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The group exhibition “NISMO umetnici” (“We Are Not Artists”) showcases the works of emerging creators from Belgrade at Monolog Gallery from November 14 to 30, 2024. Visitors had a chance to explore pieces by:
The exhibition featured nine independent works across various media – including sculpture, painting, graphics, photography, digital, and fashion design. This platform provided emerging artists, at the onset of their careers, with valuable connections and professional opportunities in the art world.
The project authors Damjan Stevović and Djudja Luka Vladisavljević along with the curators Lena Blagojević and Milica Pantić reinterpret “neumetnost” (non-art) and “neumetnici” (non-artists), not as a rejection of art or a move toward commercialization, but as an assertion that art need not be compromised for success within a market system. “Non-art” bridges beauty and utility, art and business, demonstrating that art and life’s systems can coexist.
An accompanying program offered workshops, guided tours, and guest lectures, inviting visitors to engage actively with the exhibition.
Damjan Stevović & Luka Djudja Vladisavljević
In his formative artistic stage, Damjan Smičiklas turns to photography as a response to his exposure to traditional visual arts. From that moment on, it becomes a space of alchemy for the artist, who seeks to harmonize objective reality with his own through the act of framing. Through his lens, Damjan manages to seal the timelessness of the moment, thus opening up a fourth dimension—time. Photography, as a catalyst for the artist’s introspection, reflects the duality of thought, harmony and chaos. For Damjan, photography is not merely a tool; it is also a faithful companion to whom the artist gives a voice, allowing it to speak. Damjan eagerly anticipates his work to resonate across various artistic languages, from solo exhibitions and magazines to auteur and art films.
Academy of Arts in Belgrade – photography and camera
Dunja Savić’s relationship with photography began quite spontaneously—during a two-week journey, she created a visual travelogue whose documentary portrayal of everyday life became her artistic hallmark. Realism in her creative process serves a dual role, reflecting both the face and reverse of the marginal. She navigates photography with a desire to articulate the ordinary, placing it in a metaphysical space between reality and dream. In the eclecticism of Dunja’s photography, traditional artistic and theoretical principles like chronotope and primitivism intertwine, which she recontextualizes in a contemporary light. Currently, her primary focus lies in the experimental dimension of photography, through which she refines her creative experience. Dunja’s photography carries an unrestrained, almost nomadic spirit, and as such, enters the professional realm—a realm that, for her, poses no challenge; rather, it is photography itself that challenges her, a challenge she successfully masters.
Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade – photography
Marija Milić finds her painterly expression through experimenting with various techniques on different surfaces, which she strives to unify into a cohesive whole. Marija is an artist who resists defining her style, believing that freedom in art is essential and diminishes under any form of limitation. This versatile approach challenges the notion that focusing on a single path is the only route to success. Her artistic work is heavily influenced by the world around her, drawing inspiration from nature, film, literature, people, and diverse cultures. She feels most liberated when creating her own art and hopes to inspire young people to fearlessly step into this world, using it to become more honest with themselves. In her art, Marija not only experiments with techniques and surface treatments but also delves into complex psychological questions, exploring themes of identity, her inner world, and the world beyond.
Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade – applied painting
David Đorđević’s artistic style can be described as strikingly refined. The simplicity in his work is evident in the pared-back formal elements, while the striking quality is achieved through the transformation of textile surfaces by adding golden accents, giving his pieces an elevated, almost regal appearance. Through his creations, David seeks to selflessly preserve and cherish all that the external world offers him, while drawing primary inspiration from his own inner world. He is deeply committed to preserving both tangible and intangible cultural heritage, which he nurtures through his designs. As a graduate textile designer, he has focused his professional work on textiles, aiming to connect them with two other fields—high fashion and traditional folklore. His work often features Serbian medieval ornamentation, rich in Serbian folk tradition. Through his creativity, David strives to enrich himself both personally and professionally, while inviting the observer to partake in this journey.
Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade – textile design
Creating under the pseudonym Žuti, Nebojša Đurić channels his creative impulse to translate the personal into a universal language using a symbolic vocabulary. The dynamic quality of his work is reflected in the playful contrast of opposites, such as the strength symbolized by the archetype of masculinity and the fish, a synonym for contemplation. For Nebojša, the interplay of the surreal and the tangible represents artistic freedom, allowing him to blend two-dimensional imagery with three-dimensional reality. The artist’s microcosm is a phantasmagoric reflection of life, as real as it is imagined. His work is characterized by line drawings reminiscent of comics and animation, with a special focus on digital art. For Nebojša, there are no limits in artistic or professional realms—he envisions his creations finding a home across diverse spaces, from traditional gallery exhibitions to murals and studios for video games and animation.
Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade – painting
The world, people, escapes from and into the city, as well as the inner world, are the foundations of inspiration in Milica Bojanić’s artistic work. Through experimenting with various techniques and their combinations, this young artist develops her own artistic style, which remains fluid due to its experimental nature. Nevertheless, her artistic voice is distinct, reflected in her exploration of contemporary themes, daily life, the streets, film, and digital media. Milica uses her creativity to express herself in the most original form, believing that the beauty of art lies in artistic individuality, and that merging such individualities can change the world. Her primary artistic focus lies in conservation and restoration. She takes pleasure in preserving and renewing art as much as in creating it, contributing to the world by protecting artworks from being forgotten, and thus preserving the original ideas of the artists who created them. Milica also shares her works with viewers, inviting them to see the world through her eyes, while allowing them the freedom to interpret her contemporary themes in their own way.
Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade – conservation and restoration
Teodora Jovanović is a young artist whose creativity sparks hope and curiosity, feelings she seeks to share with her audience through her work. Her art draws inspiration from figuration, the exploration of movement, psychology, and the inner emotional turmoil of modern times. Thanks to her studies in 3D animation, she combines her experience in digital art with traditional techniques in her creative process. In her artistic exploration, Teodora examines the tension and ambivalence between the human inner world and the modern era of technological progress through a multimedia approach. She is also inspired by other artists who have historically explored similar themes, particularly Rodin, with pieces like The Three Shades having a profound impact on her work. Alongside these traditional influences, Teodora engages with contemporary issues, using her art to critique modern society in hopes of inspiring change. Additionally, her fascination with Eastern art, especially Japanese woodcuts, serves as another wellspring of inspiration in her creations.
Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade – sculpture
Teodora Kokoruš’s work is rooted in a theatrical approach to directing the canvas, where she holds complete creative freedom behind the scenes. Her pictorial poetics radiate a wide range of emotions, captured in almost emblematic representations. Metaphors and allegories serve as a symbolic language, allowing viewers to interpret the imagery without diverging from her original intent. Teodora fosters intricate relationships with various forms of artistic expression, including painting, fashion design, and sculpture. Engaged in a continuous dialogue with the canvas, she fills it with mystical variations of reality. Her series of works are chronicles of life, each piece presented as a scene. Just as Shakespeare viewed life as a stage, Teodora sees all of art in this way. Even at this stage of her studies, she is planning her next appearances on the art scene, orchestrating her career much like she directs her art.
Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade – painting
