Sekulić, Sava
Background: father died when Sava was 10.
Education: none.
Profession/occupation: herdsman, day labourer, bricklayer.
Art form/medium: illustrated poetry and painting.
Start artwork: 1930 start writing poems and illustrations; after retiring in 1962 painting.
Relevant info: A soldier during World War I, he was wounded on the Italian front and consequently lost one eye.
(Solo-) exhibitions: Belgrade, Zagreb, Munich, 1998 Bönnigheim, Paris, 1998 Köln, etc.
Monograph: Vladimir Crnkovic, Sava Sekulić, Bönnigheim (Museum Ch. Zander) 1993.
References: Outsider Art Sourcebook, 2009, p.141.
Sava Sekulić was born in 1902 in Bilišani near Obrovac, on the Dalmatian coast. His father, whom he lost when he was 10, taught him to read and write; he never attended any school. After his father’s death he was left with his mother and three younger sisters, which left deep traces in his consciousness. Five decades later he created a series of compositions, featuring maternity and family as the main theme. A soldier during World War I, he was wounded on the Italian front and consequently lost one eye. After the war he travelled through Yugoslavia as a casual worker. In 1943 Sekulić settled in Belgrade where he found work as a bricklayer. According to his own testimony, Sekulic began to write poems on the eve of World War II and illustrated them himself. Many of his poems are elaborated with verses he wrote on the reverse; they help today’s onlooker understand his works and identify themes and contexts. After retiring in 1962, Sava Sekulić devoted himself entirely to his artistic creativity – painting and writing poems.
Sava Sekulić1902 Bilisani, Obrenovac, Croatia - 1989 Belgrade, Jugoslavia
