At the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro in Petrović Castle, the exhibition “Drawings” by one of the most prominent contemporary Montenegrin artists, Ilija Branko Burić, has been opened. At the opening, speeches were given by the exhibition curator Marina Čelebić, art theorist Milovan Novaković, and the artist himself.

Čelebić recalled that Burić first exhibited at Petrović Castle in 1995 and that, almost three decades later, he returns with a display that includes more than 70 percent new works.

She emphasized that Burić still demonstrates the same dedication as at the beginning of his career, approaching the exhibition with care “as if he were exhibiting for the very first time.”

“The documented overview of four decades of work presented in this exhibition is also a special homage to drawing, to which the artist has given a well-deserved place on the Montenegrin art scene,” the curator pointed out.

The display consists of expressive, repetitive, gestural, often densely layered works grouped in series, with a particularly powerful impression left by a collection of drawings the artist considered unsuccessful, which testify to his working process.

In his address, Novaković emphasized that Burić’s drawings are radical in their dedication to the line, which pushes itself to its ultimate limits—reaching the moment when it can no longer even be called a drawing.

“By intensifying the line, Burić cancels its signifying, descriptive, and shaping function, showing that precisely within the essence of drawing—the line itself—lies also the end of drawing as a form.”

For the first time, in addition to the works, the audience at this exhibition also has the opportunity to view a video recording from 2000 documenting Burić’s creative process.

The exhibition will remain open to visitors until November 28, 2025.