At University Gallery, exhibition of diploma works by students of Art Academy in Split (UMAS) Painting Department, "Painting and the Possibilities of the Image: Generation 2024", was opened on April 15. The project was realized with support of gallery’s manager, Helena Trze Jakelić, who keeps opening space for young artists and encourages collaborations between institutions.
The exhibition features diploma works by nine young artists: Katarina Botica, Nora Gabrić, Đana Lončar, Zvonimir Lukas, and Kristina Tokić, who completed their studies under the mentorship of prof. art. Viktor Popović, as well as Sunčana Barbarić, Marina Mužinić, Paula Šaravanja, and Fani Vidović, who graduated in the class of assoc. prof. Vedran Perkov. The mentoring process was supported by assistants Anita Miloš Tomaić and Josip Šurlin. Theoretical support for all works was provided by assoc. prof. Blaženka Perica Ph.D., while prof. Ivan Kolovrat mentored photography work for Fani Vidović.
One of the mentors, prof. Viktor Popović, emphasizes that uniqueness of UMAS Visual Arts department lies in working in small groups. This format allows for an intense dialogue and individualized approach to each student, which lays the foundation for development of artistic expression and innovation. Already in third year of undergraduate studies, students are encouraged to systematically explore personal artistic interests and develop their own themes.
The importance of possibilities in the image, as crucial term of the exhibition, was also discussed by assist.prof. Matko Botić Ph.D., Art Academy in Split’s Vice Dean for Art and Science, who opened the exhibition. He emphasized that although the exhibition belongs to Department of Painting, it is not merely a painting exhibition—because it continually seeks new possibilities for image through ethical and aesthetic approaches. He reflected on Michel Foucault’s thought from "Archaeology of Knowledge," according to which discourse is a series of discontinuous segments whose tactical function is never uniform or stable. This idea, he suggested, can be applied to this exhibition: no work is uniform or static, which contributes to its freshness and innovation.
