Expressing emotions through art
Vibrant sculptures, made out of salvaged and reclaimed stone, metal and wood, one of a kind, no harmful agents
m e e t ▼ v u k m a x i m
Background
I am a self-taught artist with a passion for creating unique and inspiring pieces. My love for art began at a young age and has grown into a lifelong pursuit.
My art style is characterized by bold colours, fluid lines, and a sense of movement. I love to experiment with different mediums and techniques to create pieces that are unique and expressive. I have been working as a professional artist for over 10 years, specializing in combining metal, stone and wood into art objects. My work has been featured in galleries across Belgrade.
Style
My work is influenced by the vibrant colours and textures of nature, as well as the emotions and experiences that we all share. I strive to create pieces that are both visually stunning and emotionally impactful.
I draw inspiration from a variety of sources, including nature, music, and the people and places I encounter in my daily life. My goal is to create art that evokes emotion and tells a story.
SEARCHING FOR THE LIGHT (Predrag Djidić, Art Historian)
Vuk Maksimović's oeuvre is diverse both in its visual form and in the symbolic context that the author creatively introduces into his works of art. Apart from objects that can have practical function and be of use in everyday life, Maksimović 's works also include sculptural representations of various mythological creatures and symbols, which originate from his interest in ethnology and anthropology. In addition to their aesthetic aspect, these works of art, combining wood, metal, stone, warm and cold materials, which are in a way antipodal, also embody various symbolic contexts derived from mythological narratives that the author uses as a framework for the ideas in his artistic expression.
Using techniques of engraving, inlaying, burning and coloristic accentuation which serves to highlight certain details, Maksimović fashions his artefacts in different ways that give them distinctive visual identity. He also inserts ready-made objects in everyday use into his artefacts, turning them into integral parts of the whole, while changing their primary purpose and practical function, whereby they acquire a new aesthetic and artistic value. Characterized by their striking expressiveness, Maksimović's works impose themselves on the environment, stirring up our attention and urging us to contemplate and ponder on the roots of artistic imagination and the creative transposition of the initial ideological impulse, which stems from his interest in the pagan and the archetypal core of the figural form, finding its concrete shape in his particular sculptural expression.
Yggdrasil, Guardian, Horned Owl, Horned Snail, Svarožić, Taurus, Vampire Squirrel, Svarog are just a few of the names of Maksimović’s works aimed at spurring the viewer to become spiritually engaged so as to comprehend his artistic motives. The same purpose is revealed in the Portal, which symbolically represents the entrance to the world of Maksimović's intimate quest and pursuit of atemporal otherworldly realm, which lies beyond rational understanding and sensory experience. In his exploration of mythological narratives, Maksimović also delves into the vegvísir, the Icelandic symbol of protection, better known as runic compass, which is meant to safeguard its bearer and safely lead him to his destination and help him overcome all the obstacles on his way.
Its symbolic connotation can also be understood within the context of the quest for the path of virtue, the right way, finding the spiritual balance within each one of us individually, searching for the light in moments when we face the darkness within ourselves. If we look at Maksimović's works not separately but taken together as parts of a unique whole, we see that his poetics is essentially articulated as such an intimate search for the light, a quest that is immanent to each and every individual striving to illuminate the darkness within themselves. To see the true value of light, one must first recognise the darkness.
P a G a N T o T e M
