Chianciano Art Museum
Critical Analysis Artist: Viktor MajdandŞić Art Critic: Karen Lappon
ICAC
International Confederation of Art Critics
Critical Analysis Artist: Viktor MajdandŞić Art Critic: Karen Lappon
The Museum The Museum of Art of Chianciano hosts a series of collections ranging from Neolithic and Asiatic to Contemporary art. There are approximately a thousand works on display. Visitors are able to view paintings and sculptures by artists such as Tom Nash, Salvador Dali, Sir Henry Moore, Frances Turner, Mario Schifano, Damien Hirst, Brian Willsher and Albert Louden, drawings by the likes of Magritte, Guttuso and Munch; historical works from Royal Collections and original etchings by masters such as Dürer and Rembrandt. The museum is known for organising annual international events, including the Chianciano International Art Award and the Biennale of Chianciano.
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) “Joachim and the Angel” Original woodcut, circa 1504
Sir Henry Moore (1898-1986) “Head” Bronze Sculpture
ICAC
International Confederation of Art Critics
The Critic Karen Lappon, born in Santander, Spain, is an Italian art critic and essay writer that operates in London, UK. Although an expert on the Italian Renaissance period, Lappon is also great admirer of contemporary art. Karen studied at the “I Liceo Artistico in Via Ripetta” and at the “La Sapienza” University in Rome. A book of great interest curated by Karen is the “2nd Millenium”, the publication of an important exhibition at the Lord Leighton Museum, in which the talent and art of the prominent painter, Frances Turner - selected 5 times in a row for the BP Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London - is highlighted. This artist has been spotted and appreciated by another great critic, Normal Searle, that wrote an article in the Evening Standard on one of Frances’ paintings. “Vita e Opere di Antonio Sbrana” is a publication in which Lappon ties the activity of Sbrana and his influences on the “Macchiaioli” of the 19th century, like Natali and Fattori. A publication that illustrates the continuity of this movement and how it is still present in Italy today. Besides being a consultant for the Chianciano Museum of Art, Karen Lappon is part of the Board that selects artists for the Biennale, a difficult task that she has undertaken since 2009, along with other curators, to choose 100 artists out of 2000 applicants that will be part of the Chianciano Biennale. Karen is part of the jury of the London Biennale where 120 artists, selected from 40 different countries participate, and has been chosen by the organisers to accompany the Mayor of Kensington and Chelsea during the opening of the biennale.
“Concept” acrylic on panel by Viktor Majdandžić
The Artist
Viktor MajdandŞić was born in 1931 in Ivanjska (Bosnia). After studying Foreign trade and Economics, he devoted himself to the Fine Arts. He studied at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, where he was rewarded the first prize for his graduation work. Circumstances forced him to hold various jobs to support himself, but he continued to paint. He contributed to the development of his residence Banja Luka into a recognized centre of modern arts, with a widely known biennale and a museum of modern art. Viktor immigrated to the Netherlands in 1969, where he started working as an art therapist. In this way, he could paint the way he wanted: unconstrained and without having any obligations to the mainstream. During a large part of his artistic career he shared his studio with psychiatric patients, inspiring them to find their way in life as autonomous and free persons. This was a unique form of art therapy. After retiring, Viktor continued to paint, inspired by his journeys to all parts of the world. His works have been displayed on more than 200 exhibitions in 12 countries, including recent shows in New York, Florence, Las Vegas, Montreal, Geneva, Vienna, London, Berlin, Mannheim, Rome, Helsinki, Brussels, and Amsterdam.
“Embodied” acrylic on panel by Viktor Majdandžić
The Critique Viktor Majdandžić is an astounding abstract expressionist painter whose work goes beyond the sphere of visual art itself. In fact, his unique and bold geometric structures are embedded in biological and geological analogues. He translates the mathematical code of nature to paint canvases that are a dreamlike juxtaposition of geometrical precision and beguiling sensual curves. The strikingly vibrant colours intensify the astonishing visceral impact of the work’s biological underpinnings. The interplay of various circles, curves and lines is enhanced by multicoloured shadows which contribute to the effective play of the lines that appear to extend beyond the canvases. In his emphasis on colour and form, Viktor increases perspective and reminds us of avant-garde artist Lyubov Popova and her Cubofuturism. The emotional effects of colour and the balance and natural harmony of the lines, together with the overlapping shapes, create a rhythmic pattern and a sense of speed and space typical of German Expressionist masters like Paul Klee and Lyonel Feininger. The structural flow, the natural precision and the organic symmetry of Viktor’s compositions are set in motion by a potent and striking energy that originates from the artist’s creativity and study of the mysteries of nature and the universe. Viktor observes, deciphers and elaborates the world that surrounds us in order to propose it to us in his sublime oeuvre. An artist whose great talent is overwhelming and intriguing beyond discussion. Observing his works is like a journey to the origins of life itself, like participating in the magic of creation, like the ultimate answer to the existential questions we ask ourselves. Astonishingly enlightening.
Karen Lappon International Confederation of Art Critics
“Memorial” acrylic on panel by Viktor Majdandžić
“Embedded” acrylic on panel by Viktor Majdandžić
International Confederation of Art Critics www.international-confederation-art-critics.org