Cosmopolitan freedom flourishes from Danilovgrad

In the city where "man and stone happily met", a new chapter in a decades-long sculptural story opens today - the first Balkan Triennial of Small-Format Sculpture, organized by the Danilovgrad Art Colony.

At the ceremony, today at 17 pm, the following will speak: Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro Budimir Aleksic, Mayor of Danilovgrad Municipality Aleksandar Grgurovic, graphic designer and professor Tatjana Burzanović and business director of the Danilovgrad Art Colony Andrija RadulovićThe program will be completed by a guitarist. Borjan Radovic and an actress Mirjana Spaic.

The exhibition was conceived by a sculptor and curator Velibor PavićevićA luxurious accompanying catalogue was also published, translated into English and French, for which the photographs were taken by Nenad Mandic, and design academic graphic artist and professor Mirko Toljic, published by the Art Colony. Prominent art professionals spoke about the importance and significance of the establishment, and then the realization and future of this event: art historians Ljiljana Karadzic, Lucija Djuraskovic, Rajka Boskovic, as well as a writer and art critic Dragan Jovanović Danilov.

Radulović told "Vijesti" that the idea and implementation of this event, the first of its kind in Danilovgrad and Montenegro, has already proven successful.

"We want to introduce the public to the latest thinking and trends in contemporary sculptural art, which implies constant evaluation and institutional support... And the fact that our ambitious idea succeeded is evidenced by the fact that 33 renowned artists from eight Balkan countries responded to our invitation, including one Djordje Čpajak who has over a hundred sculptures in public spaces in 33 countries, then Petar Hranueli from Croatia, Velislav Milenkov who was a long-time Minister of Culture of Bulgaria, academician of CANU Pavle Pejović and others... We hope that this international event will come to life with the support of the Municipality of Danilovgrad and the Ministry of Culture and Media, who have so far been understanding of our work and have provided us with full support for new content that significantly enriches our cultural life," said the director of the Art Colony.

The Balkan Triennial of Small Format Sculpture brings together 33 eminent sculptors from: Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro.

Small format, big context

Jovanović Danilov assesses that the exhibition displays an impressive collection of sculptures and states that he sees the event as "the flourishing of a large cosmopolitan territory of freedom for sculptural feeling and thought."

Đurašković points out that the event enables us to see the Balkans as a complex and heterogeneous cultural space.

“The First Balkan Triennial of Small-Format Sculpture does not seek to define a unique 'Balkan style'. On the contrary, its value lies in the presentation of the Balkans as a relational space of a network of cultural, historical and artistic relationships that are constantly being re-examined,” she says.

Speaking about the exhibition, Jovanović Danilov states that the works represented range "from traditional, figural sculpture imbued with a fine symbolic, lyrical and metaphysical charge, to works preoccupied with the abstraction of highly aestheticized forms."

"This exhibition, which uses stone, metal, wood and terracotta as materials, leads us to reflect on the meaning of sculpture today, on its precious aura, interpretative power and plastic issues," he says.

Đurašković notes that stone, metal, wood, ceramics, but also modern industrial and hybrid materials, are not treated as mere carriers of form, but as carriers of meaning.

“Their texture, weight, fragility, or durability become an integral part of the artistic expression. The material here incorporates layers of geography, history, and cultural memory, transforming the sculpture into a condensed archive of experiences. Especially in the Balkan context, the material often mediates complex historical and identity narratives,” Đurašković points out.

Karadžić says that the exhibition encompasses a wide range of expressions: from reduced and minimalist structures, through figurative and associative forms, to works that move on the border of object, design and spatial installation. He also reminds that the small format is often understood as a more intimate and subtle form of expression, and in this context it shows its full power.

"This event confirms that sculpture, even on a small scale, retains the power to think, feel and communicate silently but steadily, in dialogue with the time and space in which it is created," she says.

Đurašković also believes that small-format sculpture is not a mere question of dimension, but a strategy of thinking.

“In a culture marked by spectacle, hyperproduction of images and monumental gestures, the small format acts as a conscious departure as a space of concentration, precision and restraint. Such a sculpture does not dominate the space, but activates it through proximity and silence. It demands time and attention, inviting the viewer into a more intimate relationship with the work,” he points out.

Danilovgrad as a mythical place

Karadžić also reminds that the event takes place in a space with a strong and long-lasting artistic memory, so Danilovgrad, with its Art Colony, is not only the spatial framework of the exhibition, but also its essential context. Bošković highlights as a special value the fact that the organizer of this event is also a long-time organizer of the Art Colony of large-format stone sculptures, whose works are spread throughout the city...

"Such a tradition of the presence of sculptural works in the immediate living environment allows future Triennial participants to experience, on site, a completely authentic feeling of this unique world of stone sculpture, which lives among the trees, surrounded by the interesting architecture of the city," Bošković pointed out.

All of this, Karadžić states, has made the Danilovgrad Art Colony a place of meeting, work and exchange for decades, and sculpture is not just an exhibit, but a process, experience and dialogue between artists, materials and space.

“In this context, the Triennial takes on a special significance: it builds not only on contemporary trends, but also on the local tradition of sculptural practice, confirming the colony as one of the key points of the regional artistic network,” he says.

It is not surprising, then, that Jovanović Danilov titled the text for the accompanying catalogue: “Danilovgrad - the point Alef, from which the whole world can be seen” placing this city in Borgesova dimension.

"In Danilovgrad, man and stone happily met," wrote Andrija Radulović so accurately and deeply truthfully. "This poet wanted to say that in the beautiful city of Danilovgrad, a very special spatial organization has been brought to life, in which sculptures by artists from all over the world have become part of the very essence of this city, this quintessential town that has grown into a mythical place. They give a multifaceted meaning to today's living reality, not only of Danilovgrad, but also of Montenegro," he points out.

Bošković points out that the triennial concept - holding the event every third year, allows organizers to conduct thorough, studious and professional preparation, organization and realization, and that it will contribute to a richer and more complex international art scene.