Closing Ceremony for ‘Apples for Sarajevo’ Exhibition Last Night

By: Medina Malagić

Last night at the Art Gallery of B&H, the closing ceremony for the exhibition ‘Apples for Sarajevo’ by Slovenian artist Jure Cekuta took place.

This exhibition opened on 28 November and was organized by the Sarajevska Tribina, with Sabiha Hadžimuratović as organizer and curator of the exhibition, the city of Sarajevo and the B&H Art Gallery.

Jure Cekuta’s love for Sarajevo is unyielding. 20 years ago, he became involved in a charity sales exhibition intended for humanitarian purposes for B&H refugees in Slovenia. With this exhibition, he hoped to give something back to the city of Sarjaevo.

20 years later, Cekuta is back in Sarajevo with an exhibition that he says began 20 years ago, during the period where he helped organize the charity event.

Jure said that about half of the paintings at this exhibition were done while he was staying at the art colony run by curator and Director of Sarajevska Tribina Sabiha Hadžimuratović, and subsequently Sabiha was able to organize the exhibition in a relatively short period of time. However, Jure noted that the conception for the theme of apples in his paintings began 20 years ago.

For this exhibition at the B&H Art Gallery, apples are a prominent feature in his paintings. He said that back then, he was not aware that it was connected to B&H, but felt something beautiful in his heart. When he arrived at the art colony, he knew that it was time to paint.

The artwork by Jure at his exhibition in Sarajevo, in addition to the presence of the symbolic apple, featured bold and prominent colors that blend effortlessly together to create something striking and abstract, yet the apple is clearly visible and has become sort of like a stamp for his paintings, sending a powerful message that is personal to the artist and one which resonates with the public, especially considering Jure’s highly personal connection to Sarajevo and B&H.

While speaking with Jure about his exhibition, he said that the exhibition in Sarajevo and the interaction with the Sarajevo public allowed him to see the whole story about his idea that began decades ago in an entirely new way. It is the feelings and the memories of the people that helped connect the story. He cites this as one of his most creative works, since during the creation of these paintings, he didn’t know exactly why he was doing it, but just felt it. The exhibition in Sarajevo ‘Apples for Sarajevo’ gave him the opportunity to articulate the meaning of the works that were part of this collection with the city’s participation and its people.