Parables and Martyrs

Painting exhibition by Nikola Sarić

The Parable of the Good Samaritan and the Parable of the Sower, figures of Sainthood, like Adam, Protomartyr St. Stephen and the Prophet Jonah, “come alive” in the ‘Parables and Martyrs’ exhibition. Through the work of Serbian painter Nikola Sarić we can see the modern iconographic representation of the Parables, the Martyrs and the Prophets, in compositions that extend beyond the established concept of such subject matter. Compositions that imbue the subject with a completely contemporary visual approach, even if it is based on early Christian painting, succeeding in the role of a clear visual narrative.

Visitors of the exhibition – whose curation was undertaken by the director of the Mount Athos Centre, Anastasios Douros – will have the opportunity to see works from two different painting cycles of Nikola Sarić. In total, 45 pieces will be presented inspired by the ‘Parables of Jesus’ cycle and the ‘Martyrs and Prophets of the Church’ cycle.

In the first cycle we will encounter compositions that serve the fundamental principle of the Parables, which is none other than that of lofty teachings through the use of extreme simplicity, an element that makes the entirety of the audience potential communicants without any exclusions. As pointed out by Mr. Douros, “in Sarić’s Parables this simplicity is expressed through the robust clarity of basic concepts in an apparently easy to read symmetrical composition. Faces and objects are at once simple and enigmatic, composing a challenge for viewers similar to what the audience that heard a Parable would have had to deal with”.

He added that, “similar evidence is revealed in the cycle with the Martyrs, whose forms dominate the centre of each piece. The common characteristic of all forms is their position of prayer, as well as the sharp angle at which their heads are turned to the heavens, in a meeting with God that is depicted intensely and quietly at the same time”.

An undoubtedly charming element of the exhibition is that Nikola Sarić’s work stands out and impresses through its spare thematic approach, which requires an exceptionally thorough reading of well known texts, a personal look. And although the basic elements of his painting invoke visual codes from the artistic tradition of the first Christian period, the result is completely original: a contemporary personal testimony.