MLADEN SRBINOVIĆ: Man as the Measure of All Things
ON THE OCCASION OF THE 100TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY
30 September – 30 November
Authors: Svetlana Mitić and Mirko Kokić
The exhibition ‘Mladen Srbinović: Man as the Measure of All Things’, organized by the SASA Gallery in cooperation with the Museum of Contemporary Arts, will unfold to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of this notable artist, academician and professor, whose work has undoubtedly contributed to the development of Serbian and Yugoslav art scene during the second half of the 20th and first decade of the 21st centuries.
Visitors will have the opportunity to view more than fifty paintings, graphics, and drawings, as well as documentary materials related to Mladen Srbinović’s work and creative process. The body of work at the exhibition spans the early post-war decades, focusing on the 1960s, to showcase Srbinović’s pivotal positions in Serbian and Yugoslav art surroundings, forming a unique narrative of socialist modernism. Through several thematic units, Mladen Srbinović’s basic thematic interests are mapped, fundamental for his art practice. He remained committed to figuration, oriented towards the traditional understanding of the painting medium within whose framework he explored its artistic possibilities, introducing elements of contemporary artistic expressions in a unique way.
Through his displayed works, visitors will see an overview of how Mladen Srbinović’s artistic practices evolved over decades, preserving a continuous connection to painting as a self-sufficient medium capable of transforming from within through its own logic. In addition to his painting practice, Srbinović—a member of the post-war generation of graphic artists—made a lasting contribution to graphic art. Additionally, he produced a number of mosaics, which the exhibition will showcase through sketches for some mosaics and a video presentation of the mosaic ‘The Creation of a New Yugoslavia’ housed at the Palace of Federation (now the Palace of Serbia). Furthermore, the very edifice of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts constitutes an exhibition unit encompassing stained glass windows in the Grand Hall and foyer in front of the Hall.
The artworks which are to be displayed within the exhibition have been on loan from the collections from the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Gallery of Fine Arts – Gift Collection of Rajko Mamuzić in Novi Sad, the Chess Association of Belgrade, the Zepter Museum, as well as the artist’s family estate and numerous private collections and galleries.
The exhibition is accompanied by a bilingual catalogue with texts provided by Svetlana Mitić and Mirko Kokir, the authors of the exhibition, as well as interviews with the artist, his biography, and extensive visual documentation.