Vojo Dimitrijević

Vojo Dimitrijević (May 20, 1910 – August 12, 1980) was a prominent Bosnian-Herzegovinian painter of the 20th century and a pioneer of modern art in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He graduated from the State Art School in Belgrade in 1936, after which he visited the studio of André Lhote in Paris.

Artistic Work His artistic oeuvre developed in a range from socially engaged painting, through geometric abstraction, to conceptual painting practices akin to analytical and process painting. Due to his distinctive, stylistically non-homogeneous oeuvre, early abandonment of ideological motifs, and adherence to avant-garde trends, Dimitrijević was often the subject of numerous debates within the art profession and politics.

In 1939, along with Oskar Danon, Ana Rajs, and Jahiel Finci, Dimitrijević was one of the founders of the alternative group Collegium Artisticum. The significance of this group is highlighted in the specific socio-political context of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on the eve of World War II, when the autonomy of Bosnia and Herzegovina was undermined by the nationalist policies of Zagreb and Belgrade, specifically the Cvetković–Maček Agreement.

He participated in the founding of the Association of Fine Artists of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ULUBIH) and the School of Applied Arts in Sarajevo, where he worked as a director and professor. He was a member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In 2010, a major retrospective exhibition was held at the Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo to mark the artist's centennial. Discussing the artistic creation of Vojo Dimitrijević, curator Ivana Udovičić stated:

Works

Kraj peći (By the Stove), oil on canvas, 1930. Španija (Spain), oil on canvas. Portrait of the painter Ismet Mujezinović, oil on canvas, 1939. Ulica pod snijegom (Street under Snow), oil on canvas, 1951. Život u kući radnika (Life in a Worker's House), linocut. Fašizam caruje (Fascism Reigns). Bolničarka Rava previja ranjenika (Nurse Rava Bandaging the Wounded), charcoal drawing.

Awards

1956 – Sixth of April Award of Sarajevo 1962 – Twenty-seventh of July Award 1964 – Award of the Government of PR BiH 1970 – AVNOJ Award