Vitomir Kelava – Dolls from the Junkyard 2

He was born in Zenica in 1952, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He studied law at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, then enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, Serbia, graduating in painting in the class of prof. Stojan Ćelić in 1983. He is a member of HDLU Rijeka and HDLU Zagreb. He rarely exhibits solo. He lives on the island of Rab, in Rab, where he owns a personal atelier-gallery in which he creates and presents his work.

In the early post-academic years, a distinct postmodern climate of the early eighties is clearly discernible, in personal explorations directed towards old painting poetics. This is followed by a metaphysical period, then a cycle with the theme of Bosnian stećci (medieval tombstones), where he reduces his visual expression to an “iconic sign.” At the beginning of the nineties, he aligns with the poetics of expressionism. In the latest period, a radical shift occurs in his painting—he is attracted to archaic “pre-cosmogonic” syncretism. At the turn of the millennium, he begins a new cycle with small-format paintings made up of two parts. In his work, he uses oil paint and non-painterly materials—twine, pieces of fabric, and sand. This is the “Untitled” cycle. He also paints female nudes using the same materials. The latest cycle, “Zone of Silence,” includes painting-objects—stone applied onto laminated canvas, i.e., onto a painted background that emphasizes the individuality of the stone.