O izložbi​

(English below)​​

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Galerija Manifesto sa zadovoljstvom najavljuje samostalnu izložbu Tarika Berbera pod nazivom "Bunny On Steroids", čije će otvorenje biti upriličeno u četvrtak, 14. maja u 20:00 sati. 

 

Steroidi, hemijske supstance koje utiču na rast mišića, postali su kolokvijalni sinonim za snagu, biti na steroidima znači biti jači, bolji, veći. Osim kada se u podtekstu osjeti šaljiv ton koji ukazuje na to da je posrijedi satira.

 

Naziv samostalne izložbe Tarika Berbera u Galeriji Manifesto semantički je oksimoron. Zeko – to nježno, ljupko, bezazleno stvorenje sa snažnim, neproporcionalno nabujalim mišićima – nezgrapna je vizija, ali dovitljiva i indikativna.

 

Indikativna, jer izložba publici predstavlja selekciju od preko stotinu Berberovih crteža koji su dio konglomerata od 4000 radova nastalih u procesu izrade animiranog video rada Lint, produciranog u saradnji s Aleksandrom Cielom Hemonom. Riječ je o postavci u kojoj se prelamaju i isprepliću disciplina i dosljednost (takvog intenziteta da se lako može pomisliti kako je nemoguće uložiti toliki napor bez upotrebe steroida), priroda medija (crteži nastaju kao sredstvo za kreiranje pokretnih slika, a bivaju izloženi kao fragmentirane statične sekvence) i autorovo crtačko umijeće.

 

Dovitljiva, jer se pozicija maestra umjetnika – onog koji posjeduje tehnički i autorski kapacitet da u gotovo jednom dahu stvori hiljade crteža – demistificira i ironizira kroz uvođenje hipokoristika zeko.

 

Unatoč šaljivom pristupu prema vlastitom umjetničkom poduhvatu, Berber sadržaj crteža oblikuje na sveden i promišljen način, birajući motive u kojima postoji nešto kafkijansko. Baka Danica, djevojčica, ruke i gušter dio su motiva izdvojenih iz ciklusa, a njihova jukstapozicija u sjećanje priziva fenomen metamorfoze. Pokret i promjena na kojima taj fenomen počiva temelj su same animacije – iste one koja je u postavci raščlanjena na proste faktore. Forma crteža, kontekst u kojem oni nastaju, te sadržaj koji autor otvara za čitanje, stupaju u mističku igru baziranu na konceptu promjene. Promjene kojoj ne možemo uteći, ni brzinom divljeg zeca na steroidima.

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O autoru

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Tarik Berber (rođen 1980. u Banjoj Luci) studirao je na Akademiji likovnih umjetnosti u Firenci. Na samom početku karijere sarađivao je s uglednom galerijom Poggiali e Forconi, te je 2004. godine postao najmlađi umjetnik pozvan da izlaže na inauguraciji muzeja MACI.

 

Njegov opus obuhvata savremeno figurativno slikarstvo i klasičnu ručno crtanu animaciju, od kojih je potonja stekla međunarodno priznanje putem BBC-a i platforme Vimeo (Staff Picks). Berber je izlagao širom Evrope, uz značajne samostalne izložbe u Vili Pisani (Venecija), Umjetničkoj galeriji Bosne i Hercegovine u Sarajevu, te londonskom Art Moor House-u, gdje je kustos njegove izložbe bio likovni kritičar Edward Lucie-Smith.

 

Kreirao je instalacije velikih formata za manifestaciju "Estate Fiorentina", te sarađivao s galerijama u Milanu i Istanbulu. Berber 2020. godine napušta London i seli se u Milano, gdje u Fondaciji Maimeri izlaže veliku retrospektivu "Seven Sisters". Za sarajevskog umjetnika sevdaha Damira Imamovića ilustruje album “Singer of Tales” 2020. godine. 

 

U Nacionalnom Muzeju Kneževa Palača, Zadar 2021. godine predstavlja izložbu pod nazivom "Mademoiselle Zara". Te iste godine pravi treću animaciju za talijanskog rap pjevača Marracash-a pod nazivom "Dubbi", a koju je predstavila  Collezione Ramo, talijanska fondacija za crtež XX stoljeća. Animacija "Dubbi" ostvarila je veliki uspjeh s više od 2 miliona pregleda. 

 

Saradnju sa auto-brandom Lamborghini započeo je 2022. godine i za 60 godina branda štampa knjigu grafika sa tekstom Matte-a Nucci-a, talijanskog filozofa, koja se danas nalazi u Muzeju Lamborghini u Sant Agata Bolognese. Od 2025. godine sarađuje sa talijanskom galerijom Salamon u Milanu.

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About the Exhibition

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Gallery of Contemporary Arts Manifesto is pleased to announce the solo exhibition of Tarik Berber, titled “Bunny On Steroids,” with the opening taking place on Thursday, May 14, at 8:00 PM.

 

Steroids, chemical substances designed to force muscle growth, have become a colloquial shorthand for raw power. To be "on steroids" is to be stronger, faster, and larger than life. This is true, at least, until a humorous undertone suggests that what we are actually witnessing is a work of satire.

 

The title of Tarik Berber’s solo exhibition at Manifesto Gallery functions as a semantic oxymoron. The "bunny", that quintessentially gentle, harmless creature is here rendered with powerful, disproportionately swollen muscles. It is an uncanny vision, yet one that is as witty as it is indicative.

 

It is indicative because the exhibition presents a selection of over a hundred drawings, a fragment of a massive archive of four thousand works produced for the animated video Lint, created in collaboration with Aleksandar Cielo Hemon. This installation is a space where discipline and consistency intertwine with the inherent nature of the medium. The sheer intensity of the labor is such that one might easily assume the effort to be impossible without the aid of steroids. Here, drawings originally intended to generate fluid motion are instead exhibited as fragmented, static sequences, putting the artist’s raw draftsmanship on full display.

 

The wit lies in how the "master artist", one possessing the technical and creative stamina to produce thousands of drawings in a single breath is demystified and ironized through the use of the hypocoristic bunny.

 

Despite this playful framing of his own artistic endeavor, Berber shapes his content with minimalist precision and thoughtful restraint, selecting motifs that carry a distinctly Kafkaesque quality. Grandma Danica, a young girl, disembodied hands, and a lizard are among the images extracted from this cycle; their juxtaposition evokes the phenomenon of metamorphosis. The movement and change at the heart of that phenomenon are the very foundations of animation, a medium that this exhibition deconstructs into its fundamental elements. The form of the drawings, the context of their creation, and the narratives the artist invites us to interpret all enter into a mystical play centered on the concept of change. It is a change we cannot escape, not even with the speed of a wild hare on steroids.

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About the Author

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Tarik Berber (b. 1980, Banja Luka) studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. Early in his career, he partnered with the renowned Poggiali e Forconi gallery and became the youngest artist invited to the MACI inauguration in 2004.

 

His work spans contemporary figurative painting and hand-drawn animation, the latter gaining international acclaim via the BBC and Vimeo Staff Picks. Berber has exhibited extensively across Europe, with notable solo shows at Villa Pisani (Venice), the National Gallery of Sarajevo, and London’s Art Moor House, where his work was curated by critic Edward Lucie-Smith.

 

He has produced large-scale installations for "Estate Fiorentina," collaborated with galleries in Milan and Istanbul. In 2020, Berber left London and moved to Milan, where he presented a major retrospective titled Seven Sisters at the Fondazione Maimeri. In the same year, he illustrated the album Singer of Tales by Sarajevo-based sevdah artist Damir Imamović.

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In 2021, he presented the exhibition Mademoiselle Zara at the National Museum of the Prince’s Palace in Zadar. That same year, he created his third animation for Italian rapper Marracash, titled Dubbi, which was presented by Collezione Ramo, an Italian foundation dedicated to 20th-century drawing. The animation Dubbi achieved significant success, reaching over 2 million views.

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In 2022, he began collaborating with the automotive brand Lamborghini, producing a book of prints accompanied by a text by Italian philosopher Matteo Nucci, created on the occasion of the brand’s 60th anniversary. The publication is now part of the collection of the Lamborghini Museum in Sant’Agata Bolognese. Since 2025, he has been collaborating with the Italian gallery Salamon in Milan.