Oste Erceg

Oste Erceg (; 23 March 1947 – 4 June 2025) was a Bosnian Serb painter from Novi Grad, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Biography Erceg was born in Gornji Rakani, where he completed elementary and high school, graduating in 1966. He began painting in 1967, while studying at the College of Textile-Chemical School in Zagreb, from which he graduated in 1972. In 1973, Erceg began working as an engineer in the textile industry. In 1986, he enrolled in a painting course at the Academy of Arts in Belgrade, which he attended until 1990.

Erceg died on 4 June 2025 at the age of 78.

Work Erceg was notable for producing all his work as fingerpainting. His work focuses largely on his homeland of Gornji Rakani, and his memories of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His oeuvre comprises 300 works, of which 100 have been sold to collectors from Australia to the Americas.

Reception In her book Slikano perom art historian Danka Damjanović describes Erceg as a painter who developed his talent and style in isolation from other artists, who painted with emotion and expression as a means of cleansing and self-realization.

Academician Enver Mandžić attributes Erceg's sense of color to his training as a textile dyeing engineer. On Erceg's portraiture, Mandžić says "In every one of his portraits, we can discover those deep emotional traits that are immortalized in the spirit of artists and models."

Exhibitions Solo exhibitions 1994 Gallery Heritage Museum, Novi Grad 1994 Museum "King Peter Mrkonjića" Mrkonjić Grad 2000 Gallery Heritage Museum, Novi Grad 2006 Bosnian Cultural Center, Tuzla 2009 Gallery Prijedor, Prijedor 2011 Gallery Prijedor, Prijedor 2012 of the Assembly Hall, Kostajnica 2015 Gallery Bihać, Bihać 2015 Gallery of cultural center, Gradiska 2016 Gallery Heritage Museum, Novi Grad 2018 1st mutual exhibition of Oste Erceg and Sanja Kuliš Kostajnica

Group exhibitions

1985 Gallery Heritage Museum, Novi Grad Art Salon Novi Grad 1986 Gallery Heritage Museum, Novi Grad Art Salon Novi Grad 1987 Gallery Heritage Museum, Novi Grad Art Salon Novi Grad 1988 Gallery Heritage Museum, Novi Grad Art Salon Novi Grad 1989 Gallery Heritage Museum, Novi Grad Art Salon Novi Grad 2005 3rd Biennial art miniatures BiH Tuzla, Sarajevo, Mostar, Bihać, 2007 4th Biennial art miniatures BiH Tuzla, Brčko, Sarajevo, Bihać 2009 5th Biennial art miniatures BiH Tuzla, Brčko, Sarajevo, Bihać 2011 6th Biennial art miniatures BiH Tuzla, Brčko, Sarajevo, Bihać 2013 7th Biennial art miniatures BiH Tuzla 2014 12th International biennial art miniatures Gornji Milanovac 2014 5th International exhibition "Art in miniatures" Majdanpek, Beograd 2015 8th Biennial art miniatures BiH Tuzla, Brčko, Sarajevo 2015 2nd International exhibition "Moslavina miniatures" Popovaca, Knin, Petrinja 2015 6th International exhibition "Art in miniatures" Majdanpek, Beograd 2015 14th International Art Colony for children of the center "Duga" Bihać 2015 13th International biennial art miniatures Gornji Milanovac 2016 7th International exhibition "Art in miniatures" Majdanpek, Beograd 2017 3rd International exhibition "Moslavina miniatures" Croatia 2017 8th International exhibition "Art in miniatures" Majdanpek, Beograd, Petrovac na Mlavi 2017 9th Biennial art miniatures BiH Tuzla 2017 4th International exhibition "Moslavina miniatures" Croatia, Popovača 2017 1st Art exhibition "Piralo" Kostajnica 2018 5th International exhibition "Moslavina miniatures" Croatia, Popovača 2019 10th International exhibition "Art in miniatures" MajdanArt Majdanpek, Srbija 2019 1st Festival of art "ArtNovum" Novi Grad Republic of Srpska Novi Grad 2019 10th Biennial art miniatures BiH Tuzla 2019 6th International exhibition "Moslavina" Croatia, Popovača 2023 10th Group paintings exhibition "10 godina s Vama" Ludvig dizajn Croatia, Zagreb

Awards 2018 5th International exhibition "Moslavina miniatures" Croatia - One of three equal awards.

Gallery

Personal Erceg was married and lived in Novi Grad. He had two daughters and owned a jewelry shop in Kostajnica.