Artist Statement:
As an abstract painter, I enjoy taking certain aspects of my physical world - such as plants, flowers, forms, and colors - and reconfiguring these things to produce dynamic, colorful, and pattern-laden abstract compositions.
The process of creating each of these pieces can differ; from starting with a basic grid, to using a particular photograph that I’ve taken, or to merely a color scheme borrowed from an object or form to begin the process. I rarely sketch out my ideas, relying more on making artistic decisions intuitively as I work through the process of painting. In this case, much of my work cycles through multiple reworkings until I settle with something that works. Sometimes, and more recently, I have begun using an iPad and iMac to sort out ideas at various stages of the making process.
The main component of each of my pieces involves patterning, sometimes mathematical and sometimes organic. For me, patterning works as a way to enhance both the forms and colors that I’ve drawn and painted on the surface, and eventually, help to inhabit each piece with a sense of movement and vitality.
Ultimately, I’m fascinated with giving order or structure to the varied and multiple disparate ideas that I have when creating. In a sense, this process of creating helps me to actively look into and investigate my world.
Bio:
MILAN JILKA (he/him/his) is a contemporary abstract painter. His work involves deconstructing and reconfiguring elements of the natural world (plants, flowers, forms, and color) into dynamic, colorful, and pattern-laden abstract compositions. Milan's work has been exhibited both locally and nationally, including the past 4 years in the Walton Arts Center’s “Our Art Regional Exhibition”, the Arkansas Arts Council’s “2024 Small Work on Paper” touring exhibition, Arc Gallery in San Francisco, and Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati. As well as creating art, Milan has been a Visual Arts Educator in Springdale, AR for the last 8 years. He has a PhD in Art Education from the University of North Texas and an MFA in Painting from the University of Arkansas. Milan is of South Asian descent, born in Thun, Switzerland, and was raised in Canada before coming to the United States.
