Storm at sea

Milenko Perić

Closely related themes with a coherent conceptual solution, harmonious colours and a unique blend of the past and present in the visual poetics of Milenko Peric are flowing continuously within the realms of magical realism.   
By introducing a broad repertoire of narrative frames, the author uses still life, landscapes, portraits and animal motifs as the backbone for exploring the relationship between the physical and metaphysical and a given motif. By remaining faithful to his visual language, he meticulously creates the surfaces which are not only a mere depiction of reality, but symbolic and deliberate unities.      
In the artistic opus of Milenko Perić, there is a distinct set of multithemed artworks, depicting everyday existence, implemented in a single story and dedicated to inconspicuous people. 
The human beings who are almost invisible, reserved and marginalized, but who, in fact, invite any observer to look more closely into their unique psychological traits.           
Porcelain faces of Kolumbina masks, simultaneously refined and frightening, represent the symbol of false equality among people, and a leitmotif of the painting Venice. 
The seascapes are particularly picturesque in Milenko’s paintings. Mysterious blue depths of the sea in his artwork reveal a chiaroscuro world with the main motifs such as seashells, starfish and seahorses painted in blue and green lazure.
The seahorse is, at the same time, a mythical creature and an animal, or a fish - a symbol of fidelity and play. It is painted in the shades of gold in contrast to dark background. 
Relict species like Nautilus with its spiral shell which, in its growth, follows a logarithmic spiral known as the Golden Spiral, represents a key protagonist of the painting of the same name. 
The artist’s harmonious relationship with nature emerges in the series of artworks which showcase various landscapes, capturing the play of natural light and the vibrant colours of nature…  Undisturbed by the presence of man, the nature itself in all its splendour and mystery represents an inexhaustible source of inspiration for this painter.
A straightforward attitude towards the world, universal values, a fascination for the seemingly mundane topics and moments in time – these are the hallmarks of the prolific and extraordinary opus of our painter from Belgrade, Milenko Perić. 

Maja Živanović, art critic

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