Biography

Among the most significant Serbian artists of the 20th century, Miodrag Živković distinguished himself during his roughly six decades of artistic achievement as a supreme innovator. Born and raised in the small southern Serbian town of Leskovac, at the age of 16, Živković and his family moved to Belgrade directly after the liberation of Serbia from Axis forces. Having been inspired by art at a young age, Živković enrolled at the Academy of Applied Arts in Belgrade in 1946 to study sculpture after graduating from high school. Upon graduating in 1952, he entered compulsory military service, then, after complete this obligation, he began his tenure of teaching sculpture at several different schools across Serbia, all the while working on refining his personal sculptural style. Through the 1960s and 1970s, Živković received a number of prominent commissions from across Yugoslavia to design memorial sculptures to commemorate victims and events of the National Liberation War. These monuments are among his most famous and recognized works. His sculptural style in many of these monuments, and much of his other work is characterized by sharp geometric abstract forms that act as an elegant foil to the stunning beauty on which they are situated, appearing to almost burst forth or arise from within the landscape itself. In addition, these geometric shapes often hide mysterious peering gazes of stylized faces hidden within the angular abstractions. It is a distinctive and powerful style that lends itself to contemplation and reflection.

In addition to creating public sculptural pieces across the Yugoslav region, Živković has been commissioned to create works abroad. In the early 1970s, Živković spent several years in Chile where he organized the installation of several monuments he was commissioned to create. Then, in subsequent years, he also ventured to countries such as Italy, Nigeria, Egypt to install public sculptural works. In 2004, he was honorably awarded the 'Golden Ring' prize for a lifetime of contributions to art and culture in Serbia. During the 2000s, Živković continued to work on creating sculptures at his studio in Belgrade, as well as taking commissions for religious sculptures and new memorial sculptural projects in Serbia and in the Republic of Srpska for the events of the 1990s wars. Živković passed away in Belgrade at the age of 93 on July 31st, 2020.