Following last year’s deeply resonant presentation of Safet Zec’s work during Easter — a time steeped in themes of loss, renewal, and reflection — his return to Un gramme this year unfolds not as a sequel, but as the deepening of an ongoing conversation. One that began in silence and gesture, and now grows richer in tone and texture.
The series of works presented here — exhibited for the first time in Greece — was previously shown in the Gardens of the 2024 Venice Biennale. Their arrival in Syros opens a new chapter in their journey, inviting a renewed contemplation shaped by this island’s layered histories and cultural intersections.
In the work of Safet Zec, a quiet tension emerges — an invitation to contemplation. Bodies barely touching, hands folded, lowered gazes: minimal gestures charged with an intensity that is both intimate and universal. Here, painting becomes a secular prayer — not addressed to a God, but to humanity itself.
Zec paints fragility, compassion, and memory. Isolated figures or those in dialogue appear suspended in time, immersed in a warm, melancholic light — like relics of a shared condition. These images, born from the gaze of an artist who has lived through war and exile, are not documents: they are acts of emotional resistance, forms of care.
Within the context of Syros — a Mediterranean island marked by layers of culture, religious coexistence, and histories of passage — the presence of these works opens a space for meditation and listening. A slow time, in which painting reminds us of the deep meaning of looking.
And in today’s world, where the call for peace is more urgent than ever, these silent prayers speak with rare clarity — bearing witness, offering solace, and quietly insisting on our shared humanity.
About the Artist.
Painter and engraver Safet Zec, born in the town of Rogatica, Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1943, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade in 1969. Forced to flee Sarajevo due to the Bosnian War in 1992, he found refuge in Italy. Today he lives and works between Sarajevo, Pocitelj, Venice and Paris. His poignant engravings and paintings, numbering over 250 plates, reflect a depth of emotion and resilience. His works are in major European and international galleries, as well as private collections. His profound artistic contributions earned him the prestigious Order of the Arts and Literature of France in 2007.
