Description
The Fall. Original silkscreen, 1976. Edition of 500 signed and numbered impressions on Arches paper.
Vladimir Veličković was one of the most prominent Serbian artists of our time, and also well known at the International art scene. For a short period of time he lived in Zagreb, Croatia where he worked as an assistant in Krsto Hegedušić’s workshop. In 1966 he moved to Paris, where he still resides and works. The year before, he received the “Biennale des Jeunes” prize in Paris. Ever since 1951, when his creative activity as an artist prevailed, he has exhibited in many countries across Europe and the US. In 1985, he was also elected as a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. In addition to the numerous awards won throughout his career, one of the more prominent one is the Commandeur dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the highest French award in the field of culture and art. The beheaded human being, pierced bodies and types of torture form the central themes of his work during the 1970s. In the years after 1980 the return to colors once again gains in significance. Visconti Fine Art has collaborated with Velickovic since the early 1970s. The first collaboration was the Edition published by Visconti Fin Art Kolizej in 1973 titled “5 pieces”, a series of silkscreen and collages of 5 different motifs. Visconti Fine Art also represented Vladimir Veličković throughout the years at various art fairs across Europe. Furthermore, a unique cultural project called SPORT AND ART was initiated in 1991 between Fascination “The Gallery of Modern Art” in Switzerland and Visconti Fine Art. Five internationally renowned artists-Valerio Adami (Italy), Jean-Michel Folon (France), Jiri Kolar (Chech Republic), James Rosenquist (USA) and Vladimir Veličković (France/Serbia) have created a limited edition of artworks especially for SPORT AND ART.
We can usually see a human figure in Veličković’s art. His human figure is nude, but there is nothing erotic in these depictions, bodies are strong and muscular, always in some spasm or agony, running, jumping or falling like this. These drawings carry a dramatic restlessness of human figures that tears up the empty space and tumble into the abyss of nothingness. A sentence behind the body says: “Each individual has the power and the limits of a die that is thrown to decide life.”
