• The Memory-collection of Bogić Risimović – Risim

Bogić Risimović – Risim was born in Čačak in 1926 in a dyer's family where, from the beginning of his life, he was surrounded with dyes for whose smell and expression he was searching all his life. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, department for graphic and fine art, in Belgrade, in the class led by Mihailo Petrov and Djordje Andrejević Kun. Risim's art forming belongs to the period of the '50s when in Serbian painting, after a short period of soc realism, gradually developed certain forms of post-war modernism. In the course of 35 years of creative work, he experienced a complex and whole path of development. He started with paintings of homesickness, stylized lines and a simple expression of side-road monuments, which he made famous together with Branko V. Radičević (In Honour of Čeda Rogan,1953, The Poet Dis, 1957, The Partisan Unit of Čačak, 1958), and later through the paintings of poetic and magic realism (The Poem, 1963, Small Landscape, 1965, Day, 1966) he reached a universal image of a pure poetic experience and a complex contemplative message (Alchemist, 1973, The Paradise, 1976, Čačak Isn't What It Used to Be, 1981, Holiday Feast, 1983, The Street, 1983). Apart from painting he was successful as a film designer and an illustrator in daly newspapers, magazines and books. He wrote poetry and texts on art. He was a professor of drawing at the Academy of Applied Arts in Belgrade. He had numerous one-man and group exhibitions in the country and abroad and he was a winner of many important awards for culture and art and social recognition. He died in Belgrade in 1986.

Risim's painting and his whole creative work represents a recognizable stylistic and art whole of an authentic expression, which he, though often remoted from current art happenings, consistently developed and it was the reason why today he represents an important phenomenon among the representatives of national values of Serbian art in the second half of the 20^th century.

The memory-collection of Bogić Risimović – Risim was founded in 1992, a few years after Risim's family had donated the Municipality of Čačak 40 paintings, hundreds of drawings, sketches, illustrations, literal legacy and archival material intending it to be a base for the legacy where Risim's inheritance would be rightly treated and displayed to the public. Professional work of keeping, protection and exhibiting such a defined collection was given to the Art Gallery “Nadežda Petrović”, which in its fund had already had 16 Risim's paintings in its possession and with the new collection it makes possible to have a review of the creative work of this significant Serbian painter. For the need of keeping and exhibiting the collection, the Municipality of Čačak reconstructed the old house at 11 Gospodar Jovanova Street, which had occasionally been used as Risim's studio. Today this house known as the Gallery “Risim”, like other exhibiting rooms of the Art Gallery “Nadežda Petrović”, is used not only for the permanent exhibition of Risim's paintings but also for other exhibitions and art happenings such as exhibitions of graphics, drawings, for performances etc. so that it got a certain and recognizable exhibiting character.

Today the memory-collection of Bogić Risimović – Risim is completely processed and shown to the public in various ways, as the permanent exhibition, then as an integral part of several retrospective exhibitions of this painter, or as a form of guest – travelling exhibitions in other cities. The selection of Risim's literal legacy was treated in the first notebook edition Heritage and about his life and the whole creative work the Gallery prepared and published a comprehensive monography. Besides that, lectures and TV programmes about Risim's painting are occasionally presented, then the films for which Risim did scene designs are shown and texts are published in professional magazines. The Gallery also practices conservation review of the collection and under its charge several Risim's paintings from the private possession have been preserved.