UM professor Ivan Albreht wore his motorcycle jacket and glasses, strode through his busy studio, trying to sort out an otherwise impossible task.

"Sorry, it made a mess," he said, putting some brushes in some makeshift plastic cups.

However, the chaos in Albrecht's studio is the work that is becoming complete, the barebones of art, the story of a man and his experiments with different materials and techniques.

Albreht teaches ceramics and sculpture in the Art Department of the University of Miami. This year, his work "Great 8 (G8) With a Small Problem" is on display in the UM teacher exhibition held at the Miami University Gallery in Wynwood. It shows a wall of masks that all represent the smiles of world leaders-including Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Angela Merkel. This is a response to the 2020 G8 summit, an annual gathering of world leaders from the eight most powerful economies.

"I see that today we are losing a battle with our own creation," Albrecht said. "Even in one of the most disastrous years of recent times, they were there, smiling, as if nothing was wrong."

Albreht was born in now disintegrated Yugoslavia. He ventured into the United States in search of a better future.

"At customs, I was asked to check the box from which country I came from," Albrecht said. "The problem is that Yugoslavia is no longer there. I don't want to choose a side."

Albrecht discussed life in the 1990s. The cultural and religious differences between different ethnic groups in Yugoslavia quickly evolved into a bloody civil war that split the country into five parts.

"They caused me trouble, so I checked China and they let me pass," Albrecht said.

Albrecht's work portrays various themes, including the fragility of the system and the illusion of certainty. In a series of works around ceramic plates, Albreht separates the ceramics and reassembles them in different ways, with flies crawling around.

"I want to challenge someone's beauty," Albreht said. "The cultural associations of flies are a bad thing, but to me they are just points."

Photo credit: Martin Hidalgo Photo credit: Martin Hidalgo

Seeing the collapse of the political system in his youth, Albrecht turned to art to further explore this phenomenon.

"This prompted me to look at things from multiple angles. Never insist on a truth," Albrecht said.

Ironically, the shape produced by such a process reflects the division of the country and the border separating its sovereignty.

In the past few years, Albrecht has withdrawn from traditional pottery and sculpture practices, focusing more on reusing old objects into pieces.

"We spent a lot of energy digging out these materials from the ground, and then hardening them into bricks, they will eventually end on this planet, who knows how long it will take?" Albrecht said. "In the context of everything that happens, how important is this elitist personal activity? As an artist who can work outside of this, what can I do?"

Instead of purchasing more materials, Albreht ventured into thrift stores such as Goodwill to bring the items back to life. Albreht also experimented with 3D printing and other digital technologies.

Photo credit: Martin Hidalgo Photo credit: Martin Hidalgo

In the beautiful chaos of his studio, there is a certain honesty in the space, and this honesty can be found in all of Albrecht's works, whether as an artist or a professor.

"I like teaching, and I find it more valuable than studio art creation," Albrecht said. "When you take a risk as a professional artist, you have to go out and survive on your job, then you have to make a lot of sacrifices because you have to cater to the audience."

As an academic artist, Albreht found himself outside of these pressures, outside the need to perform something he was not good at.

The last time Professor Albreht's work was exhibited on the main campus of UM was during his solo exhibition at the Lowe Museum of Art in 2011. Although another exhibition is scheduled to be held in the spring of 2022, it has been postponed and a new date has not yet been determined. To view more of Albreht's work, please visit his website www.albreht.com.

This series of thematic stories represents the intention to integrate the University of Malaysia's art community with the larger whole to understand their stories and showcase their works.

Featured image courtesy of Martin Hidalgo.