Courtyard Gallery: "I am here" by Sara Nikolić

We invite everyone to the opening of Sara Nikolić's exhibition "I am here" on Saturday, September 5th at 5 pm at the Courtyard Gallery (Korzo 1).

Sara Nikolić was born in Belgrade in 1997. Before starting her studies, she was actively involved in civic activism, especially in the field of disability rights, women's rights and the anti-war movement.

In 2021, she enrolled at the Technical Academy in Belgrade, majoring in "concept and character design", and then became interested in painting and began to develop herself in it. She believes that art can be a powerful tool for social change.

As she is interested in people, solidarity and empathy, her works focus on the inner states of the individual and the common emotions that unite us as individuals. In her works, the faces do not strive for aesthetic beauty, and the painted subjects do not fall below the standards of beauty, but show what is essential in us: imperfection, fear, emotions and transience.

The concept of the “I am here” exhibition:

The pictures were born from the need to present and understand emotions and fears.

The process of painting itself is a search, creation, then destruction and search again. A face is an emotion and a state, not a specific person. Brushstrokes are feelings, not control. Layers of color simultaneously hide and reveal themselves. Faces mean escape and presence at the same time. A person is both ME and YOU.

The need to create works stems from something that is important to me as an artist. The ability to recognize (see) ourselves in others, to identify with and understand them, and to create an empathetic and supportive environment where our emotions and fears bring us together and connect us, rather than divide us.