December 17, 2019 - One of the most important artistic events in Montenegro - the Herceg Novi Fine Arts Scene, is experiencing its 21st edition this year, which will open tonight, Tuesday, December 17th at 7 pm at the Josip Bepo Benković Gallery. The Herceg Novi art scene is traditionally a cross-section of the work of active artists who live and create or are otherwise related to Herceg Novi. Organizers say the response of the artists is exceptionally high this year.
It is well known that Herceg Novi was called the city of painters and writers in the 1970s, and these epithets are justified today. From 1948 to 1966, it housed one of the most famous and successful art schools in the former Yugoslavia. Its founder, Petar Lubarda, was an internationally renowned painter who spent part of his life in Herceg Novi. Professors, and later students of that art school, became the most famous and successful painting and sculpture names of the former Yugoslavia and present-day Montenegro. Therefore, it is not surprising that Herceg Novi, which was the inspiration for the most significant creators, has a half-century tradition of hosting the "Winter Art Salon," but also numerous exhibitions, including the Herceg Novi Fine Arts scene. The shows are traditionally held during the winter and give a new dimension to the tourist offer of the city.
The "Herceg Novi Fine Arts Scene" since 1996 represents authors who create or are related to Herceg Novi by their painting opus. Even today, the emphasis is on the entirely personal creative relationship of artists who live and work in Herceg Novi and the Mediterranean environment on which their artistic poetics rely. Of particular importance to the Herceg Novi Fine Arts Scene are young artists who bring new visual experiences and new creative messages in a time that is not particularly fond of art.
In the 21st Herceg Novi Fine Art Scene, 54 authors - painters, sculptors, and graphic artists - will display their works. "According to the established practice, the exhibition will feature works by renowned artists from Herceg Novi as well as amateurs, all connected by a common love for the visual arts," said a statement by the City Gallery "Josip Bepo Benković."
The exhibition will be opened by the curator of the gallery, art historian Jasmina Zitnik, and the show will be on display until the Herceg Novi Winter Salon, which will be organized in early February 2020.
