Three decades of artistic work by Branislav Ristic from Strpce: Transferring the beauty of his homeland into sculpture

Wood and stone take on new forms and expression in the hands of academic sculptor Branislav Ristic from Strpce. Inspired by the landscapes of the Sar Mountains, their rivers, mountains, and scenery, the artist creates sculptures that reflect the beauty of his homeland.

Branislav Ristic's love of art has lasted for nearly three decades. Speaking to Kosovo Online, he said that he first began with wood carving before later moving on to work with other materials.

"It all started quite spontaneously, with friends. I began with wood carving, but I am equally comfortable working with other materials. I make sculptures in wood, stone, metal and terracotta. Stone may seem like the more physically demanding material, but wood is much harder to carve. I have made iconostases for several churches, and I have created around 150 wood-carved icons in walnut wood. I always emphasize that anyone who does this kind of work knows exactly what that means. It all began as a small exploration and a modest interest, but it grew into a serious artistic story," Ristic said.

He pointed out that he is currently working on stone sculptures that will be exhibited at Matica Srpska in Novi Sad.

"Although it appears to be the stronger and heavier material, it is physically easier for me to work with stone than with wood. I received an invitation from the Gallery of Matica Srpska in Novi Sad to prepare an exhibition marking its 200th anniversary, and I am currently working on that project. There will be ten or more sculptures. It will also serve as a promotion of the Sirinic Valley. A singing group from Gotovusa will perform, as well as Srdjan Mladenovic, a doctor of history from Berevac, who will speak about the history of the valley," Ristic said.

Inspiration is essential for artists, and Ristic says he never lacks it in the environment where he lives because he is surrounded by beauty on all sides.

"Time is not really a factor. It depends on how much I work, how much inspiration I have and how much free time I have. This particular sculpture that I have started could be finished in a single day. The biggest challenge is bringing an idea to life, making sure the form is right, the mass is balanced and everything works as it should. Like everything in life, nothing happens overnight. It is a process. We start with a drawing, then small-scale models and sketches. What I create in the evening seems wonderful to me, but when I wake up in the morning, I think it is no good at all, so I start over. We move forward day by day. These are not works that are created every day or once a month. To tell a serious story through stone or wood requires at least six months of work," Ristic revealed.

He stressed that every artist creates so that their work can be seen, and he has already exhibited his works at numerous solo and group exhibitions.

"So far, I have had four solo exhibitions and more than thirty group exhibitions. Our biggest problem is that every time we leave Kosovo with our work, it is an exhausting process. It takes a mountain of paperwork to take my work out and bring it back again. We create so that people can see our work. The colleagues we collaborate with are each other's best critics. If something is not good, we have to say it, and in order to see what is not good, we have to exhibit our work. About twenty days ago there was an exhibition in Sombor, and there is currently a joint group exhibition in Apatin, organized through an association led by Sanja Djordjevic from Zvecan, who is in charge of all of that," Ristic said.

In recent years, Ristic has been one of the organizers of the traditional art colony "Autumn in the Sirinic Valley." He says that over time it has grown into an arts colony bringing together many young artists.

"Together with several colleagues, after a few years, I relaunched the 'Autumn in the Sirinic Valley' Art Colony. We no longer focus only on visual arts. Every form of art is represented. We have Jelena Popovic with poetry, Aleksandra with a choir, and I am glad that it has developed into something much broader. Thanks to this colony, every year we have more and more young people interested in art. Every year we have between three and five students at the Faculty of Arts because the valley is incredibly inspiring. Everything here is beautiful for an artist. We have everything we need: stone, wood and a river. I envisioned it not merely as an art colony, but as a colony of the arts. Autumn here is especially beautiful. We have forests that turn into fifty shades during that season, and that is exactly what we artists need," Ristic said.

While nature offers new motifs and inspiration every day, Branislav Ristic's sculptures remain a lasting trace of a particular time, place and a man who transforms his love of art into works of art.