Australian Contemporary Art

structure not allowing one-sided interpretations. He conserves cultural imprints and situations from the societies of the past, which are not primeval but created by an artist; yet they make us conscious of the understanding of the world and the course of action of the world at various times.

Born in Macedonia in 1950 he came from an artistic family, which nurtured the young boys’ talent and free thought. He attended the College of Fine Art in Skopje from 1968 until 1971 where he learnt the disciplines and theory of fine art as well as nurturing his natural talent.

In 1971 he was offered a position to work on the conservation and restoration of Fresco paintings from the 14th Century Byzantine Basilica in Prilep, Macedonia. From 1971 to 1973 he was also invited as a consultant to the restoration programs in Germany, Austria. Belgium, Holland and Switzerland. This experience kindled his already keen interest in the development of culture and linguistics over time.

After extensive traveling working on commissions in restoration he settled back in Macedonia and began teaching. In 1976 he immigrated to Australia where he has spent his time developing an impressive portfolio of work.

He has been included in many corporate collections worldwide and his work can be seen on display in the Fairfax building in Sydney, among others. His paintings are also included in private collections in the UK, USA, Switzerland, Japan, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Macedonia, New Zealand, Switzerland and France. 
 

Notes on Paintings:

THE HIVE

THIS PETROGLYPH, ESTIMATED AT LEAST 15,000 YEARS OLD, IS FROM THE BORDER REGION – BETWEEN CHINA AND RUSSIA.MANY OF THE ROCK ENGRAVINGS IN SIBERIA ARE OFTEN DEPICTING HUMANS, WARM BLOODED ANIMALS, BIRDS AND FISH.THE HIGHLY ABSTRACT IMAGES IN THIS PAINTING ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT AND IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED BY ICE AGE EXPERTS THAT THEY SYMBOLISE A HIVE OR THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING.

THE SPIRITS OF NAMIB

THE BUSHMEN IN SUB EQUATORIAL AFRICA, ESPECIALLY IN THE REGION OF THE KALAHARI DESERT HAVE CREATED MANY THOUSANDS OF ROCK PAINTINGS AND PETROGLYPHS.MAJORITY OF THE IMAGES PORTRAYED ARE OF THE AFRICAN FAUNA AND STYLIZED HUMAN FIGURES, BUT ALSO THERE ARE MANY ABSTRACT COMPOSITIONS.THIS PAINTING FROM THE ERONGO MOUNTAINS IN NAMIBIA, DEPICTS A RARE EXAMPLE OF SPIRITS MORPHING GIRAFFES WITH SNAKES.

THE MISSING PAGES

MANUSCRIPTS ARE NOT ONLY A PRICELESS “DEPOSITORY OF SPIRITUAL WEALTH CREATED BY HUMAN THOUGHT DURING THOUSANDS OF YEARS, BUT ALSO FRUITS OF INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY OF SCHOLARS, POETS, ARTISTS HUMANISTS, SCIENTISTS, HISTORIANS AND SO ON….CREATED BY DIFFERENT RACES AND NATIONS IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AND SCRIPTS REFLECTING THE PROGRESSIVE ASPIRATIONS OF MANKIND AND AS SUCH, BECOME THE COMMON HERITAGE OF HUMANITY”. Collected Works Vol.4M. K Marx & F Engels.

UNFORTUNATELY THROUGHOUT HISTORY (TO MENTION SOME EVENTS) …….
THE VANDAL CONQUEST OF ROME, THE ICONOCLASTS IN BYZANTIUM, AND REFORMATIONISTS IN EUROPE, THE CONQUISTADORES IN THE AMERICAS AND NOT LONG AGO THE RED GUARDS OF MAO’S CULTURAL REVOLUTION, ALL HAVE BEEN GUILTY OF CRIMES AGAINST THE WRITTEN WORD, ART, CULTURE, AND BEAUTY. IN ONE WORD – HUMANITY.

AT THE TOP PART OF THE PAINTING IS A STYLIZED SUN, THE COMMON SYMBOL OF MANY PEOPLES AROUND THE WORLD, REPRESENTING NOT ONLY RENEWAL BUT ALSO ENLIGHTENMENT.

THE PAGES AT THE BOTTOM, WRITTEN IN CYRILLIC ARE FRAGMENTS OF MANUSCRIPTS (END OF 14TH CENTURY) HOUSED IN THE MANUSCRIPT SECTION OF THE “LENIN LIBRARY” IN MOSCOW.

The Place Where Old Men Watch the Stars

Less monumental than the giant moai but equally spectacular are more than 4000 petroglyphs on the island of Rapanui (Easter Island) which is approx. 160 sq kilometres in land mass.

Settlers arrived around 400AD probably from Marques islands. The culture and mythology is shared among all Polynesians, including the belief that the souls of the departed always returned to their ancient homelands.

There is a place in north eastern Easter Island where "old men watched the stars". Presumably their souls will remember their locations and navigate safely to ancestral mythical island.

This painting is composed with images from several different locations on the island, representing fishing canoes, fish hooks and sea turtle.