Sculptor Zoran Mojsilov brings his own rock show to Twin Cities venues
by Luke Taylor and Darin Kamnetz
August 23, 2023
At the corner of Malcom Avenue and 5th Street SE in Minneapolis, a massive hive of concrete and rebar greets visitors to the grounds of Surly Brewing Co. Is it a rhinoceros? A dog? A devil? A goat? For sculptor Zoran Mojsilov, a simpler evaluation rests in the eyes of the beholder. “With my work, it’s [either] you like it or you don’t like it,” he says.
Music fans in the Twin Cities can find out for themselves at Surly or in the courtyard at Icehouse, where Mojsilov’s work frames the space — and that’s not all. Mojsilov’s larger-than-life sculptures can be seen on the campus of St. Paul College, in parks throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul, in front of commercial buildings, indoors (like on Can Can Wonderland’s mini-golf course and inside northeast Minneapolis Greek restaurant Gardens of Salonica), and even in some people’s backyards.
Mojsilov’s art isn’t limited to Minnesota. “From East to West Coasts, from Texas to North Dakota,” he explains, not to mention Hawaii, France, Japan, and in his native Serbia. The sun rarely sets on all of Mojsilov’s work.
Although Mojsilov is best known for immense creations, his art wasn’t always on such a grand scale. Once a national champion in Greco-Roman wrestling in his home country — Yugoslavia, at the time — Mojsilov’s first sculpture was a wooden carving of two wrestlers that fits neatly on a table. His artistic journey eventually brought him to Paris, where he met his now-wife, Ilene Krug, a Minneapolis artist who was working in France. The two moved to the Twin Cities in 1986.
The larger spaces and inexpensive materials Mojsilov found in Minnesota pushed the evolution of his art. He began working not only in wood, but with stone and steel. In 1995, he finished his first stone-and-steel public artwork: Watcher, which stands at the north end of St. Paul’s Smith Avenue High Bridge. “I’m grateful here because Minnesota was really nice to me,” Mojsilov says, citing the many grants available to working artists. “This opportunity to make a living out of your art is really rare, and it’s hard, but it’s possible.”
When it comes to accessing inexpensive materials, Mojsilov scrounges construction sites, sometimes paying $20 to a bulldozer driver for a load of demolition debris. He has also scouted the fields where remnants of the Twin Cities’ architectural past have been laid to rest, like the carved stones from the long-gone and much-mourned Metropolitan Building in Minneapolis. “The whole city is a big boneyard,” he says.
The courtyard at Icehouse is a good example of this kind of artistic recycling. The larger slabs of bench-like stones alternate between Mojsilov’s own work and artifacts from the Metropolitan. “Every other stone is carved by me and [the other] was carved 200 years ago by my colleagues,” he says. “Not too many people can see that difference, but check it out.”
Icehouse owner Brian Liebeck is one such person who has checked it out. “Mojsilov’s stone sculpture brings a sense of legitimacy from an art perspective, and it’s an iconic piece in my mind that is basically the identity of our courtyard,” Liebeck says. “Patrons are always asking about the work and have had so many different viewpoints on it.”
Mojsilov is often asked about the message behind his art. To him, it’s personal and ever-changing. “It’s not public art,” he insists, “it’s art in the public. I make art and the public can be part of it.” He notes that the elements of sun, rain, and snow change the way it appears, and as a result, what the art has to say may change with those conditions. “I prefer my work to be part of life in general,” he says. “You can drink and eat and have a feeling around you as a whole part of it, not just looking at it.”
Back at Surly Brewing, there’s another sculpture by Mojsilov inside the Beer Garden; it’s a massive vertical splash of stone and iron called Surly Stones. That sculpture’s origins trace to Mojsilov’s 20-year friendship with Naseem and Dorit Ansari, the parents of Surly founder Omar Ansari. Naseem and Dorit commissioned the sculpture to honor Omar’s new brewery in Minneapolis. A few months after Surly’s new space opened in 2015, Naseem Ansari died. The sculpture is now a memorial to Naseem, and each year, the Ansari family, along with Mojsilov and his wife Ilene, gather at the sculpture to remember Naseem. Just like the change of weather and the change of seasons, life’s circumstances can alter the meaning of a work.
Hannah Vogel, the hospitality experience manager at Surly, sees people interacting with Mojsilov’s art every day. “We see so many photos of folks from out of town posed in front of the piece out front — it’s become more of a sign or a piece of art, it’s truly a landmark for us,” she says. “Kids are mesmerized and love to try and get away with climbing it, always a joy to see that interaction. All in all they’ve become synonymous with the Surly experience.”
Always seeking new inspiration, Mojsilov (and his hearty laugh) won’t be in the Twin Cities this summer, as he’s spending part of it in Italy and part of it back in Serbia, where he’ll be creating a sculpture in memory of his grandparents. Wherever he goes, working with the very elements beneath our feet, Mojsilov always feels a powerful connection to place. “When I’m in the States, I make American art,” he says. “When I go to France, je parle français, je bois, je mange, I try to make French sculptures. … I’m not Serb anymore. I’m not American either. I’m some mix. I try to gain something from the surroundings and try to get inspired, to make my work always fresh.
“To make something, sculpture has to have some life inside, because otherwise it’s just another rock,” he continues. “It has to have some movement, some feelings, that not everyone can see … If you pay attention, you can hear the stories of the stone, too.”
An exhibition of Zoran Mojsilov’s work is planned for the Main Gallery at the Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis, February 3 to May 26, 2024.
External Links
Zoran Mojsilov - official site
This feature is part of The Current’s 89 Days series, helping you enjoy the best of the season with weekly guides to events, entertainment, and recreation in the Twin Cities.
