Vermeer Master of Light, oil on canvas by Nino Dobrosavljevic
Framagraphic is pleased to present the artwork of Nino Dobrosavljevic, which will be on display in our gallery until June 1st.
Nino Dobrosavljevic is a self-taught painter whose skills have been developed by a passionate study and observation of the old artists. In the nineties, Dobrosavljevic moved from Croatia to Germany, where he exhibited widely. In 1996, he immigrated to Vancouver, Canada where he continues to paint.
Dobrosavljevic opens windows to the past by making contact with painters that have come before him. He represents their work in front of us, often quite literally- by creating an arrangement of contemporary objects, photos, or books, which foreground historical tropes. In this way, his small tableaus put Pierre Bonnard into view with Vermeer, or Kandinsky into a Dutch Renaissance still life.
The illusionism of the paintings, the “tromp l’oeil”, or trick of the eye, is one that tests the painterly techniques of classical realism, but one that also probes the boundaries of the surreal or the uncanny. For example, the paintings look real, though we know they are not. And the trickery goes even further than that. The paintings look like the paintings of old, but it is Dobrosavljevic, in fact, composing a story through paint, about how those images can be looked at today.
This exhibition was made possible through Framagraphic’s partnership with Place des Arts. Place des Arts is an established arts centre and music school in Coquitlam, offering high quality arts education for all ages and abilities from preschool to adult.