Sadko Hadžihasanović

Review

July 4 – 30, 2023

National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Opening: July 4 at 8 p.m.

“The artistic career of Sadko Hadžihasanović spans over four decades. Within that long period of time, which implies development, affirmation and maturing and which carries numerous changes, the author still manages to maintain an unbreakable thread of continuity within himself. This is the reason why all of his works are recognizable and closely knitted, regardless of the topic, time or medium in question. The characteristics of this coherence include the constant dedication to figurative painting, an interest in the small, but by no means ordinary man, and an affinity for experimentation in which the new, the unexpected and the different does not fade over the years, but only shifts in form and is expressed through new technologies.

(…)

Thanks to his enviable level of productivity, but also his insistence on maintaining his own presence on the art scenes of Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, the work of Sadko Hadžihasanović, noticed from his earliest appearances, is present and visible throughout all periods of his creativity and across all of the mentioned locations. His continuous creative and exhibiting activity on two continents, enabled him to be treated today as both a Canadian and a Bosnian author, while using his own distance for a more objective and precise observation of things that in other situations would easily drown in the monotony of everyday life.

The works of art, presented throughout this exhibition, are a selection from the collection of National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina. To the greatest extent, the featured works were gifted to the Gallery by the author, and all periods of the artist’s creativity are represented within the collection, which enables a clear insight into all of the development stages as well as all media, through which the author expressed himself. With this Reflection, the artist confirms that with his work he has physically and essentially tied himself to this region, despite the fact that he spent more than half of his life and creative period in Canada.” Ivana Udovičić, curator of the exhibition, from the exhibition catalogue

Biography

Sadko Hadžihasanović graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo in 1982, at the department of painting, in the class of professor Milivoj Unković. He completed his postgraduate studies in the class of professor Radenko Mišević at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade in 1984. He was a member and founder of the art group Zvono from 1982 to 1992.

Since 1993, he lives and works in Toronto, Canada. In the former Yugoslavia, he won numerous awards, including: the Studio B award for the best exhibition held in 1990. His works are in the public collections of many institutions, including: National Museum in Belgrade, National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, Contemporary Gallery Zrenjanin, City Museum in Sombor, Modern Gallery Pančevo, Olympic Museum in Sarajevo, Art Gallery “Nadežda Pertović” in Čačak, Portrait Gallery in Tuzla and many others.

In Canada, he exhibited at more than 300 individual and group exhibitions. His work was presented in prestigious institutions and at international events: Tate Liverpool Gallery (England), Havana Biennal (Cuba), Venice Biennal – Benetton Collection (Italy). He exhibited in Mexico, many cities in America (New York, Miami, Buffalo, Rochester, Kansas City…) and in Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver…). In North America, Sadko’s works are part of numerous museum collections. Urlich Museum, Kansas City; Museum of Art and History, Orillia; Art Gallery of Mississauga, Ontario; Maclauren Art Centre, Barrie; Art Gallery of Peel, Brampton are just a few of them. Sadko is a recipient of multiple grants awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Council for the Arts and the Toronto Council for the Arts. He was also the recipient of the Canadian Paris Studio Residency in France (2000, 2008). In Toronto, this artist is represented by Paul Petro Contemporary Art.

email: sadkogallery@gmail.com