opinion, in such
projects, the margin is sometimes more important than the center,
reduction comes before accumulation… Of course, as any other, the
selection before you depends much on the (current) mood of the one
making the selection. Apart from presenting quite a large number of
outstanding works which contribute to the credibility and dignity of this
art manifestation – the selection has been made with the intention of
emphasizing the potential directions of its future development. Ten
years older and wiser, entering its second decade of existence, The
Iwano Project also enters a phase in which the realized results are
valued much more seriously – making possible mistakes even more
problematic. In that respect, I feel compelled to suggest that in the
future, selectiveness should come before (very widely realized) equality.

In the end, I feel the need to finish as I started, quoting the

authoritative and nonviolent master, Basho:

Prostitutes and priest

Slept under a roof lent a beauty:
By bush clover and moon.
Author: Veronique Vanderhinste
Work title: PIU, Technique: Etching, Dimensions: 107 x 57 cm
Year: 2008
Author: Mina Krassimirova Decheva
Work title: Night time, Technique: Screen rinting, Dimensions: 108 x 128 cm
Year: 2004
Author: Cvetelina Maksimova
Work title: The spirit of the paper I, Technique: Mixed media, created in the Workshop,
Dimensions: 118 x 108 cm
Year: 2006
Author: Tea Bičić
Work title: Black, Technique: Acryl and ink, Dimensions: 128 x 108 cm
Year: 2005
Author: Mirjana Grahovac
Work title: Jato II, Technique: Mixed media, Dimensions: 108 x 66 cm
Year: 2002
Author: Vanja Zenzerović
Work title: I wish, Technique: Mixed media – acryil with sand, created in the Workshop,
Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2006
Author: Michaela Nociarova
Work title: No title I, Technique: Mixed media on the paper, Dimensions: 110 x 76 cm
Year: 2003
Author: Philomene Zeltz
Work title: Portrait dé Aï Suzuki…, Technique: Encre du chine, acrylique,essence du thérpentine,
crayon, aquarelle…, Dimensions: 107 x 80 cm, Year: 2008
Author: Babette Weidner
Work title: Silence (wood I), Technique: Watercolour, Dimensions: 117 x 107 cm
Year: 2007
Author: Theodora Plas
Work title: The journey within I, Technique: Oil, collage, crayon, hand-writter text on paper
Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm, Year: 2010
Author: Ellen van Toor
Work title: Mirror, Technique: Collage, acryil, Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2010
Author: Anita Dorner
Title: Gray of chemical flipper, Technique: Ink on the large size hand made Iwano Japanese paper
Dimension: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2006
Author: Miku Fuino
Work title: Mauntin II,Technique: Oil pastel & Watercolor, Dimensions: 108 x 118 cm
Year: 2008
Author: Atsuko Kotaka
Work title: Stars came to me, Technique: Pencil and water color on paper, Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2008
Author: Juko Nagami
Work title: Silky rain, Technique: Sumi, natural mineral pigments, water pigments, gold leaf
Dimensions: 106 x 80 cm, Year: 2010
Author: Zakuro Saoyama (Yumi Nakai)
Work title: Curiosity, Technique: Sumi, Dimensions 80 x 108 cm
Year: 2010
Author: Petra Jovanovska
Work title: November No 1, Technique: Dry print, Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2008
Author: Manuela Hillebrand
Work title: From: Beseeltestadte, Technique: Graphite & black and color ink, Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2008
Author: Marie Neugebauer
Work title: No title, Technique: Mexed media, Dimensions: 107 x 80 cm
Year: 2008
Author: Diana Duta
Work title: Hands with nails, Technique: Ink on paper, Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2007
Author: Lea Raszovsky
Work title: Kerouac – shaver, Technique: Ink on paper, Dimensions: 108 x 118 cm
Year: 2010
Author: Marija Čoban
Work title: Something infantile, Technique: Dry pastel drawing, created in the Workshop,
Dimensions: 66 x 108 cm, Year: 2002
Author: Branka Janković Knežević
Work title: Five faces of a portrait, Technique: Quash, mixed media, Dimensions: 108 x 66 cm
Year: 2000
Author: Nevenka Stojsavljević
Work title: No title II, Technique: Mixed media, created in the Workshop, Dimensions: 109 x 98 cm
Year: 2003
Author: Nataša Teofilović
Work title: No title, Technique: Mixed media, graphite, salt; created in the Workshop,
Dimensions: 108 x 66 cm, Year: 2002
Author: Klaudia Kosziba
Work title: Circle, Technique: Mixed media, Dimensions: 108 x 119 cm
Year: 2005
Author: Martina Lacova
Work title: Forest I, Technique: Pastel on paper, Dimensions: 80 x 107 cm
Year: 2005
Author: Ksenija Čerče
Work title: Fire frescoe, Technique: Fire, shelack, watercolor, Dimensions: 145 x 108 cm
Year: 2002
Author: Tanja Milharčič (guest artist)
Work title: Together, Technique: Tempera, Dimensions: 107 x 78 cm
Year: 2011
Author: Joni Zakonjšek
Work title: Goldenhair I, Technique: Acryl, Dimensions: 128 x 108 cm
Year: 2006
Author: Mojca Zlokarnik
Work title: Čas, Technique: Acryl on paper, Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2010
Author: Sara Anne Barraclough
Work title: Mask II, Technique: Mix media print, Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2008
Author: Julia Jerkov Kline
Work title: Silk road, Technique: Tints all, Dimensions: 108 x 80 cm
Year: 2008
Author: Kathy Schorr
Work title: Magnolia, Technique: Watercolor, Dimensions: 118 x 108cm
Year: 2010
Author: Marija Tišma
Work title: “02005”, Technique: Acryl, Dimensions: 66 x 107 cm
Year: 2005
 A F T E R W O R D S

“These stances shift in flight. When it comes to the relationship

towards material – in our case paper, which assumes the central
place/role in this project – browsing through this year's repertoire it is
possible to identify at least three groups of artists or three parallel
processes:

-the first group are artists who try to conquer the paper horror
vacui-style in order to gain full control over it

-the second group are the works of authors who try to become
familiar with the given material (paper) – and then to adjust it to their
own (preset?!) artistic needs and intentions, respecting its specific
characteristics

-the third group are those authors who have used this
opportunity to try – and hopefully succeed – to adapt their artistic
concepts to Iwano paper and thus, instead of treating it as a mere
base, start seeing the paper, its structure and texture as a
constitutive/constructive factor (element) of their respective works...

Of course, all three artistic methods are completely legitimate. Yet,

instead of passing a much expected explicit judgment on the said
methods, I finish my account just as I started it – the supposed
applauses should be replaced by the already invoked sound of one
hand...”

Nebojša Milenkovoć
Publisher / The Iwano Project FOUNDATION
Cheef in editor / Aleksandar Pedović
Design of printing and PDF cataloque, and processing of photo / Aleksandar Pedović
Cover pattern /Unique artwork maked on the famous hand made large size Japanese paper
WASHI – Kumohada Mashi, with unique mechanical treatment, and painted by pure clear water
by A. P.
Hand made paper / Unique hand made paper is from Heizaburo Iwano old manufacture – Japan
Photos of artowks / Michal Madacki
PREPRESS / Nikola Stojanović
Translation / Marko Pedović
Printing / Stojkov – Novi Sad
Number of copy: 900
Novi Sad, Serbia
© The Iwano Project FOUNDATION 2013 – 2018
October 2018

CIP - Каталогизација у публикацији

Библиотека Матице српске, Нови Сад

75.023-035.437(100)"2018"(083.824)

ИВАНО пројекат. Изложба (2018 ; Београд, Нови Сад)

RetroX ; The Iwano Project Foundation ; Silent women : Beograd, Galerija
Progres / [design and C.A.D. processing of photo Aleksandar Pedović ;
reproduction of art works Mihal Madacki ; translation Marko Pedović]. - Novi
Sad : The Iwano Project, 2018 (Novi Sad : Stojkov). - [64] str. : ilustr. u boji ; 30
cm
Tiraž 900.
ISBN 978-86-86237-10-1

a) Сликарство - Материјали - Јапански папир - 2018 - Изложбени каталози

COBISS.SR-ID 326139655