My sister Doesjka and I look back on a brief but wonderful stay in Belgrade in June 2026, where we attended the opening of the exhibition “Art Through the Prism of Conservation and Restoration” at the Singidunum Gallery showcasing works by Viktor from the late fifties and early sixties.
The exhibition presented 12 works that Viktor made in the last years at the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade and in the years after, when he had moved back to Banja Luka (present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina), where he became one of the key figures in the rapidly evolving art scene.
The 12 works are part of a larger group of 71 artworks by Viktor in the possession of the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Republic of Srpska in Banja Luka. These artworks are currently being professionally restored by the Center for Conservation and Restoration (CKR) in Belgrade.
The exhibition offered an exciting behind-the-scenes look at the restoration process – the team did an amazing job restoring the paintings, some of which had been in a truly poor condition.
It also highlighted one of the most interesting periods of Viktor’s artistic career, when he transitioned from figurative to abstract and geometric painting.
It was a wonderful experience for us to see this exhibition and to talk with the museum’s curator and director, as well as with some of the restorers. We would like to thank Gallery Singidunum, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Republika Srpska, and the Center for Conservation and Restoration in Belgrade for making this possible.
And there were even merch bags. 🙂
