"Birthing/Building"

Milica Rakočević (b. 1996, Kraljevo) completed her undergraduate and master’s studies in the Sculpture Department at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade, in the class of Professor Zdravko Joksinović. She is currently pursuing doctoral studies at the same faculty. During her studies, as part of a cultural exchange program, she spent time at the Faculty of Arts in Xi'an, China, where she held her first solo exhibition. She has held four other solo exhibitions (in Belgrade and Šabac) and participated in over twenty group exhibitions. She is the recipient of four awards for her sculpture work. She has participated in sculpture symposia in Poland and Bulgaria, as well as the DMV art colony in Niš.

Miodrag Samardžić (b. 1988, Šabac) completed his undergraduate and master’s studies in the Sculpture Department at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade. He has held five solo exhibitions (in Šabac and Belgrade) and exhibited in over ten group exhibitions. He is the recipient of the Savski Venac Municipality Award for wood sculpture (2013, 2014) and the Šabac October Salon Award (2014, 2024). His sculpture "Hedgehog" (*Jež*) was acquired for the collection of the Zepter Museum in Belgrade. He participated in the "Marble and Sounds" sculpture symposium in Aranđelovac and the DMV art colony in Niš.

Milica Rakočević and Miodrag Samardžić are both an artistic duo and a married couple. While their life paths have converged, their artistic bodies of work evolve along parallel yet distinct individual trajectories. These differences are evident on both semantic and experiential levels—specifically regarding themes, motifs, and formal execution.

Milica Rakočević focuses on the feminine principle, defined through the theme of childbirth. She approaches the physical form through fragmentation, isolating a symbol that embodies the essence of womanhood—a symbol she sculpts in a wide variety of ways. In these transformations of form, one discerns an intent to symbolically represent the full spectrum of a woman's emotional states—ranging from joy and happiness to the pain and trauma associated with bringing new life into the world. By utilizing and combining diverse materials—both traditional and unconventional—the artist grounds her sculptural expression in contrasts. The artist juxtaposes dark, solid, and heavy-looking Corten steel surfaces—or silvery aluminum forms that convey an impression of coldness and purity—with intensely red central elements (made of glass, plastic, or fabric). In doing so, she not only materializes the distinction between the body's outer and inner worlds but also visualizes the experience of corporeality with great artistic creativity and imagination. Milica Rakočević’s sculptures are characterized by a refined, sophisticated visual vocabulary and exceptionally precise technical execution.

Miodrag Samardžić draws upon memories of his own childhood and times past. He takes objects that exist in the real world as functional items—such as brushes and gadgets that once served as his playthings—and sculpturally transforms them in a convincing and imaginative manner, thereby introducing them into the realm of art. A significant step forward in Samardžić’s sculptural body of work is the transition from sculptures of a so-called "gallery format"—which act as fragments of an intimate narrative—to monumental, site-specific sculptures that function as events within a space. His large, five-meter-long "Zeppelin" is essentially a Constructivist-style sculptural object; it features a rigid internal metal skeleton that maintains the elongated form, while a transparent film—acting like a membrane—shapes and defines the structure, rendering the interior visible. The complex construction appears powerful yet is simultaneously fragile and vulnerable; perhaps one can discern in it a subtle metaphor for modern man—torn between aspirations and limitations, the urge to soar, and the constant risk of a fall.

The exhibition runs until October 11.

by Nebojsa

EXHIBITION OF ZORAN GRAOVEC'S PAINTINGS

REFLECTION OF REALITY AND DREAMS

The painting of Zoran Graovac, a professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade, is recognizable by his specific interpretation of pointillism and divisionism, where classical optical synthesis is transformed into a contemporary, rhythmic and material painting language.

The key features of his pointillistic approach include: stroke, optical vibrations and light, rhythm and texture, as well as the merging of the analytical and the expressive.

When it comes to stroke, Graovac, unlike the strict, small and uniform pointillism of Georges Syre, uses wider, more expressive dots and spots.

By applying pure pigments and tones next to each other, Graovac achieves a strong sense of flickering light and air. Instead of preparing the final shade on the palette, he builds the fabric of the landscape by applying pigment to pigment. Dense pasty layers of paint create a micro-relief on the canvas, so that the painting reacts to the real light in space. The point represents the main supporting element of form and space, and not only for the optical mixing of color.

The painting is "assembled" only in the eye of the observer when moving away from the canvas. His landscape composition is characterized by a dense tactile layer of paint (impasto) and the rhythmic repetition of strokes that structure the entire surface of the canvas. By combining the analytical and expressive through a scientific approach to color, through personal gesturality in his own unique way, he gives the paintings a dynamic and meditative character. This thematic framework relies on classical painterly motifs, but through pointillistic and divisionist processing he translates them into contemporary visual explorations of light, space, and materiality. In this way, he emphasizes the airiness and dissolution of solid forms through flickering spots, creating the impression of morning light, twilight or sun glare. Trees, grass, water and sky are not sharply demarcated, their boundaries merge through the aforementioned optical mixing of adjacent tones, which achieves a feeling of constant movement and vibration in space.

Zoran Graovac was born in Belgrade in 1965. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade, received his master's degree in the class of Jovan Sivački, and his doctorate in the class of Prof. Milutin Dragojević. He has been a member of ULUS since 1991. So far, he has organized 15 solo exhibitions and participated in over 200 collective exhibitions in the country and abroad. He is the winner of the painting award from the Rista and Beta Vukanović Fund, the purchase of a painting from the 31st October Salon, and the award of the first Biennial of Church Art. He has created a large number of monumental mosaics and murals. In addition to painting, he also works with drawing, sculpture, mosaics, and handmade paper.

He has been working at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade since 1994 as a professor of Drawing and Evening Acts, and since 2008 he has been teaching the course "Wall Painting - Mosaic", and is a member of the FLU Council. He is currently the director of the Center for Graphics and Visual Research of the Academy. His works are in public and private collections in the country and abroad.

Zoran Graovac's exhibition "Reflection of Reality and Dreams" will be open until September 15, 2026.

by Nebojsa

Exhibition of Paintings by Đorđe Stanojević

EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS BY ĐORĐE STANOJEVIĆ

Đorđe Stanojević is one of the most prominent contemporary Serbian visual artists and professors, recognized for a distinctive and radical approach to painting that directly links art and ecology. After a successful career as an art director in the advertising world, Stanojević made a complete shift; he left the urban pace of life behind to dedicate himself entirely to creating art within and with the help of nature itself.
The philosophy and methodology behind his work can be summed up as "Painting like nature."

He believes that one should not merely paint motifs *from* nature, but rather create in the same way that nature creates. His works are produced under the open sky, outdoors, regardless of weather conditions. He places the canvas horizontally on the ground and begins the process by applying natural pigments, then allows nature to complete the painting. Rain washes away the paint, the sun dries it, and the wind deposits particles. The painting evolves into a dialogue between the artist and nature. In addition to pigments, he uses non-art materials such as mud, straw, sawdust, ash, and manure. These materials carry the energetic code of the specific location where the work is created. Đorđe Stanojević’s new series of works, "Fractals," represents a natural yet fascinating aesthetic step forward for this distinguished Serbian artist. Known for his profound dialogue with nature, Stanojević goes a step further in this cycle: he moves beyond merely observing nature to mapping its fundamental laws. The most striking feature of this series is the blurring of boundaries between the micro and macro worlds. Texture is powerfully emphasized. In short, Stanojević and the "Fractals" series offer a potent visual meditation on the hidden order within nature’s apparent chaos. This is art that does not merely imitate life but employs life processes to bear witness to the inextricable bond between humanity, the earth, and the cosmos.

Stanojević is the founder and director of the international platform "Natur and Art," which is dedicated to merging natural and artistic processes through residencies and various projects. The platform’s headquarters and workspace are frequently situated in authentic natural settings across Serbia—most notably in the region surrounding Osečina, near Valjevo, where the artist has his roots. His works are held in significant public and private collections worldwide—including the Zepter Museum in Belgrade, the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, and collections in France, the USA, Germany, and Italy—while the Gallery of Contemporary Fine Art in Niš also houses his work following his participation in the Sićevo Art Colony. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade. To date, he has held over 45 solo exhibitions. In addition to his artistic practice, he is engaged in teaching as a full professor at the Faculty of Contemporary Arts in Belgrade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnenerNlMhI

by Nebojsa

Из колекције Центра за савремену графику „Flatbed Press”

Из колекције Центра за савремену графику „Flatbed Press” из града Остина у Тексасу, у Сједињеним америчким државама. Изложбу чине 45 графика 36 америчких уметника различих генерација. 

Flatbed Press – центар за савремену графику је основан 1989. године у Остину. То је професионални графички атеље и издавачка кућа која сарађује са више од 150 уметника из САД и иностранства. Центар је специјализиран за литографију, рељефну штампу, гравирање и експерименталне процесе који померају границе традиционалних графичких техника. Центар има властиту колекцију која броји више од 5000 графичких листова. Радови ове штампарске куће заступљени су у Конгресној библиотеци и водећим музејима широм Америке.

Flatbed Press је својеврстан спој отвореног атељеа и галерије јер се поред високопрофесионалног штампања бави и организацијом изложби и едукативном праксом кроз радионице и студијска путовања.

Оснивач, власница и директорка центра је уметница Катарина Бломбери која је сачинила избор радова за изложбу у Нишу. Госпођа Бломбери је 2019. године била гост нишког Универзитета, када су успостављени контакти са Галеријом савремене ликовне уметности посредством професора Слободана Радојковића. Сада ће у Нишу боравити Џошуа Орсборн водећи графички штампар у Центру, који руководи интерактивним пројектима и програмима стажирања пружајући обуку студентима и младим графичарима. Он ће 27. маја студентима Факултета уметности у Нишу представити свој опус и активности центра.

Нишка галерија је далеке 1972. године први пут приредила изложбу „Америчке графике“ коју су чинила дела Раушемберга, Де Кунинга, Стеле, Лихтенштајна... Ова изложба такође садржи дела реномираних уметника међу којима су: Тери Ален, Мигуел Арагон, Бејли Лиу, Лилијан Портер...

Изложба ће трајати до 1. јуна.

by Nebojsa

RANKA RADOVANOVIĆ

DISTANCING

RANKA RADOVANOVIĆ

23. АПРИЛ - 19. МАЈ 2026
ПАВИЉОН У ТВРЂАВИ

(UN) NATURAL DISTANCE
The cycle of paintings by Belgrade artist Ranka Radovanović is called “Distancing”, as the paintings primarily depict interior segments that create a distance between man and nature. These scenes establish a boundary between the landscape and the large glass surfaces of the apartments through which we observe it. It feels as though the cold would rush in the moment a window was opened. Yet, this is not that pleasant morning chill one welcomes wrapped in a blanket with a cup of tea. The coldness in these oil paintings is almost metaphysical. The urban individual seeks to escape the nightmarish clamor of big cities and traffic, but only for a weekend, without the actual responsibilities and expenses that living in nature demands. He seeks an instant solution for happiness and health. One such solution is renting  luxury apartments in nature – being outside the city, yet still safely removed from mud, insects, and wild animals. A true return to nature is inseparable from a return to oneself, yet, few have
courage for such a challenge. The comfy “armchair traveler” is not ready for deprivation or selfdenial. The composition of Radovanović’s large-scale painting titled “Apartment II” is almost entirely occupied by a grey-black curtain, drawn just enough to reveal a sliver of a mountain in the mist. What fascinates in this painting is the materialization of something as aesthetically unexciting as grey curtain. The draped curtain is rendered so skillfully that one can almost feel the texture of the fabric under his fingertips.

The painting “Apartment I” is divided into two sections by a similar grey curtain. On one side are the forest and mountains, while the other features a turquoise couch with a chandelier and large glass surfaces through which the view extends. These misty scenes viewed through the glass of minimalist apartments instill a sense of unease, almost anxiety in a focused observer, probably because the landscape is confined, standing in direct contrast to the notion of the outdoors as a symbol of freedom and infinity. There is nothing in these interiors to suggest human presence—not a breadcrumb nor a candy wrapper; nothing individual or authentic, and thus, nothing essentially human. The painting “River”, from the “Distancing” cycle, also depicts a river›s flow through the large glass surfaces of an apartment. In Radovanović’s work, a range of grey tones is present both in her interiors and her depictions of the river. Grey is also dominant in the painting titled “Sun”. Likewise, within this context, we observe the contrast between the straight lines and right angles that define the interior space and the organic lines of the hills in the distance. The sun blinks faintly, bringing in only a touch of light without any real warmth.

If we are hit by nostalgia for a childhood spent at a grandmother’s countryside home, we look for warmth, love, and freedom in paintings of nature. Such concepts cannot be found in these works. This cycle of oil paintings by Ranka Radovanović visually conveys the extent to which we, as a civilization immersed in conformism, have become alienated from nature. The feeling that overwhelms us if we observe these paintings a little longer is one of an uncomfortable emptiness, void of words and emotions; the overall impression is deeply claustrophobic. The depictions on these paintings resemble generated interiors that artificial intelligence might offer if we requested the perfect image of a weekend getaway apartment for a businessman returning to the stock market by Monday. The observers cannot immerse themselves in or enjoy the scene, as they subconsciously feel there is no place for them there—they simply do not fit in. Everything in these oil paintings feels like an uncomfortable and ominous simulacrum of reality.

Dragana Garić Jovičić

by Nebojsa

"Searching for the Homeland" by Zdravko Mirčeta

On Thursday, April 2nd, starting at 7 p.m., the opening of the exhibition "Searching for Homeland" by Zdravko Mirčeta will take place in the Pavilion in the Fortress. The exhibition consists of paintings from the artist's recent work.

Zdravko Mirčeta was born in 1951 in Miočić, Dalmatia. He graduated from the School of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb. He graduated in 1978 from the Department of Graphic Design at the Academy of Arts in Zagreb.

In addition to his fine art, he has also achieved notable results in the fields of graphic design, television and theater set design, and heraldry. He has designed a large number of posters, newspapers, literary publications, and other printed publications. He has received several awards for his work.

He exhibited in many cities of Yugoslavia and Serbia (Šibenik, Split, Benkovac, Zagreb, Varaždin, Knin, Dubrovnik, Trebinje, Banja Luka, Laktasi, Belgrade, Lazarevci, Kragujevac, Niš, Požarevac, Apatin, Raška), as well as abroad (Essen/ Germany; Dijon/France; Stockholm/Sweden...). He has the status of an independent artist. He lives and works in Belgrade and Stockholm.

The exhibition in Niš, since it is based on the latest paintings of Zdravko Mirčeta, represents a striking cross-section of the current poetics of the artist who has been present on our art scene for decades. Genre-oriented towards landscape, these works are stylistically and formally moving around an imaginary line between the associative and the abstract, with a greater or lesser approximation to one or the other expression. The landscape is decoded by painting means into planes of interconnected organic forms or is sublimated to the level of connecting horizontal fields. The painted matter rests on the interaction of multi-layered painted surfaces and freely placed "sharp" lines that give the entire scene a constructivist structure. The degree of illusoryness grows at the expense of physical persuasiveness. The diversity of motifs causes expressive - creative amplitude, so the stroke varies from energetic and fast to calm and controlled, and the achieved atmosphere from dramatic to lyrically elegiac. In a word, the landscape is transformed into a complex emotional, symbolic and visual experience. The title of the cycle itself (Searching for Homeland) and the personal fate of the artist, who, due to the disintegration of the former country, was displaced from his own homeland (Dalmatian hinterland and Knin), allow the conclusion that these works, at their semantic level, imply a symbolic consideration of the issue of homeland as a cultural phenomenon and metaphorically testify to the fate of the displaced who, in their intimate emotional and thought code, strive to unite the two often opposed worlds that mark them. With the stroke of the brush, Zdravko Mirčet seems to symbolically record the dramaturgy of life.

The exhibition will run until April 21.

by Nebojsa

BENEATH THE SURFACE

Vukašin Stanković

BENEATH THE SURFACE

Vukašin Stanković’s artistic practice has been developing for a decade as a continuous and consistent exploration of the psychological state of the symbol, using the expressive potential of the medium of classical painting. Starting from modeling as a key artistic and conceptual pillar, the artist builds complex visual narratives in which personal, internal states gradually intertwine with broader social, political and cultural frameworks. Therefore, his paintings do not try to illustrate reality, but to critically reflect
on a world in which tensions, fears, forms of control, manipulation and violence have become an integral part of everyday life. During his formative years, Stanković was shaping his paintings on a clearly defined poetics of the body, initially through the subject matter primarily conditioned by personal experiences, only to be expanded and supported by broader social contexts later. Consequently, the theme of his previous body of work “Shadows and Depths”, exhibited in 2016 at the ULUS Gallery in Belgrade, is marked by the artist’s long-term water polo playing. Through depictions of bodies in motion/at rest, the author wanted to present the spiritual effort that accompanies the physical effort of athletes in achieving new levels of endurance of the human body, in order to enter the demanding world of water polo, and to present the experienced beauties and dangers of the sport itself.

The development of his further expression is characterized by a gradual transformation, in which ideas, formal procedures and conceptual interests are naturally transferred from one phase to another. Namely, as the artist himself emphasizes, the symbol of his work remains “the foundation and creator of everything”, while its evolution follows the changes of the author and the world he lives in. It is through this variability that the artist opens up space for reflection on human nature, primarily in the context
of psychological relationships that an individual, consciously or unconsciously, establishes with the systems that surround him. The new body of work “Beneath the Surface” represents a continuation of these analyses, with a clear focus on reflecting on contemporary social phenomena: alienation, social anxiety, aggression, violence, as well as institutionalized mechanisms of control and media manipulation. These phenomena are not depicted directly, but are visually summarized in allegorical scenes of strong dramatic intensity. Although deeply rooted in subjective experience, they deal with the ways in which personal states, behavioral patterns and relationships formed in intimate settings, such as family, are transmitted, multiplied and mirrored within social structures and systems of power.

The range of themes that Stanković depicts is based on elements of everyday life, with the man at the center. However, the forms in the paintings are not portraits of specific people, but rather carriers of certain states. Their identity remains unspoken, and their faces often appear personified or masked, which emphasizes the distance between the individual and the group. They take on the roles assigned to them, participating in repetitive patterns of behavior. In certain works, recognizable political actors,
national flags, as well as symbolic elements such as arches, balloons, etc., appear, whereas particular place is assigned to cartoon characters, which are introduced as part of the collective memory of childhood, but placed in an altered, often disturbing context, where they lose their innocence and become carriers of learned identities and values. Consequently, the spaces in which the figures are placed are most often closed, shallow, or vaguely defined. They also do not function as realistic depictions of specific places, but rather as psychological and social frameworks that reinforce feelings of pressure, tension, and confinement. The colossal dimensions of these planes and the dominance of black, on the one hand, and the intense color palette, on the other, further enhance the tension of the scene. Fragments of bodies and shapes emerge from the dark, almost abstract space, whose form is simultaneously shaped and dissolved by light. The physical is decomposed into masses, lines, and colors, and the distinct tension on the canvas is the result of the continuous process of transition from form to abstraction and abstraction to formation. However, the expressiveness of Stanković’s paintings does not stem only from the dynamics of the movements of the depicted bodies, sudden gestures, and sharp foreshortenings, but from the painter ′s stroke itself, as well. In addition to the brush, the artist uses his hands and fingers, thus making the painting a direct hint of bodily action. Gestural imprints become a sign of the presence of the painter’s body, shifting the focus from representation to the act of painting itself as a physical and dramatic experience.

Finally, the absence of a single narrative is one of the key features of Vukašin Stanković’s work; he does not offer ready-made answers, but leaves possibility for different interpretations. The connotation is formed within the spectator’s encounter with the painting, through the recognition of his own experiences and positions within the depicted structures. As the artist himself states, at the moment when inner conflict and inner peace ”reconcile”, the painting ceases to be a place of struggle and becomes
a place of understanding, not the end of the process, but its temporary equilibrium and the basis for further exploration.

Katarina Kuč, art historian

by Nebojsa

EXHIBITION OF THE ART COLONY SIĆEVO 2024/25

by Nebojsa

PROMOTION OF THE MONOGRAPH AND RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION OF MIODRAG DAJA ANĐELKOVIĆ

PROMOTION OF THE MONOGRAPH AND RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION OF MIODRAG DAJA ANĐELKOVIC

* PAVILION IN THE FORTRESS - THURSDAY, 2 October 2025 at 7 pm

The promotion will be attended by Radmila Vlatković, museum advisor, Zvonimir Kostić Palanski, writer, Ljubiša Brković, artist and Radmila Kostić, author of the monograph

MIODRAG DAJA ANĐELKOVIC was born on 6 April 1945 in Jelasnica.

He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade in 1970 in the class of Professor Miodrag Rogić. He completed his postgraduate studies at the same Academy in 1972 in the class of Professor Boško Karanović. While still a student, he participated in the conservation of churches in Kuršumlija, Tutin, Crna Rijeka, and Prizren. He was a member of the ULUS and the Society of Serbian Artists "LADA" and Group A. As a scholarship holder of the "Moša Pijade" fund, he attended professional training in Paris (1980).

In addition to participating in exhibitions, he actively participated in the artistic life of the city and wrote professional texts for "Narodne novine".

He published the textbook "On Graphic Arts" (1986), and much later published the book "Memory as an Incidental Occurrence" published by the NCC (2011).

He regularly participated in the work of the Art Colonies "Classic" (1994 - 1995), the Art Colonies "Sićevo" (1976, 1993 and 2014), and the Graphic Workshop Sićevo (2007).

Since 2018, he has been a member of the editorial board of the "Architect" newsletter of the Society of Architects of Niš. He has spent his entire working life as an expert advisor at the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Niš.

In addition to painting and drawing, he has been engaged in essay writing and art criticism.

He has held 35 solo exhibitions and more than 300 collective exhibitions.

He has been awarded 12 times for his work. He has exhibited abroad at collective exhibitions in Lucerne, Basel, Aarau, Rheinach, Bucharest, Paris, Varna, Kuwait and Jordan.

He passed away on September 15, 2021 in Niš.

Through Miodrag Anđelković's layered oeuvre, we are introduced to a multitude of styles and techniques, following his desire to experiment, for new, more dynamic content.

In search of new challenges through the eternal dilemma between the beginning and the final form, he reduces his artistic language by taking from nature only what suits his current meditative state. During the process of creation itself, he determines the degree of expressiveness, complexity, liveliness and authenticity.

The basic idea guiding the entire creative act of Miodrag Anđelković is the creation of an authentic work of art that, in its hidden meanings, carries the truth and reality of the experienced. With a recognizable artistic language, he softens the boundaries between the visible and the invisible, confronting imaginary worlds.

Exploring new artistic paths, he forms unexplored secret passages into his own universe, combining the organic and the inorganic, the concrete and the irrational.

The motifs of his graphics, drawings, watercolors and paintings are inspired by imagination, memories, literature or everyday events, giving them dimensions of the timeless, eternal.

During the creative process, he forms his own imaginary in an original, imaginative way as a complex visual expression that stimulates various associations.

Bringing the thought and the emotion into a harmonious, mystical balance, he skillfully moves in a wide range from the figurative, through the associative, to the completely abstract.

Setting high professional standards, he always returns to pure, original visual expression.

As an accomplished artist and Eurydice, in addition to working in painting and graphic techniques, he also dealt with painting, conservation and restoration of frescoes, essay writing and art criticism.

Standing out with its carefully constructed, mature, artistic expression, the work of Miodrag Anđelković represents a significant segment in the consideration of not only Niš, but also the entire contemporary Serbian painting.

by Nebojsa

In Between

Pavilion in Tvrđava, exhibition by Mia Arsenijević – artist from Kragujevac.

The exhibition titled In Between consists of acrylic paintings and works made in the embroidery technique.

Mia Arsenijević was born in 1985 in Kragujevac. She completed her undergraduate and master's studies in painting at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad. She received her doctorate in 2015 at the University of Arts in Belgrade. She is employed as an associate professor at the Faculty of Pedagogical Sciences in Kragujevac, teaching courses in the field of fine arts with methodology. She is also engaged at the Faculty of Arts in Niš for the course Methodology of Fine Arts Education. She is actively engaged in artistic, scientific and pedagogical work. She has exhibited her work 23 times in many cities in Serbia. She has participated in more than 50 collective exhibitions. She has won 3 awards for her artistic work. She is the author of more than 20 scientific papers in the fields of theory, art history and art pedagogy, as well as the textbook "A Brief Overview of the History of Art" intended for students of pedagogical faculties.

Encouraged by her own emotional and intellectual process, and her personal role as a mother and educator, Mia Arsenijević develops a unique artistic oeuvre, in which children are the main characters. Representing them in moments of play or various actions (skiing, walking, snowshoeing), the artist emphasizes the idea that play is for children the primary source of acquiring knowledge and experiences, establishing a relationship with reality, and not just harmless leisure, as the adult world usually perceives and interprets it. Children are generally synonymous with the primordial meaning of life and lasting values, but in Mia Arsenijević's paintings, children are depicted in an environment that is only indicated by some detail or on a simple, often monochrome background, that is, in an undefined space. Displacing the scene from concrete reality, the artist elevates her works to the metaphorical level of speaking about the antagonism between the exciting present and the uncertain future, in the context of personal but also collective concern for the fate of today's young generation.

The exhibition will run until September 11.

by Nebojsa