Žarko Smiljanić Grafike

,, Graphic sheets of Zarko Smiljanic have been marked by the lyric, intimate contemplation. Nothing impulsive exists in his prints, but only restrained lyricism and serene, twilight temperament. The unison, sophistication and harmony are the ideological determinants that have permanently defined the graphic opus of the artist… This artist is interested in oneiric, archetypal landscapes of extremely complex range of light and shadow. In these gorgeous and desert landscapes, captured in the moment of dusk or dawn, he explores the mystical constellation between woods and time. The magic and metaphysics of Smiljanic’s scenes lie in the unusual beauty of wood, earth and sky, in their elusiveness, but also in the divine touch.

,, Na Smiljanićevim grafikama nema figuralnih motiva, nema ljudi... Tu su biljke, predmeti, nebeski svod, sedam Vlašića. Učini nam se da nema života, međutim mnogo je životnog u tim grafikama, tu je život, tu su ljudi - samo ih treba otkriti.

,, When I saw the first prints of Zarko Smiljanic, a few years ago, I felt that I walked into another world, world of nature, peacefulness, lights, shadows, loneliness and silence… The world of exquisite aesthetic, highly unlike the one we spend most of our days of this worldly life…

,, Prints performed in extraordinary skills. Smiljanic builds his plate carefully, patiently, in long-term processes, in classic techniques of printmaking, aquatint, vernis-mou, mezzotint. As the old masters had done long ago. In tradition of the noble craft skills. Usually in two plates, where the first plate often boasts mossy, grassy green, rich in structure, whilst the second plate, in its velvet black nuance, defines the scenery, light and shadow…

,, Grafike izvedene izvanrednim umećem. Smiljanić ploču gradi brižljivo, strpljivo, dugotrajnim procesom obrade, klasičnim tehnikama duboke štampe, akvatinta, meka prevlaka, mecotinta. Poput starih majstora. U tradiciji plemenitih zanatskih veština. Uglavnom u dve ploče, gde često prva ploča nosi mahovinastu, travnatu podlogu zelene, bogate strukture, a druga ploča somotastom crnom definiše predeo, svetlost i senku...

,, There are no figural motifs, no people in Smiljanic’s prints...Only plants, objects, firmament or Pleiades (Seven Sisters star cluster) can be seen. It appears that there is no life at all, however, there is much life in his graphics, there are so many souls - only they have to be discovered there.

,, Grafike Žarka Smiljanića jednostavno traže od nas i da ih oslušnemo i shvatimo nedodirljivu mirnoću kojom su sve natopljene, nagnaju nas da bar malo sanjamo, da pobegnemo u netaknuti svet tu iza i oko nas, svet koga smo se nesvesno odrekli.

,, Zarko Smiljanic’s prints simply ask us to listen them and to understand their untouchable tranquility that they have been soaked with, impel us to dream for a while, to escape into untouched world that is around us, the world that we’ve unconsciously abandoned.