The endless line of the pulse of drawing, art and life dynamically and rhythmically echoes through the Petrović Castle in Podgorica. You can hear the roar of its flow, feel the energy, tell a story and testify to the creative urge, need and spirit of an excellent artist, draftsman, educator and creator. Ilija Branko Burić from Nikšić.
With the first beats and announcement of the exhibition "Drawings" in the gallery space of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro (MSUCG), even before it was officially opened on Tuesday evening, the thought of meeting the life line of the author's creativity grew. While lovers and admirers of fine arts gathered in the park in Kruševac, his line connected all the elements into a perfect circle whose center was the artist himself.
The grand opening ceremony was reminiscent of many similar events, but the real spectacle came when the visitors entered. With their first steps in the gallery spaces, the works echoed back the art, transforming the space into a living organism.
At the entrance, guests are greeted by Burić's words: "Drawing is not learned, drawing is drawn," as well as the verses Miroslav Jovanović Timotijev dedicated to the artist. Stepping from room to room, the exhibition takes on a personified character: a series of drawings awakens respect, emotions, and the eruptive power of art that overwhelms the viewer.
Small-format works, executed in pencil and charcoal, framed or left “naked”, fill the space of the Petrović Castle, in which the drawing gains body, breath and weight. Under the simple, but almost prophetic title “Drawings”, the exhibition is not a retrospective or a catalogue, but the pulse and DNA of creativity, a demonstration of the power and importance of line, a means that requires the visitor to find themselves in its rhythm and infinity.
Hundreds of sheets, tied in rows or scattered throughout the space, do not burden the gallery nor serve as a mere manifestation of quantity. On the contrary, the curator's exhibition Marine Celebic It opens up a space to feel the value of decades of work. Drawing becomes action, energy, freedom, space and time.
In one room, drawings lie in a pile on the floor, while in another, a pile of torn papers resembles an archaeological find - destruction that precedes new creation. This destruction carries courage, self-criticism and concept, but also reminds us that art often emerges from a process of error and rejection.
The exhibition also reveals Burić's video from 2000, now shown to the public for the first time, as well as 70 percent of the works that have never been exhibited before. The half-hour recording reveals the rhythm and passion of drawing, the energy of movement and movement towards the dimension of art.
A special exhibit is a pile of used pencils, sharpened to the last centimeter. Displayed in one of the rooms, they cease to be tools and become relics of the process, fragments of the artist's identity.
The exhibition "Drawings" is not just a review of creativity, but a complete experience, a testimony of a rare gift and dedication. Line and trace, simple yet powerful, fill space and time, inspire the viewer and remind that art never stops: it disappears, is reborn, springs up and pulsates tirelessly.
Bonus video:
