Embraces/Safet Zec

The most visited exhibition of the History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last ten years is the exhibition Embraces by Safet Zec, one of the greatest contemporary artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The series is inspired by the story of Boško and Admira, who were killed during the siege of Sarajevo. The cycle Embraces was created in Italy. It is interesting that all works were created in a relatively short period of time; within a year and a half, monumental canvases were enlivened with colour, movement, light, newspaper articles… So taken with the topic, Safet Zec laboured to articulate it clearly and quickly, carrying out serious, precise, detailed artistic research. In the artist’s diaries, which are displayed like an overture on the first floor of the History Museum BiH, you can see photos of the Holocaust, taken during the Second World War. On the second floor, the motif that dominates the works of art are arms embracing. The pieces from Zec’s opus Embraces were previously exhibited on the premises of the Santa Maria della Pietà church in Venice, and the exhibition in Sarajevo was organized in cooperation with the City of Sarajevo and Atelier Safet Zec.