Gallery of Naive Art in Kovačica

Kovačica is a small town and a small spot on the geographical map of the world, but on the map of naive art it has a status of a metropolis. It got this place in the field of naive art thanks to its painters, who have been creating and exhibiting...

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Masarikova 65

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https://naivnaumetnost.com/

Kovačica is a small town and a small spot on the geographical map of the world, but on the map of naive art it has a status of a metropolis. It got this place in the field of naive art thanks to its painters, who have been creating and exhibiting their works here for almost seven decades.

In this tour, get to know:

... © Goran Gajić
... © Galerija naivne umetnosti
... (cc) Ванилица/BY-SA 4.0

Welcome to Kovačica

Vojvodina is located in the southern part of the Pannonian Plain. It represents the natural bridge between Central and Western Europe on one side, and the Balkan Peninsula and the Middle East on the other side. The municipality of Kovačica lies in the middle of a triangle created by three...

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... © Goran Gajić
... © Goran Gajić
... © Goran Gajić

The birth of naïve art in Kovačica

1939 is considered to be the year naïve art was born in Kovačica. It was in that year that Martin Paluška and Ján Sokol began to paint, without any knowledge of the academic theory behind what they were doing. Somewhat later, they were joined by other, now-famous, naïve artists, including...

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... © Goran Gajić
... © Goran Gajić
... © Galerija naivne umetnosti

The establishment of the Gallery of Naïve Art

People started to talk more and more about these peasant-painters, and so the idea of opening an art gallery was born. On the 15th of May 1955, Kovačica became the first village in the whole of former Yugoslavia to get its own gallery of paintings. This gallery was originally located...

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... (cc) Ванилица/BY-SA 4.0
... (cc) BuhaM/BY-SA 4.0

The main event

Every year, the village celebrates the traditional event known as the Kovačica October, which includes the exhibition of the newest representative works of all the members of the Gallery. The paintings on show are gifts to the Gallery’s art fund. The collection of paintings in the Gallery of Naïve Art...

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... © Galerija naivne umetnosti

The painters’ mission

United in the Gallery of naive art, the painters dedicate themselves to us figuratively through their works and wake in us something that is at times forgotten or sleepy, but still human in our nature: chastity, honesty, frankness and spontaneity – for purpose of making the world a better place...

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... © Goran Gajić
... © Galerija naivne umetnosti
... © Galerija naivne umetnosti

Thematic variety of paintings

Generally, the content of their paintings is very rich and diverse. Nostalgic and idyllic motives tell the story about the past times, life on village streets, backyards, field works, also there are ambient displays of village rooms with old carpets and household objects, as well as portraits and still life....

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... © Goran Gajić
... © Goran Gajić
... © Goran Gajić

Admirers of the art

Thanks to the work of Gallery members, many famous people have visited Kovačica during all these years. Some of them were François Mitterrand, Rolling Stones, Pelé, Ursula Andress, Alain Delon, Franco Nero, Juan Carlos, as well as many other renowned politicians, diplomats, actors and artists. Kovačica was also visited by...

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The founders of naive art in Kovačica and its most important representatives

During these fruitful years of work, 45 painters passed through the gallery. Their paintings adorn galleries and private houses on all meridians of the world. The founders of naive art, whose paintings are all included in the gallery collection, are: Martin Paluška, Jan Sokol, Vladimir Boboš, Jan Knjazovic, Michal Bireš,...

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... © Goran Gajić
... © Goran Gajić
... © Goran Gajić

The founders of naive art in Kovačica – Martin Jonaš

Martin Jonaš is one of the most significant authors in the world of naive art. He was born in 1924 in Kovačica, where he finished the elementary school, spent all of his working days and entire lifetime, working mostly as a farmer and an artist. He was the leading figure...

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... © Goran Gajić
... © Goran Gajić
... © Goran Gajić

The founders of naive art– Zuzana Halupova

Zuzana Halupova was born in Kovačica in 1925. She finished five grades of elementary school. She painted her first oil painting in 1964, “Hemp Beating”. Her success was meteoric. She started collaborating with the Gallery of Naive Art in Svetozarevo and exhibited for the first time in Kovačica during Kovačica...

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... © Galerija naivne umetnosti
... © Goran Gajić
... © Goran Gajić

The founders of naive art– Jan Knjazovic

Jan Knjazovic was born on June 18 in 1925, in a farming family in Kovacica. He was the most original and the bravest painter of naive art from Kovačica, who did not hesitate to fully express his rich imagination and to surpass the natural tendency of the naive painter to...

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Contemporary members of the Gallery of Naive Art

Currently, the Gallery of Naive Art has 26 active painters, mainly Slovaks from Kovačica and the neighboring Slovak village of Padina. Behind each of them is many years of experience in the field of naive art, and they are appreciated and recognized both in the country and abroad. Contemporary members...

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... © Goran Gajić
... © Goran Gajić
... © Goran Gajić

Contemporary members of the Gallery – Mihal Povolni

Mihal Povolni was born in 1935 in Padina. He completed five grades of the primary school in Padina. He is a farmer and lives and works in Padina. Povolni is a member of the Gallery of Naïve Art since 1971. Technique: oil on canvas, drawings. Themes and motifs: genre art,...

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... © Galerija naivne umetnosti
... © Goran Gajić
... © Goran Gajić

Contemporary members of the Gallery – Jan Bačur

Jan Bačur was born in 1937 in Padina. He completed four grades of primary school in Padina, and then another four in Kovačica. He then graduated from a technical school for administration in Belgrade. Before he retired, he worked as a civil servant. Bačur lives and works in Padina and...

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... © Galerija naivne umetnosti
... © Galerija naivne umetnosti

Contemporary members of the Gallery – Alžbeta Čižikova

Alžbeta Čižikova was born in 1936 in Kovačica. She completed her primary education in Kovačica, and graduated from a technical high school for administration in Pančevo. Before she retired, she worked as a civil servant. She lives and works in Kovačica. Alžbeta Čižikova is a member of the Gallery of...

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... © Goran Gajić
... © Goran Gajić
... © Goran Gajić

Contemporary members of the Gallery – Katarina Karlečikova

Katarina Karlečikova was born in 1937 in Kovačica. She completed six grades of primary school in Kovačica, and then two more in Belgrade. She graduated from a high school for economy in Belgrade. She was a civil servant before she retired. Today, she lives and works in Kovačica. Karlečikova is...

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