The Renaissance Palace called Palazzo Zorzi in Venice is exhibiting Montenegrin painter Dado Djurić's works within the 53rd Venice Biennale of Art. In honour of the splendid palazzo, Djurić has named the works "Zorzi Elegies."
Dado Djurić is one of Montenegro's best-known painters, who has spent the greater part of his career in France. Despite having left his native Montenegro decades ago, the painter says he draws all of his inspiration from where he came from. "All of my paintings are extracted from Montenegro just like a man extracts thorns from his foot or hand. I rip the paintings from Montenegro," Djurić said in a rare interview.
Djurić was born in Cetinje in 1933. He completed the art school in Herceg Novi, followed by the Belgrade Academy of Art in 1956, where he studied in the class of Marko ?elebonović, one of the most famous Serbian painters of the 20th century. Throughout his career, Dado has spent time and travelled to many different parts of the world, including central Africa. Still, for the past 40 years his home and studio have been based in the small town of Hérouville, close to Paris. Around the world, he is simply known as Dado.
Exactly 20 years ago the artist's studio caught fire, destroying many of his works, including a series of sculptures that he had begun working on. Dado rescued some of these, while he used the remains of the others to create new bronze sculptures, which are now on exhibit and served as his inspiration for the Biennale.
Exhibition Commissioner Michael Peppiatt placed large banners with photographs of the fire as the backdrop to the exhibition. Nightmares, death and violence have always been subjects of Dado's surrealist paintings. The Venetian sculptures are dedicated to his late friends, poets and painters, who influenced him and his work, including painter and trained architect Leonid Šejka. Indeed, Dado's work can be seen as constant dialogue between the living and the dead.
Opposite to the sculptures are earlier works, paintings made on wood, which have been borrowed from the National Museum of Montenegro.
Because of his poor health, Dado was not able to attend the opening of the exhibition personally. He was represented by his daughter and deputy commissioner Janica and granddaughter Iva, who, at his request, appeared wearing a traditional Montenegrin dress.
The exhibition is Montenegro's first independent show at the Venetian Biennale. It opened on 7 June 2009 and closes on 22 November 2009.
