Dragan Malešević Tapi
Dragan Malešević Tapi | |
---|---|
Драган Малешевић Тапи | |
Born | FR Yugoslavia | 22 January 1949
Nationality | Serbian |
Alma mater | University of Belgrade |
Known for | Painting, drawing |
Movement | Hyperrealism |
Website | www |
Dragan Malešević Tapi (
Life
Dragan Malešević was born in Belgrade in 1949. In his early youth, he started painting as an autodidact. His painting career began when he was seven years old, in the lobby of the building located at 4 Hilandarska street in Belgrade. He copied the comic "Three Imps", which his father, a journalist, used to bring him from the "Politika" press, before the comic would appear in newsstands. Tickets for his first independent "exhibition", which took place at the entrance of his house building, cost five dinars for children and ten dinars for adults.
In 1985 his works, together with the works of Mića Popović and Olja Ivanjicki, were shown in public, at a group exhibition in Rovinj, where he continued to exhibit his works for the next five years.
The crucial moment for his painting career was the sale of some of his first paintings in the Prijeko Gallery in Dubrovnik in 1987. Tapi's first painting was sold to a German tourist for DM 8,000, although the artist at first asked 50,000 dollars for it. From that point forward, he aligned his life with his talent. After only two years, the magazine "Art News" would include him among the seven best hyperrealists in the world.[1]
In the 80s and 90s his paintings engrossed great media attention,
Art
Modern art critics consider Dragan Malešević as a representative leader of
He painted oils on canvas and wood, and his use of techniques such as underpainting was similar to that of the old masters, especially Jan van Eyck and Salvador Dalí. As he painted only visible things, very precisely, he preserved the spirit of optimism and the joy of living. For some critics this is the specificity of Tapi's style.[6]
However, his work embraces a much wider spectrum. Unlike his paintings, some of these artworks are yet unknown to the wider public, but it is important to note that he was engaged in sculpture in last years of his artistic production. Tapi's paintings dominate with scenes from everyday life, depicted with almost photographic precision. He also painted landscapes, genre compositions, still life, and female nudes. Some of his paintings have historical, religious or social motifs, with an admixture of the surreal.
Certainly, Tapi is one of the most famous and popular Serbian painters, with his paintings reaching staggering several hundreds of thousands of USD and his reproductions being sold worldwide.[7] During his life he painted around a hundred paintings, including the most popular; Field of Happiness, Swans, Venezuela, 18th Hole, Garage, Spirit of Tesla, Anna Bach, A Turkey Fight, Rhodesia, Joy of Bankruptcy (on the cover of the compilation "Ima neka tajna veza" for the band Bijelo Dugme), Warm-Cold (on the cover of the compilation "Best of Oliver Mandić"), Žika's band (on the Goran Bregović CD cover "Music for movies"), Bliher, etc.
Tapi and freemasonry
In the Serbian public sphere, in parallel with his art, Tapi carefully built his name as one of the most influential Freemasons in the country.
Solo exhibitions
- 1989 Bor Museum.
- 1991 Yugoslavian Art Gallery, Belgrade.
- 1992 ; Gallery Scottish Rite, Los Angeles, United States; Milos Palace, Požarevac; Leonardo Gallery, Belgrade; Cafe Gallery "Dvorište", Belgrade.
- 1993 Herceg Novi; ICC Art Gallery Limassol, Cyprus.
- 1994 Hotel Vitosha, Sofia, Bulgaria; Cultural Center of Kotor; Cultural Center of Podgorica.
- 1995 Cafe Gallery, Kikinda; Gallery Renata, Sombor; Belgrade City Museum-Gallery, Belgrade.
- 1996 Exhibition of the painting "E, moj narode!" in Yugoslavian Art Gallery, Belgrade; National theater "Zoran Radmilović" - Zaječar;
- 1997 Art Gallery "Ruski Dom", Belgrade;
- 1999 Cultural Center of Macedonia; St. Stefan Gallery – Montenegro.
- 2001 Museum of Vojvodina, Novi Sad; St. Stefan Gallery – Montenegro; "Grand" Hotel - Kopaonik.
Group exhibitions
- 1986 Museum in Rovinj
- 1987 Gallery Studio 57-Prijeko, Dubrovnik;
- 1989 Keith Green Gallery, Park Avenue, New York City
- 1990 Gallery Leonardo, Belgrade.
- 1992 Gallery Rose, Belgrade.
- 1994 Gallery "Picasso", Pančevo; "City" Gallery, Belgrade.
- 1995 Gallery "Picasso", Pančevo.
- 1996 Yugoslavian Art Gallery, Belgrade; Belgrade Museum of Contemporary Art, the exhibition „Nikola Tesla“, pavilion Cvijeta Zuzorić, Belgrade.
- 2000 Yugoslavian Art Gallery, Belgrade.
References
- ^ Slobodan Ikonić, Masoni sa asfalta, NIN, November 2006
- ^ Mile Subotić, Lepota Realizma, magazine Rastko, number 4, Belgrade 1998, 32-33.Dejan Đorić, Stručnjaci za đubre, magazine Duga number 1614, Belgrade 1995, 69.Đorđe Kadijević, Nema "slučaja Tapi", magazine NIN, Belgrade 1995, 38.S. Trifunović, Smeće po meri kritike, magazine Politika Ekspres, Belgrade 1995, 14.
- ^ "Politika Newspapers & Magazines d.o.o. - Ilustrovana Politika". www.politika.rs. Archived from the original on 24 April 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ Dejan Đorić, Dragan Malešević Tapi, text in catalogue published for exhibition organized in Gallery Leonardo, Belgrade.
- ^ Mića Milošević, Flamanac i Mađioničar, text in catalogue published for exhibition organized in Gallery Leonardo in 1992, Mića Milošević, Flemish Magician, text in catalogue published for exhibition in ICC Art Gallery, Cyprus 1993.
- ^ Đorđe Kadijević, Čudan slikar, text in catalogue published for exhibition organized in Gallery Renata, Sombor 1995.
- ^ Dragana Nikoletić, Dotukao nas je naš karakter, magazine Reporter number 188. Belgrade 2001, 45-47. Momo Kapor, Tapijev magični realizam, magazine Duga number 369, Belgrade 1988, 50-51.
- ^ Cecilija Rabrenović, Lagana igra jednog džentlmena, magazine Gentleman number 6, Belgrade 1997, 37-39.Masoni nisu bauk, magazine Svedok, Belgrade 1998, 10-11.
- ^ Kako da postanete mason, magazine Večiti Fenomeni number 2, Belgrade 1998, 11-41.
External links
- Dragan Malešević Tapi - Official internet presentation Archived 2019-09-19 at the Wayback Machine
- Dragan Malešević Tapi Facebook page
- Dragan Malešević Tapi Facebook group
- Profile at Arte portal
- Grand National Lodge of Serbia - Dragan Malešević Tapi Lodge
- Supreme Council of Serbia, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite
- Painting "Žikin bend" by Dragan Malešević Tapi on the cover of Goran Bregović CD "Muzika za filmove"
- "Radost bankrota" painting by Dragan Malešević Tapi on the cover of Bijelo Dugme album "Ima neka tajna veza"