Seven steps to reach eternity

Artist Predrag Todorovic presents his exhibition at Zikkurat Galéria in Budapest's National Theatre. The exhibition entitled ‘Seven Stations’ opened last week, in co-operation with the Croatian Embassy in Budapest and the National Theatre Budapest.

Predrag Todorovic is a Croatian painter, sculptor, in other words, a multi-talented artist. His current exhibition, displayed at Budapest’s Zikkurat Galéria (Ziggurat Gallery) in the National Theatre, features 38 pieces of art, this time mostly drawings. “Some of these were made particularly for this exhibition venue, which has seven rooms at seven levels. This, I believe, is not a coincidence and has a symbolical meaning. Ziggurats (those terraced step pyramids in the ancient Mesopotamian valley, which were temples, unlike those in Egypt) originally served as meeting places of human and god, profane and divine” the artist explains. “My intention was to playfully transmit the symbolism of a man’s (spiritual) development from the primary material level up to the seventh level of eternal life, like so: the 2nd floor is the emotional level, while the 3rd is the rational, the 4th the intuitive, the 5th the spiritual and the 6th the volitional,” he adds. “Seven steps upwards. So the venue is a significant part of the exhibition.”

Drawings were made on various surfaces, such as wax and asphalt, as well as on common objects such as knife, pipe, money, bread, flag, crucifix, etc. The artist uses different procedures and techniques, from drawing with coal, slate pencil, markers and pen, to scratch and engrave into the surface, creating vibrating and swirling structures of dark and light substances. “It is possible, in the broadest sense, that the Universe is eternal indeed and that everything in it has been made of the vortex of two substances, animate and inanimate. I have permanently tackled this artistic problem, parallel to my work in other artistic media, for more than twenty years now,” says the artist who lives and works in Zagreb. “I want this exhibition to become a place open for everyone who want to meet the known and unknown, as these two meet in the ‘Seven Stations’." The exhibition will run until Nov 26.