Biljana Petrovic

Biljana Petrović was born in 1975 in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia (ex-Yugoslavia). Ever since her early childhood, her curiosity and passion for art have dominated and overwhelmed all her other numerous interests. She would spend hours drawing whenever the opportunity arose, trying with her still insufficiently developed child’s hands to reproduce the masterpieces of great artists which she studied with awe in books about painting. Biljana’s avid interest in the magic called art has never left her: this passion developed over time and proved to be her true calling which would determine and condition the path of her life in the future. The need to devote herself entirely to art led her to a difficult and painful, but virtually unavoidable decision. The already very difficult economic and political situation in her home country worsened as the winds of new wars rose threateningly over the entire nation. Like many of her peers (and not only them), she felt that she had to leave her homeland in search of a better future. Guided by a strong feeling of dedication to art, she dreamt of studying and deepening her knowledge of art skills and techniques. In 1996, with enthusiasm, but also with the melancholy and bitterness of one leaving one’s family and home behind, she accepted a relative’s invitation to move to Italy. She dimly discerned that this might give her an opportunity to realize her dreams of art. In the same year, Biljana enrolled in the Department of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna. During the first years of her studies, she found her attention increasingly drawn to sculpting, and spent more and more time in the Department of Marble Sculpture Techniques. Her affinity for this material was instantaneous and fulfilling! A great consuming passion for sculpture, primarily sculpture in marble, was born. Her first marble piece (made exclusively using manual tools: hand hammer and chisel, following the example of ancient Greek and Roman masters) was COGITO ERGO SUM (165 cm high, “White P” marble). For her next sculptures, she would use modern marble processing tools, but the experience with traditional tools left a very important mark on her sensuousness, understanding and ability to feel the pulse of this special and valuable material. The sole subject that absorbs the artist’s attention is the human figure as an inexhaustible source of both sensory and spiritual experiences. Often inspired by ballet, and thus also by music through which the body reaches the peak of harmony and perfection of form and movement, the artist tries to convey something ethereal and spiritual through this essentially material art. The sole subject that absorbs the artist’s attention is the human figure as an inexhaustible source of both sensory and spiritual experiences. Often inspired by ballet, and thus also by music through which the body reaches the peak of harmony and perfection of form and movement, the artist tries to convey something ethereal and spiritual through this essentially material art. Biljana almost invariably starts the creative phase of her work with a model, continuing the artistic process by making various changes to the original form which follow highly personal and idealized visions, giving thus a specific and very characteristic touch to each of her works. The faces of her sculptures are almost always products of her imagination, born out of the convergence of various visions which the artist has encountered before and which have found their place in the sediments of her unconscious. Her first public orders were two bronze works, both intended for a church setting: Crucifixion of Christ (displayed in front of the Church of the Holy Cross, Fontanellato, Parma), and the main Entrance Door to St. Magdalene Church (Folta, Albareto). Her works, which comprise sculptures, drawings and paintings, can be found in various private collections in Italy and across the world, on different continents. Her three bronze sculptures were displayed on the main square in Bologna in a two-year exhibition (2015 -2017) Biljana Petrović has participated in numerous group and several solo exhibitions. She lives and works in Bologna, Italy.