NIKOLINA RADULOVIĆ VELIĆ

2 – 14 November 2023

Opening of the exhibition: Thursday, 2 November 2023 at 6 pm

 

Within the 52^nd Golden Pen of Belgrade and the 17^th International Biennial of Illustration at the Museum of Applied Art in the “Mladi” gallery from 2 to 14 November 2023, there will be an exhibition of Nikolina Radulović Velić, winner of the GRAND PRIX award at the 51^st Golden Pen of Belgrade.

The exhibition will present 40 artworks in the digital collage technique, an expression that Nikolina Radulović Velić has impressively mastered over last five years.

Nikolina Radulović Velić (1972, Knin – Croatia) is a graphic designer, illustrator, and collage artist. She studied in Belgrade, at the Faculty of Philology and at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Department of Costume Design. Since 1997, she lives in Santander, Spain, where she has developed her professional career.

 

What began five years ago as a personal project to experiment and expand my visual vocabulary, the collage work quickly grew into central element of my artistic expression, transcending its original objectives and addressing themes beyond the original intent.

My body of work, both graphic and artistic, has a strong symbolic weight, with the concept at the core. Each creation is a pretext to experiment, blend incompatible elements, agitate and indulge in play, humor, and multiple interpretations. In the realm of my artistic pursuits, I’m particularly interested in delving into the intricacies of human nature, memory, the inexorable passage of time, oblivion, solitude, and the celebration of womanhood.

My collages are visual diaries, fragmentary chronicles of my own being and the world that envelops me, past and present. I perceive my artistic endeavours as a reflection of the multifaceted world in which we reside, unflinchingly capturing its less flattering facets and its inherent cruelty. From that, I strive to extract the hidden beauty and empathy that reside within each of us, revealing the unknown, the unspoken and intangible things that make us truly human. Collage, as my chosen medium, replicates the frenetic and inherent collision of individuals, society, culture, and emotions that resonate within us all.

My preference for mixed media/collage and available technologies grant me the latitude to articulate myself through a spectrum of methods and techniques, seamlessly incorporating elements such as paint, handcrafted textures, found objects, collage, and photography, while navigating fluidly between the physical and digital forms.

Nikolina Radulović Velić

Author of the photographs: Anamarija Vartabedijan