Through the experience of nature and the climate from which it originates, the artist Milijana Vujović reveals to herself and the audience the secrets of Montenegrin (and everyone's) karst and stone, emphasizes the beauty and richness of nature, but also a series of other, invisible to the eye, horizons that lead her as a creator into the fields of introspection , questioning, but also retrospectively looking at the environment and circumstances in which he lives and creates.
She placed all of this in her works, which she presented at the "Secrets of Stone" exhibition. The exhibition was opened yesterday in the Modern Gallery in Podgorica, and those interested can view it until March 10.
"I am more than satisfied with the opening, considering the time and conditions of the pandemic, which is not favorable to anyone, especially not artists. However, we have to adapt, and that's what we're doing," says Vujović at the beginning of the interview with "Vijesti".
The "Secrets of the Stone" cycle was created during the last few years, and the artist, together with the manager of the Modern Gallery and art historian Petrica Duletić, selected the works that she presented herself with. A dozen oils on canvas, gallery and larger format, and about 15 watercolors of different formats are exhibited. "This is an exhibition that has been brewing for a long time and has been waiting a long time for its presentation... It is a pleasure and a necessity to present your works, because someone always has to see them. And yet, after the presentation of the works and the opening of the exhibition, I feel like a deflated balloon", says the painter with a laugh and continues: "When I paint, I bring out everything from myself and give myself to those works. I've had the urge to create since childhood and I've always known what I wanted, which is to practice fine arts. From elementary school through high school, I gravitated towards art. I try to capture life and the living moment in my works," says Vujović.
It is precisely the moment of life that is found and found in her works, through the movement of the brush, a dreamy color, the energy of nature and the environment into which the artist leads the viewer.
"My pictures are my experience of the climate from which I come. What I am painting is a Montenegrin stone, but it is not only Montenegrin but also cosmopolitan, it can be placed anywhere. The cycle was created with the motif of karst from my village, Donji Zagarač. All of us, the older we get, the more we return to our homeland... Even some of the exhibited watercolors were created there. I also plan to continue working there, in a house in the countryside, even though I have a studio in Podgorica," says Vujović. In an interview with "Vijesti", she points out that the ambience and atmosphere in which it was created can be felt in every work.
"In my opinion, working in nature is more beautiful, as is painting in natural light. You can feel it in the picture, you can feel the change in the environment... Every artist brings to the canvas everything that he experiences, experiences and surrounds him, if he is honest about his work. It is very important to be honest with yourself and your work. I'm not one of those people who woos the audience through a work of art. I create what I feel, regardless of whether anyone likes it or not. I think my art is for a narrow audience, for people with refined taste in art. However, art is an individual experience and cannot be for everyone," Vujović points out.
The assistant director of the Museums and Galleries of Podgorica, academic painter Ljiljana Kolundžić, at the opening of the exhibition yesterday, confirmed the motives behind the creative process of Milijana Vujović...
"Miliana's painting oeuvre is focused on Mediterranean themes with an emphasis on landscapes. The sea, stone, stećci, olive trees... are frequent motifs that Milijana highlights in her works. Her artistic oeuvre is made up of the connection between the warmth of her homeland and the artist's emotional experience", observed Kolundžićeva, but also art historian Petrica Duletić.
"Good knowledge of the painting craft, excellent drawing handwriting, and skillful materialization of the imagined, enable Milijana Vujović to present the deep experience of the Montenegrin climate in an impressive way, especially when she 'sculpts' a detail with exceptional materialization, raising it to the level of a symbolic motif. Inspired by a realistic environment that retains its natural characteristics, she transfers artistic reflections to the morphological peculiarities of natural matter that decomposes, swells and shines in a luxurious 'dress'. The specific tonal relationship between light and dark, the total surface and the indicated detail, as well as a kind of cinematic zooming of part of the object of the subject reality, which then becomes the main compositional element, and the interesting correlation of lines and line fields with the total surface bring, in the final sense, a very precise artistic , but also a lyrical experience," said Duletić.
She notices that Vujović introduces the observer to the world of secrets with his usual motives, and that he is especially devoted to his homeland.
"There is no human figure in Milijana's paintings, but by adding stećak to her usual motif, it is as if she introduces us to a new world, a world of secrets. On the stećaks, among other things, symbols of the sun, moon and stars indicate adoration. In this painting, Milijana dedicates hers to her native nature", Duletić concluded.
It is not easy to be an artist in Montenegro
When asked how she sees the art scene in Montenegro and what it's like to be an artist in Montenegro today, Milijana Vujović briefly answers that "it's not easy", and then explains:
"I don't think there is a smaller country and more artists. I believe for myself that I am on the right path. It is not easy to be an artist in Montenegro, there is a lot of competition, but I am one of those artists who live a more secluded way of life, I am not much on the art scene. The moment I need to present myself, I present myself, I don't act aggressively", she pointed out in an interview with "Vijesti".
Milijana Vujović was born in Podgorica in 1973. She graduated from the "Slobodan Škerović" Gymnasium, majoring in design. She graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cetinje in 1996 in the class of professor Smail Karail, department of painting. He has been a member of the Association of Fine Artists of Montenegro since 1997. She had several independent and collective presentations in the country and region.
Bonus video:
