Exhibition of Chinese Traditional Paintings Opened

The exhibition of Chinese Traditional Paintings and Calligraphy ’If Only Life Stopped When We First Met’ was opened on 13 May 2022, in the Cultural Centre ’Banski dvor’ in Banja Luka.

The exhibition was opened by Miao Dake, Political Counselor at the Embassy of PR China to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

,,I always feel the warmth when I come to Banja Luka and I gladly come back here, because I feel great hospitality, and I am especially pleased to be here, to be part of this important event, which represents another connection between the two brotherly peoples.’’, he stated, among other things, while opening the exhibition.

Home Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Banja Luka Asst. Prof. Ljiljana Stević, PhD, said the exhibition contains 55 works of Chinese traditional painting and calligraphy, which are original works by Chinese academic painters and professors from the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts in China.

,,This is the first time that Banja Luka, the Republic of Srpska, but also Bosnia and Herzegovina has the opportunity to host such works of art, as the Xi'an Academy is one of the oldest in China. In addition to language, art and culture, our goal is to present the heritage of Chinese civilization through its tradition,“ Stević said.

Dean of the Academy of Arts Prof. Dragana Purković Macan, MA, said that this exhibition also represents the beginning of cooperation between the professors of this Xi'an Academy and their colleagues from China.

,,This is a cooperation that we have established through colleagues from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade, who already have cooperation with the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts,“ Purković Macan said.

,,The exhibition consists of works on paper, thematically quite broad, we have figuration, still life, landscape, topics that deal with sociological issues, and works that deal with much more intimate topics. These are all works of professors from Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts. We will have the opportunity to see 49 paintings and six works of calligraphy’’, Vice-Dean for Art and International Cooperation of the Academy of Arts Borjana Mrđa, PhD, stated earlier and added that all the paintings were made by water techniques. 

On behalf of the University of Banja Luka, Vice-Rector for Scientific Research and Development of the University of Banja Luka Prof. Miroslav Malinović, PhD also gave speech at the exhibition. The opening of the exhibition, which will last for a month, was also attended byVice-Rector for International and Interuniversity Cooperation Prof. Milica Balaban, PhD, Secretary General to the University of Banja Luka Đorđe Markez, MA, deans and vice-deans of the University of Banja Luka.