Jim Radakovich

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Radakovich's style (pronounced rah-DAHK-oh-vich) is a combination of Neo-Surrealism, Appropriation and NeoModernism. The figures in his work are posed in psychologically ambiguous terms. The elongated heads are Icons of humans in a mechanized society grappling with the questions of desire and nature.

In his paintings, he uses cryptic relationships, sexual scenarios and psychologically charged tableaux. His Surrealistic atmospheres, cartoon like drawing and appropriated Modigliani-like heads are executed in a linear but painterly technique. The paintings are frontal and highly colored often evoking the space of Indian miniatures. His disrupted narratives beg the viewer to unravel the tale that is set before them. His canvases are filled with urban dramas where the participants struggle with the problems of modern life, often with comical results.

Dream House 49"H x 39"W   Oil on canvas 1988

The sculptural works often incorporate totem structures that stack body parts and biomorphic elements. Content is usually subconscious with an implied narrative that is often not answered. Although inspired by primitive cultural forms, Radakovich explains that they are modern urban signposts containing the dramas of city life. They hang on the wall or are freestanding. The space that is created in his new sculpture is a highly complex fusion of open space and playful shifts in scale. Surfaces are brightly painted with acrylic or coated with black rubber. Fragmented figures appear and disappear behind Modern organic forms.

             23"H x 6"W x 41/2"D  1986                     45"H x 12"W x 11"D   1988                   Fatherhood  59"H x 16"W x 12"D  1988  

Jim Radakovich is a sculptor and painter living and working in New York City. He graduated from The Maryland Institute, College of Art. His classmates included Donald Baechler, Jeff Koons, Aaron Fink and David Humphrey.

Emerging from the vibrant New York City East Village art scene of the early eighties, he has continued exhibiting in Soho, Chelsea, throughout the US and in Japan. Radakovich's work has entered the collections of many prominent Americans tastemakers including fashion designer Todd Oldham, TV's "Crossing Jordan" producer director Alan Arkush, Ford Models owner Katie Ford, hotelier Andre Balazs and the director of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Bill Arning.

Radakovich and his contemporaries were first documented in Arts Magazine in September of 1985. Written by critic Robert  Pincus-Witten and photographed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders for Arts Magazine, "The New Irascibles" an essay and portfolio of photographs was based on the celebrated photograph of the Abstract-Expressionist Group "The Irascibes" taken by Nina Leen in 1951. It was meant as a historical overview and photographic record to preserve the participants of a important scene in Manhattan where entrepreneurial artists and dealers opened their own galleries during between 1982 and 1988. After that time, most of these galleries and artists were absorbed into the Soho art world eager for new talent and they ultimately ushered in the explosion of the 80's art market boom. An update of this important group was included in the November 1999 issue of Art Forum. The historical significance of this group was established by "East Village USA" at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City in December of 2004 and satellite shows at the B-Side Gallery's "East Village ASU" and the Hal Bromm Gallery's "Vintage East Village" in January of 2005.