Graphic Project
Safet Zec (Bosnia, 1943)
The graphic design of this website and the poster that will be offered
by FEEM to the Conference participants was created by Silvia
Bertolin (Support Activities, FEEM),
inspired by Safet Zec's painting Isola di San
Giorgio.
Isola di San Giorgio
(water color on paper, 22 x 30 inches)
Safet Zec, the painter and engraver from Bosnia-Herzegovina,
was born in Rogatica in 1943. At the age of twelve, he dedicated himself
to the art of painting and drawing already showing great talent. After
completing Art High School in Sarajevo, he continued his studies in
Belgrade where he graduated at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1969. In
1972 he obtained his postgraduate diploma. He went on to become an exponent
of the recent art style known as " Poetic Realism". At the
beginning of the 90's he was considered one of the most important artists
of his country, representing Bosnia in many international exhibitions.
Until 1989 he lived and worked in Belgrade. After this he spent a few
years in Sarajevo. When the war began in 1992 he left Bosnia.
At this point Safet Zec moved to Udine, Italy. All of his former works
were left in his studio in Sarajevo. In Italy Zec was faced with rebuilding
his identity. He started to work on new paintings, drawings and engravings.
In 1994 he showed these works in his first museum exhibition together
with a few older works from a German gallery. In 1996 he won the "Alpe
Adria" Award for drawing in Ljubljana. The "Safet Zec"
monograph was promoted in Ljubljana in 1998, entitled "Paintings,
drawings and Engravings 1992-1998". The artist currently exhibits
in Italy, France and other countries throughout the world. Today he
lives and works in Venice.
Safet Zec's Italian works, spanning over a nine year period, were presented
for the first time to the public of Sarajevo in the Civic Gallery Collegium
Artisticum. In this exhibition works previously left in Sarajevo were
exhibited as well as paintings from the artist's youth, exhibited for
the first time. The collection "Opere 1958-2001" was thus
elaborated, exclusively made up of the artist's work, making its way
through galleries all over Europe: in October and November 2001 the
exhibition was shown in Lille (France).
Recent works of the artist were presented in Sarajevo (2001-2003) in
September. These artworks were produced during the ever more frequent
stays in this city. In the same period the Zec studio-collection was
inaugurated, now open to the public.
The next appointment with Safet Zec's paintings is in Paris, where a
large exhibition is to be held in April/May 2004.
For further information on Safet Zec, please contact zec@undo.net
or refer to http://www.undo.net/zec.
