Vuk Vidor (; sr-cyr, Вук Видор, ; born 1965) is a French-Serbian artist.

Life

Vuk Vidor is the son of the painter, illustrator and engraver

Vladimir Veličković Vladimir Veličković ( sr-cyr, Владимир Величковић; 11 August 1935 – 29 August 2019) was a Serbian painter who spent much of his adult life in Paris. Biography Veličković graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at Be ...

and the older brother of artist Marko Velk. Born in Belgrade, Serbia in 1965, he studied architecture at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts de Paris-Tolbiac (Paris-Tolbiac National School of Fine Arts) and graduated in 1990. He shows several of his utopian and conceptual architectural projects alongside pioneers such as Zaha Hadid, Morphosis, Coop Himmelblau, Eric Moss... In 1992, Vuk Vidor decides to turn to painting. A series of drawing he started in 1989 and entitled " King Ink " often serves as the basis for his works.

Work

Artistic practice

Vidor's work is characterized by its eclecticism. His reflexion about life and death is prominent in a series of paintings entitled " Ascendance " that depicts interconnected skulls. It is a way to represent emotional, historical or even cosmic connexions between beings. His works are full of

irony Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into ...

. The " Everlast " series is about the 4 ages of life : childhood,

Adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

hood,

old age Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

and death. He works with several mediums, mostly painting and drawing, but sometimes sculpture or installation as well. In 2000 he contributed to an exhibition about the color red, symbolizing eros, blood and violence. In 2015, Vuk Vidor created an exhibition around a fictitious industrial and scientist, Thomas Jerome Newton, a character from the 1976 movie '' The Man Who Fell to Earth''. He built a story around the character, pretending that he was about to give an interview to Time Magazine. He feigned to have had access to the character's archives and exhibited documents about him. David Bowie, who impersonates Thomas Jerome Newton in the movie, is omnipresent in the exhibition. Vuk Vidor had previously focused on another icon, the singer and musician Elvis Presley, whose name he had changed to ‘Evils’. Vuk Vidor has worked with musicians Goran Bregović and

Marc Cerrone Marc Cerrone Daryl Easlea, "Supernature Boy", ''Record Collector'', #502, February 2020, pp.60-63 (, ; born 24 May 1952) is a French disco drummer, composer, record producer and creator of concert shows. Cerrone is a producer of 1970s and 198 ...

, and English rock band

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

. He directed numerous music clips in Serbia in the 90s. In 2006, he directed a vido clip about greed for the launch of the Chrysler 300.

Committed art

Vuk Vidor is a committed and political artist. In 2003 he takes side for the

Refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s in an installation called Serbia Remix Project. The subject of the installation is a blue, white, and red striped

plastic bag A plastic bag, poly bag, or pouch is a type of container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, powders, ice, magazines, c ...

. This bag is according to him, a common feature of every victim of modern conflicts. His work is fraught with historical references and frequently deals with the idea of war. He has built a gold statue of himself in an attempt to reflect both on his

ego Ego or EGO may refer to: Social sciences * Ego (Freudian), one of the three constructs in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche * Egoism, an ethical theory that treats self-interest as the foundation of morality * Egotism, the drive to ...

as an artist. and on Serbian nationalism. In a 2009 series entitled " American Quartet ", he delivers his own vision of the United States. Through figures of weary

Superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

es, he denounces the myth of the

Frontier A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...

and the omnipotence of the US. Captain American becomes an Atlas-like figure, bearing on his shoulder not the world but the American Dream. Jesus is also part of the exhibition, but is shown crucified to

Shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...

s. The inspiration of his post

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

world comes from pop art and American

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

– a genre he likes to parody. He twists American symbols and turns heroes into useless villains. He exhibits his works in the United States to force Americans to face their contradictions. He intends to show that today " even super-heroes cannot save us ". Generally speaking, his work constantly interrogates the place of humanity in the universe.

Conception of art

Vuk Vidor's vision of art is sometimes controversial. " Vuillard was better than Bonnard, same for Tapiès, Rauschenberg used to be better, Twombly has always painted crap,

Bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sand ...

was better when he was alive. ", he said in a 1999 manifesto-like work entitled " Art history ". In 2007 he co-signed an editorial in the French newspaper L’Humanité, criticizing how the French Ministry for Culture was contributing to create a normalized and monopolistic " official art ". He spoke against the " masked puppeteers " who are imposing diktats of fashion and trends in the art world. He asked for a fair repartition of temporary exhibition spaces. His work is transgressive : he even directed erotic videos. In 2012, Vuk Vidor created the under-realist movement with Kosta Kulundzic, a Franco-American artist of Serbian origin, and the French artist Stéphane Pencréac’h. The movement is a reaction against the over-conceptualisation of contemporary painting. For them, the image is more important than the idea. The under-realism is a grouping of artists who share the same vision of the artist's condition and are trying to free themselves from the diktats of market and trends.

Recognition

Vuk Vidor was awarded the Ito Ham Prize in 1986. He was awarded the International Painting Prize of Vitry-sur-Seine in 1996.

Exhibitions

Solo shows

* 2013 **''Newton'', Poulsen Gallery, Copenhagen ** ''Les 7 péchés capitaux'', Mazel Gallery, Brussels * 2009 : ''Superheroe'', Magda Danysz Gallery, Paris * 2007 : ''Even Super Heroes Can't Save Us Now'', Cueto Project, New York City * 2006 : ** ''If you’re looking for trouble you came to the right place'', Valérie Cueto Gallery, Paris ** ''The Blood Value of the Banana'', Palais de Tokyo, Paris * 2005 ** ''If you’re looking for trouble you came to the right place'',

Art Basel Miami Beach Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel, Switzerland; Miami Beach; Hong Kong and from 2022, Paris. Art Basel works in collaboration with the host city's local institutions to help ...

, United States ** ''If you’re looking for trouble you came to the right place'', ARCO 05, Madrid * 2004 **''Eldorado'', Valérie Cueto Gallery, Paris ** ''If you are looking for trouble you came to the right place'', CZKD,

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

** ''Art history'', mural installation, Palais de Tokyo, Paris * 2003 **''Flesh for Fantasy'', Valérie Cueto Gallery, Paris ** ''Flesh for Fantasy'', Emmanuel Javogue Fine Art, Miami * 2001 : ''Serbia Remix'', Belgrade * 1999 : ** ''(L)overs'', Valérie Cueto Gallery, Paris ** ''Last Painting of the Century'', Valérie Cueto Gallery, Paris ** ''Last Painting of the Century'', Picture Show Gallery, Berlin * 1995 ** ''Give me back my flag'', CZKD, Belgrade ** Museum of Modern Art,

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Serbia, and is situated on ...

, Yugoslavia ** Galerie 12 +, Belgrade

Group shows

* 2018 : ''Action ! La Nouvelle École française : première époque'', Bastille Design Center, Paris * 2015 : ''Blackout'', Mazel Gallery, Brussels * 2014 ** ''St’Art Art Fair'', Mazel Gallery,

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

** ''Sur le papier'', Mazel Gallery, Brussels * 2013 ** ''Drawing Now'', Carrousel du Louvre, Paris ** ''Under Realism 3'', La Lune en parachute, Epinal, France ** ''Under Realism v. 4.0'', Acentmètresducentredumonde,

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

, France ** ''SOON'', Mazel Galerie, Brussels * 2012 ** Louise Alexander Gallery, Porto Cervo, Italy ** ''Art Paris'', Louise Alexander Gallery, Paris ** ''Quelques instants plus tard… Art & Bande dessinée'', Réfectoire des Cordeliers, Paris ** ''The Gallery Poulsen Late Summer Show 2012'', Poulsen Gallery, Copenhagen ** ''Une histoire vraie. Leopold Rabus & Guests'', Aeroplastics Gallery, Brussels ** ''Happy Birthday Marilyn… 50 ans déjà'', Mazel Gallery, Brussels ** ''Under Realism 1'', Serbia Cultural Center, Paris ** ''Under Realism 2'', Progres Gallery,

** ''Tensions'', Mazel Gallery, Brussels * 2011 : ''Words and dreams. Where technology meets dreams and vice versa'', 18Gallery Shanghai – Bund 18, Shanghai * 2010 ** ''Vuk Vidor and Friends'', Poulsen Gallery, Copenhagen ** ''The Poulsen X-Mas Show 2010'', Poulsen Gallery, Copenhagen ** ''Speed Painting'', Magda Danysz Gallery, Paris * 2009 ** ''Vraoum !'', Maison Rouge, Paris ** ''That's all Folks!'', Stadshallen, Bruges, Belgium ** ''Elusive Dreams 2'', Irish Museum of Contemporary Art, Dublin * 2008 : ''Micro-Narratives: Temptation of Small Realities'', Saint-Étienne Metropolis Museum of Modern Art,

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...

, France * 2007 **''Micro Narratives'', 45th October Salon, Belgrade ** ''The Theatre of Cruelty'', White Box, New York ** ''Zeitgeist'', Cueto Project, New York ** ''Superego'', CZKD, Belgrade ** ''French Touche'', Villa Tamaris, La Seyne-sur-Mer, France * 2006 : ''Faites de beaux rêves'', Nuit Blanche, Paris * 2005 ** Artists & Arms, Maars Gallery, Moscow ** Exposition inaugurale, Marta Herford, Herford, Germany ** Art Cologne, Cologne, Germany ** Foire internationale d'art contemporain, Paris ** Art Brussels, Brussels ** ''Cosmopolis'', Muséum of Contemporary Art of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece ** ''My Favorite Things: Peinture en France'', Contemporary Art Museum, Lyon * 2004 **''Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation'', Regina Gouger Miller Gallery, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, United States ** ''Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation'', University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, United States ** ''Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation'', Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, United States ** ''Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation'', Art House,

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, United States ** ''Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation'', Western Washington University, Bellingham, United States ** ''Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation'', Art Brussels, Brussels ** ''Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation'', Foire internationale d'art contemporain, Paris * 2003 ** ''Central'', Galerie Ernst Hilger, Belgrade ** ''Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation'', The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States ** ''Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation'', The Naples Museum of Art, Naples (Florida), United States ** ''Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation'', Real Area Ways, Hartford, United States ** ''Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation'', Austin Museum of Art,

, United States ** ''Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation'', Université Carnegie-Mellon, Pittsburgh, United States ** ''Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation'', Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, United States ** ''Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation'', North Texas University, United States ** ''Black Box'', Palais de Tokyo, Paris ** ''Scope Art Fair'', New York * 2002 : ''Supercellular ! De la Particule dans les Arts Plastiques au début du XXIème siècle'', Valérie Cueto Gallery, Paris – Chicago – Madrid – Miami – Turin * 2000 : ''L'Autre Europe n°2'', Jeu de Paume Gallery, Paris * 1997 ** Vitry-sur-Seine City Gallery, Vitry-sur-Seine, France ** ''Transformers'', CZKD, Belgrade * 1996 ** Nova Gallery,

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

, Spain ** ''Un cadeau unique'', Lucien Durand Gallery, Paris ** November in Vitry, Vitry-sur-Seine, France * 1995 : ''Image pour Sarajevo'', Le Sous-Sol Gallery, Paris * 1994 ** Salon de Montrouge ** L’art au marché, Paris * 1993 ** ''Découverte'', Philippe Uzan Gallery, Paris ** Salon de Mai,

Grand Palais The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées ( en, Great Palace of the Elysian Fields), commonly known as the Grand Palais (English: Great Palace), is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arro ...

, Paris ** ''Falling astronauts'', Louvain-la-Neuve and

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, Belgium

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidor, Vuk 1965 births Living people Artists from Belgrade Serbian painters 20th-century French painters French people of Serbian descent 21st-century French painters Serbian emigrants to France