The prestigious 52nd Herceg Novi Winter Salon, which practically marked the beginning of 50th Mimosa Festival, as always, was held in the Gallery Josip Bepo Benković, and beside a great number of visitors, there was the unusual presence of 18 of 20 artists and exhibitors.
Sculptor Miodrag Šćepanović from Kolasin won the first prize. The second was won by the painter Marija Vemić from Nikšić, and the third an artist from Mostar, Silva Radić. By declaring the jury's decisions, President Radoslav Milosevic Atos has estimated that the entire selection of various works is not a reason but a result, an inspiration to be better as human beings through the art.
The selector, art historian Senka Subotic, under the motto PARALLELS, conceived the exhibition as a synthesis of the various artistic expressions of the author, who in parallel create and operate in the territory of ex-Yugoslavia and beyond, with the intention of presenting the state of contemporary painting in this area. In addition to artists from Montenegro, she selected works by authors from Banja Luka and Mostar Academies, while, as she explained, there were no funds for presenting authors from other countries of the region.
By opening the exhibition, the artist from Mostar, Silva Radic, pointed out that the Salon is a symbol that combines different stories and symbols:
"Twenty authors tonight, with their symbolic sentences, their works have also left a trace in time. It will also leave a trace in each observer that opens himself to the world of symbols," Radić says.
This year, the selected artists were chosen by selector in consultation with colleagues from the Sorbonne and from the Association Salon New Reality in Paris, which quite clearly shows the quality of the 52nd Winter Salon and the responsibility of the selector for the event that lasts more than half a century, says the president of the municipality, Stevan Katic.
"Parallels, the theme of this Winter Salon, point to what is common and different. I believe that is the same in other segments of life - by seeing parallel opinions and attitudes we see differences, it gives us the opportunity to look better and more, focusing on the truth, whatever it is. Only in this way are we improving ourselves. We can envy the artists - they see what is hidden from us, they point it to us and reveal it, and it is up to us, everybody within their capabilities, to draw a lesson or an opinion," Katić pointed out.
First-rate prize-winning Montenegrin sculptor Miodrag Šćepanović for his work "Zatišje" says that he was firstly very surprised by the invitation to take part in the Salon, for which he is grateful to the organizer and then for the award. The 52nd Herceg Novi Winter Salon at the Josip Bepo Benković Gallery can be seen by visitors in the next 50 days during the Mimosa Festival.
Text by Radio Jadran, on February 1st, 2019, read more at CdM
