Vladimir Velickovic's Perpetual Night at Montélimar Retrospective

A retrospective of Vladimir Velickovic, curated by Dominique Coffignier, runs until September 26 at Montélimar's Musée Éphémère and Chapelle Chabrillan. The exhibition spans works from his 1966 arrival in France to recent paintings dominated by menacing crows. Velickovic's oeuvre, focused on war and the human condition, evolved from early pieces like 'Orateurs vociférants' (1968) and 'Naissances' (1972) to a black-and-white palette after 1969, influenced by Eadweard Muybridge's chronophotography. His 1970s works feature greyhounds and sprinters trapped in closed spaces, echoing Sisyphus. By 1977, the 'Lieux' series emptied the canvas of bodies, leaving only apparatus of torture. In the 1990s, 'Exit' series and landscapes of craters, gallows, and black birds emerged, referencing Grünewald's Isenheim Altarpiece. Velickovic's imagery draws from childhood memories of WWII Belgrade and anticipates the Yugoslav wars. His use of animals (dogs, rats, crows) embodies ambivalence, as he compares his motifs to chess pieces. The artist states, 'Everything I paint is what man does to man.' The exhibition catalogue includes an essay by the author.