KIM MIKASOVIĆ / SINCE IT IS DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE IN LASTING PEACE
Solo exhibition
FROM THE PREFACE OF THE EXHIBITION
"As a result of many years of artistic research and two interventions in the space of the Old Hospital in Split, the artist problematizes the interdimensional aspects of the health system through a cycle of three works. She reflects on the symbolism of the space of the former hospital, following its transformations through various historical circumstances. The author approaches archival material not only analytically, but also creates a sensory and emotional relationship with the material, which inspired the creation of this cycle.
Contact Zones is the first work of the cycle, which consists of four scenes in glass, modeled after illustrations from a military first aid manual. It focuses on tactile communication at the moment of receiving first aid. The figures are depicted in life size, executed in the form of a negative relief, creating the impression of an imprinted touch. The strength and fragility of the glass, which embodies something intimate and fragile like human contact, evoke the harshness of this action. Scenes of tenderness imprisoned in the cold material create a tense contrast and evoke a sense of vulnerability.
Through her research, the author comes to lesser-known knowledge about the existence of a war shelter in the hospital building, as evidenced by five photographs. In the series Shelter, using the technique of smoothing aquatint and etching, she reconstructs the aforementioned photographs, questioning the weight and symbolism of the shelter within the hospital space. By using raw materials and minimal contact with the substrate, she brings a new dimension of forgotten space to the narrative.
The third work, through hundreds of drawings and collages, brings together these topics. The layering of the exhibition and the delicacy of the material hint at a neglected aspect of health care. Using references from the original archival material, the paper Chapter on Care seeks to deepen the issue of care in health care, emphasizing the contrast of historical and contemporary roles.
The entire cycle synthesizes reflection on empathy in the provision of medical assistance, pointing to the frequent dominance of institutional coldness and procedurality."
Teuta Stančić
FROM THE CURRICULUM VITAE
Kim Mikasović was born in 2001 in Split and lives in Kaštel Lukšić. She graduated from the Department of Painting at the Academy of Arts in Split in the class of prof. art. Neli Ružić. She realized her first solo exhibition entitled Premieres 88 at the Loggia / Golden Gate Center for Culture and Lifelong Education in Split in 2023 and participated in several group exhibitions, of which we highlight the exhibition Disassemble, Assemble, Teach – Module 2 and Module 3 at the Museum of Fine Arts in 2024 and 2025, then the exhibition Work, Text Context – Temporality in Split in 2023 and the SC Gallery in Zagreb in 2024, the exhibition New Horizons in 2024 at the Flora Gallery in Dubrovnik and the international exhibition of contemporary art Spazio e Luci nelle Arti in Santa Maria di Sala – Villa Farsetti in 2024 in Italy.
Teuta Stančić Teuta Stančić was born in 2001 in Novo Mesto, Slovenia. She graduated from the Tourism and Hospitality School in Split, majoring in hotel and tourism technician. She is a second-year graduate student of art history and English language and literature at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Split.
ABOUT THE A4 PROJECT
The A4 project, led by the Museum of Fine Arts in Split, connects graduate students of art academies in order to organize an exhibition that will connect future artists and future art historians from all over Croatia. The competition is open to graduate students of the Academy of Arts in Split, the Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek, the Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka and the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in cooperation with graduate students of Art History at Croatian universities.
The 08th edition of the A4 exhibition was held in the small exhibition space of the Museum of Fine Arts in November 2025, and during 2026 it will be presented in partner institutions in Zagreb (Šira Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts), Rijeka (Kortil Gallery HKD), and Osijek (Waldinger Gallery).
The exhibition is the result of the eighth edition of the national competition for graduate students of art academies and art history studies, whose winners this year are Kim Mikasović, a student of the Academy of Arts in Split (mentor prof.art Neli Ružić, theoretical mentor dr.sc. Blaženka Perica, assistant Marieta Vulić) and Teuta Stančić, student of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Split (mentor Assoc. Prof. dr.sc. Dalibor Prančević).
The exhibition at the Šira Gallery can be viewed during the Gallery's working hours (Mon-Fri: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., Saturdays: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.) until June 2, 2026.