Search
Along with this portfolio, our clients also searched for the following:
Branislava Anđelković
Nikola Kusovac
Aleksandar Tomašević
Antun Motika
Mersad Berber
Petar Lubarda
Simonida Rajčević
Vasa Pomorišac
Stevan Aleksić
Silvija Jovanović
Angelina Androvic Gradisnik
Angelina Androvic Gradisnik
Human faith is a mysterious matter. Ever since early childhood, everything pointed to Angelina Androvic Gradisnik’s need for creative expression. However, she has just dedicated herself fully to painting about twenty years ago, when her canvases received what was in her heart and soul for years prior. Her love for art started out as a hobby, but with time grew into a passion increasingly influential in this artist’s creativity.
Her third individual exhibition in Berlin in March 2009, shows her significant artistic progress since her last exhibition in Belgrade in October 2008. In this relatively short time period, she is bringing abundance of new work.
Angelina Androvic Gradisnik was born in Cajnice, Republic of Srpska in 1937. She graduated from Belgrade High School for Art with degree in painting in professor Abramovic’s class, and sculpture in professor Buljevic’s class.
After that, she moved to Bijeljina to teach high school art. She was also an assistant to painter Hakija Kulenovic from Sarajevo, who lead school for gifted students.
In 1967 she visited a relative in Germany unassuming that she would stay there for life. Since 1987 Angelina has been living in Oberusel / Taunus, where she worked in a tourist section for years. While visiting museums of the world, she was able to focus on the art, which today, many years later, she is able to use as an inspiration and a pillar of her own creativity.
Her canvases show her knowledge and recognition of energy – robustness of Michelangelo, assertiveness of Chagall, movement of Picasso, palette of Matisse, sharply modeled forms of Italian Mannerists… But, those are just starting points for Angelina’s artistic research encompassed in her recognizable individual poetry and signature.
Looking at her art pieces, we can assert that each individual canvas represents its own story.
Even though she has not lived in her patria, she has suffered with the suffering of Serbian people. That is when she painted several pieces where we recognize Serbian historical figures and Angelina’s knowledge of Serbian folklore.
Much like great philosopher and poet J.W. Goethe, who was fluent in Serbian language and by translating Serbian poetry, introduced it to rest of Europe, Angelina also realized the connection between the two cultures – German and Serbian.
Angelina placed some of the historical events on her canvases. She did it to both help with the pain she was feeling, and also as a source of inspiration she got from Serbian folklore and national history. The faith of Serbian people motivated her to continue working and create “Kosovo, Judgment Day”, “Serbian Woman”, “White Angel”, “Emperess Milica”, and “Young Girl from Kosovo”.
Canvases with big themes discover a skilful artist, who with outstanding charm and gift leads us through common reality and transports us to deep historical roots. Her paintings are stories with great volume of emotions transplanted into art scenes illustrating her knowledge of Serbian medieval tradition.
Her poetical illustration of Emperess Milica shows a gracious heroine, who is also a wife and a mother; next, The White Angel, one of the most important Serbian medieval frescoes from monastery Milesevo, in gold and byzantine blue colors; finally, a great hero and figure who could be a symbol of a great philosopher, ruler, and an unfortunate character – Njegos. In front and center is the depiction of a hero she wanted to emphasize, and the second motive supports the main theme of the composition – the scene of Kosovar girl nourishing a wounded hero, details of the battle, and a burning village in the background.
The dominant feeling on her canvases is the love for the people she left behind, but very much still belongs to.
On the other hand, she brings us into her intimate world, a source of life happiness and artistic inspiration. Angelina uncovers a reality which surrounds us unnoticed, as well as artistic imagination and her own inspiration. Her motives radiate lively colors, firm drawings, mostly done with free strokes of a brush. Poetry of details gains an expressive artistic effort another higher dimension. We highlight paintings from the nineties “A Picnic”, “A Clown”, “The World Does Not Need Another Clown”, followed by “Adam” and “Eve”. Here, artistic advantage gives in to human figure, and her knowledge of anatomy of human body is evident. These two canvases, while created separately, make up an indivisiblediptih.
Unity of colors, a mature artistic craft, and wide brush strokes are dominant.
This new exhibit displays the artist’s new works representing combination of her past experiences. New canvases were completed with less detail and description; they are more to the point and artistically refined. The style is a very special continuation of her previous work.
New canvases, born from prior experiences, like “The Fighter”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Three Sisters”, “Tiger and Wild Goat”, “Conversation” predict the magnitude of ever-evolving talent and her interpretation of reality and fantasy.
The new works born from Angelina’s brush seem to have been doubly painted: one layer appears to be generating another, parallel story. One’s contours sometimes seem like the beginning of one painting, story, allegory, like a fairytale she is portraying for us. It seems like the colors flow freely from one canvas to the next... like the paintings are done in one swell swoop… hints showing motion, gesture, expressions on the faces of her protagonists, are sometimes more than enough for us to complete the painting in our own minds.
“The Fighter” stands out with strong gesture, flaming colors, the force of emotional tensions, relationship with colors, and strong brush stroke. Angelina is focused on what has the strongest influence on her in the given moment, while representing the scenes from the fight with modern compositional solutions.
In the central portion of the canvas is a quotidian man whose face shows expressions of anger, force, and will for victory. Behind him is his horse while a sword in his hand confirms that the painting is reminiscent of an ancient time. Orthodox churches and monasteries on the edge further confirm that notion.
Strong and intense colors of fire – orange, yellow, and red in the background symbolize ever – present torching, battles, and wars of Serbian people in their century-old fight for sovereignty.
During the past twenty years of artistic creation, Angelina Androvic Gradisnik created canvases, which can be grouped into several categories - all tightly inter-connected. She has lived through a time filled with tragic events of her birth country. These events did not leave her even-hearted. Instead, they sparked creativity and allowed her to pour those feelings onto canvases. Each one represents a will of the artist to raise awareness of her people’s history. However, at the same time, many paintings offer visual pleasure to those observing them. This artist believes without a doubt in the power of creation of art. She tried several forms of art, but stayed true to painting. Angelina passionately worked the compositions with multiple characters, explored options of expression outside of plain historical copying. Instead, her exploration of historical themes was represented in the spirit of the respective time.
Another note-worthy theme is “Ikar”, which was done in three different ways: with water-colors, based on Michelangelo’s characters from Sistine Chapel; with pen on paper, predicting a steel sculpture; and finally, a bronze sculpture. It makes sense that she picked this historical theme, the ancient image of a man who wants to fly, especially knowing about her long-lasting role with an airline company.
On several occasions, while working on this theme, she evokes her sculpture experience. The steel sculpture represents a language from another world. It is her version of everyday life showing a dynamic of repetition, easy-going rhythm and the attempt of the summer. Strong form in painting means an easy form in sculpture.
Each painter has to posses a gift for color. However, the gift by itself is not enough for creation. A feel for art, wide range of interests, energy resonating in canvases, poetic, and live communication…. is something else. Those are the characteristics of Angelina Androvic Gradisnik, who carries a complete sensibility of one time.
Tijana Stojiljkovic
Art Historian
Translation on English
Rodoljub Stojiljkovic
In Belgrade, Feb 2009.