Lazar Vozarević. The Gallery Makes a Guest Appearance
As part of the commemoration of the jubilee, one hundred years since the birth of Lazar Vozarević (1925–1968), one of the most notable representatives of Serbian and Yugoslav modern painting, the Gallery of Matica srpska in collaboration with the “Lazar Vozarević” Gallery from Sremska Mitrovica is organizing a monographic exhibition Lazar Vozarevć. The Gallery Makes a Guest Appearance.
The exhibition will be formally opened on Friday, September 12 at 8:00 PM at the Gallery of Matica srpska. On this occasion, the audience will be addressed by Dr. Tijana Palkovljević Bugarski, director of GMS, Marija Vuruna, director of the “Lazar Vozarević” Gallery, and Simon Schoonbroodt, director of the French Institute in Serbia – Novi Sad.
The grand jubilee was the main reason for Lazar Vozarević’s works from the main gallery in Sremska Mitrovica to come to cities and galleries that were important parts in the artist’s life. After Zrenjanin and Belgrade, where his work was presented to the public through careful selection, the Gallery of Matica srpska will host the most valuable part of the “Lazar Vozarević” Gallery collection in its entirety. In addition to the complete legacy, the 79 works from the “Lazar Vozarević” Gallery collection, the exhibition will also showcase works from the collection of the Gallery of Matica srpska, as well as five illustrations by Pablo Picasso from the National Museum of Serbia and one Picasso work from the Embassy of the Republic of France in Belgrade. The exhibition is accompanied by three video animations that use contemporary technologies to bring Vozarević’s models and inspirations for the paintings Lamentation of Christ, Squares, and Family closer to the public, as well as three films dedicated to the artist’s life and work. Visitors will have the opportunity in Novi Sad to become familiar with works that constitute the most complete overview of all of Vozarević’s creative phases from his debut on the art scene in the early 1950s to his last works from 1968.
Lazar Vozarević cultivated his artistic expression in the vibrant and dynamic cultural scene of the 1950s, as a reaction to socio-political and artistic circumstances. He was a member of distinguished artistic groups “The Eleven” and “The December Group.” In his first, figurative period, his works are characterized by geometric construction, breaking of forms, and a strong existential dimension. In his search of a contemporary artistic language, the artist relied on two key sources of inspiration – the work of Pablo Picasso and the wealth of Byzantine art. This was followed by a brief phase of informalism, in which Vozarević explored the possibilities of new expression through non-painterly materials. The last, post-informalism phase is characterized by painting-reliefs of geometrized compositions with strong coloring and deep spiritual symbolism. Authentic reflections on contemporary painting and the relationship to medieval heritage make Lazar Vozarević’s opus one of the most significant and recognizable achievements of Serbian modernism.
The exhibition curators are Marija Vuruna, director of the “Lazar Vozarević” Gallery, Ivana Rastović and Ivana Janjić, curators of the Gallery of Matica srpska.
The exhibition will be complemented by a diverse accompanying program: thematic lectures about the artist’s life and work on Fridays at 7:00 PM, curatorial tours on weekends at 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM, as well as a new educational program for children Once Upon a Time There Was a Painter… Lazar Vozarević, in order to bring the complexity of Vozarević’s work closer to audiences of different ages and interests.
The exhibition can be visited until January 31, 2026.
The project realization was made possible by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Provincial Secretariat for Culture and Relations with Religious Communities, and the City of Novi Sad, while the exhibition sponsor is DDOR Insurance Novi Sad.
