The Serb National Council and Vizura Aperta are organising an exhibition of the Swiss painter Velimir Ilišević: Eschenstock / Jasenov prut. The exhibition, held in the presence of the artist, will open on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of the breakout of prisoners from the Jasenovac death camp. The opening ceremony will take place on 22 April 2026 at 7:00 PM at the Serbian Cultural Centre, Preradovićeva 21, Zagreb.
The staging of this exhibition in Croatia, precisely within the context of remembrance of the suffering and the breakout from Jasenovac (22 April 1945), is not merely an artistic event opened on that same date, but a necessary encounter with a trauma that finally, through Ilišević’s brushstroke, finds its way toward the light.
“Eschenstock” is a beautiful word. Some may even sense a hint of poetry in it. And the series of paintings Velimir Ilišević created in 2013 under that title is beautiful. It is quiet, attentive, withdrawn – resembling poetry more than anything else. What finely nuanced colours! What unusual combinations. What a shimmer, what layering: painting that deploys its possibilities completely and confidently. But beauty and silence are deceptive. They are, to the same extent as the title of the series itself, a form of translation. “Eschenstock” is, in fact, the German rendering of “Jasenovac” (literally, “ash tree”) – and it carries a very different resonance, evoking entirely different associations. […] Ilišević’s grandmother, mother, and aunts were also interned in that camp; they survived only through strokes of luck. This family history also shaped him as their descendant. Nevertheless, as long as the affected family members were alive, engaging with the subject remained a taboo. And even later, he found it difficult to find the imagery – a fitting form of expression – for the brutal reality of such a camp.
(From the text by Wolfgang Ullrich for the exhibition catalogue Eschenstock / Jasenov prut)
Velimir Ilišević is an artist who developed his path independently, outside academic conventions, guided by an inner impulse rooted in his family history. Although he has so far been less present in his home country, his work is highly regarded in a European context. This is evidenced by his presence in numerous public and private collections, among which the following stand out: Kunstmuseum Bern, Museum zu Allerheiligen Schaffhausen, VIP Bank Vaduz, Mezzanin Stiftung für Kunst, Notenstein La Roche St. Gallen/Zürich, Städtisches Kunstmuseum Singen, Muffler Architekten, UBS Ausbildungszentrum Wolfsberg, and numerous other collections.
Exhibition curator / Exhibition design: Davorka Perić
Assistant to the exhibition design: Lea Bulaja
Graphic design: Parabureau / Igor Stanišljević & Tena Križanec
Financial support: The Office for Human Rights and the Rights of National Minorities of the Republic of Croatia
Acknowledgements: Lazar Vujić, Wolfgang Ullrich, Miljenko Jergović, Milorad Pupovac, Ezra Baričević, The Archive of Serbs in Croatia, Vida TV, Novosti, Igor Stanišljević, Tena Križanec, Jürg Fausch.
Dates: 22 April — 12 May 2026