Dervis Pavlovic 

‘There are artists who make paintings just for decoration,’ he says, ‘but I want to make a statement and tell a story.’

‘Art has always been a challenge for me. I don’t see it as a hobby but as something I take seriously and hope to improve upon over time’.

Dervis takes on this challenge daily, going into his sun-room studio at about 10 am and staying there until 4 in the afternoon. Over the past three years of COVID this daily routine has enabled him to produce an incredible number of new paintings, many of which will appear in the exhibition.

Dervis and his wife Kirste are long time Lismore residents, but Dervis admits he has always sought solitude and reflection. They have created a beautiful sanctuary in their old Queenslander house, surrounded by a cornucopia of objects, carpets, lamps, statues and treasures, all collected and curated from a life of travel and wonder.

Artist Statement and Bio: 

My painting is expressively graphic and narrative in its imagery. I paint symbols of my daily thoughts and feelings.

The persistence of darkness in my imagery is more suggestive of my Eastern European roots and a legacy of war and dislocation that coloured my childhood.

I am interested in exploring the possibilities and limitations of political art and the confrontations such dimensions pose. I draw from an acute but almost surreal sense of an apocalyptic shift taking place in world politics. At the risk of severity and didacticism I nonetheless engage with my work as a personal statement on the public/political.

I mostly paint on canvas making liberal use of oil colours to express my concepts. I take a Magic/Realism approach to render images inspired by daily musings, photographs, media and literature. Although mostly figurative, my paintings also include landscapes which exhibit the same tendencies toward the dominant aesthetic. 

I contend with the tension between art and artifice, as I strive for cultural significance and integrity in a commodified, corporatised and consuming world.

Born in Osnabruck Germany in 1946 

Migrated to Australia in 1950 

Formal education in Adelaide

Diploma of Graphic Design, West Australian Institute of Technology in 1971

Diploma of Fine Art (Painting), National Art School in Sydney in 1991

First solo exhibition as part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts – Fringe Festival in 1992. 

Won First Prize – Byron Bay Art Prize in 1993

Second Solo Exhibition held at Southern Cross University’s Next Gallery in 2007

Won People’s Choice Award – Tropical Fruits Art Showcase in 2018 

Won First Prize - North Coast National Art Prize in 2019

Solo show as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival in Sept. 2022.

Third Solo Show at Serpentine Gallery February 2023