This exquisite lithograph by Vladimir Velickovic (1935–2019), titled bez naslova (Untitled), from the album Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London, originates from the 1979 edition published by Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona, in collaboration with Redfern Gallery, London; printed by La Poligrafa, S.A., Barcelona, October 23, 1979. This artwork reflects Velickovic’s intensely charged and psychologically driven visual language, where dynamic line, anatomical tension, and stark spatial construction converge to evoke themes of movement, vulnerability, and existential struggle.
Executed as a lithograph on velin d'Arches paper. 10 x 7.5 inches. Unsigned and unnumbered as issued. The edition exemplifies the refined craftsmanship of La Poligrafa atelier, one of the most important print workshops in postwar Spain.
Artwork Details:
Artist: Vladimir Velickovic (1935–2019)
Title: bez naslova (Untitled), from Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London, 1979
Medium: Lithograph on velin d'Arches paper
Dimensions: 10 x 7.5 inches
Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered as issued
Date: 1979
Publisher: Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona, in collaboration with Redfern Gallery, London
Printer: La Poligrafa, S.A., Barcelona
Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and medium
Provenance: From Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London, 1979
Notes:
Excerpted from the album, This album has been published for the exhibition of artists who have worked for Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona, at the Redfern Gallery, 20 Cork Street, London W. 1, from December 4th, 1979, to January 31st, 1980. This album was finished in Barcelona on 23rd October 1979 on the presses of La Poligrafa, S.A. The English edition for the Redfern Gallery has been limited to M examples. There is also a deluxe edition with a portfolio containing a selection of the lithographs with full margins, 37 1/2 x 27 cm., specially made for this album, signed and limited to C examples. Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London
About the Publication:
Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona - Redfern Gallery, London, published in 1979, represents a significant collaborative exhibition album produced to accompany an international presentation of artists associated with Ediciones Poligrafa, one of Spain’s most influential postwar publishing houses. Conceived as both a documentation of artistic production and a collectible portfolio, the album brought together works by leading contemporary artists whose practices reflected the dynamic evolution of European abstraction and printmaking in the late twentieth century. Produced at the renowned La Poligrafa workshop in Barcelona, the publication exemplifies the high technical standards and collaborative spirit that defined Spanish printmaking during this period. Issued in conjunction with the exhibition at the Redfern Gallery in London, the album underscores the growing international dialogue between Spanish and British art institutions, while serving as a testament to the role of publishers and print ateliers in disseminating modern and contemporary art across cultural boundaries.
About the Artist:
Vladimir Velickovic (1935–2019) was a Serbian painter, draughtsman, printmaker, and academician whose powerful, visceral imagery and uncompromising exploration of violence, fear, and the human condition established him as one of the most important figures in postwar European figurative art and a central force within the Nouvelle Figuration movement, creating a body of work defined by raw psychological intensity, anatomical precision, and existential urgency. Born in Belgrade and profoundly shaped by the trauma of World War II, Velickovic developed an early awareness of human vulnerability that would remain central to his artistic vision, initially training as an architect at the University of Belgrade, where he acquired a strong sense of structure and spatial organization that later informed the dynamic tension and compositional rigor of his paintings and drawings before fully committing to art. After receiving the Prix de la Biennale de Paris in the mid-1960s, he relocated to Paris and became deeply integrated into the international avant-garde, developing a distinctive visual language characterized by fragmented bodies, skeletal anatomies, animals in states of tension, and figures caught in motion across stark, desolate landscapes that evoke both physical and psychological extremes. Working within the broader lineage shaped by Pablo Picasso and engaging with the existential presence of Alberto Giacometti, Velickovic also absorbed elements associated with Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Alexander Calder, and Wassily Kandinsky, synthesizing these influences into a uniquely stark and confrontational visual language that bridges figuration and abstraction while remaining anchored in the human body as a site of trauma and transformation. His work is often discussed alongside contemporaries such as Francis Bacon, Antonio Saura, and Erro, yet remains singular in its fusion of scientific observation, expressive distortion, and relentless thematic focus on survival, violence, and existential tension. His drawings, a central component of his oeuvre, are particularly celebrated for their immediacy, precision, and energy, capturing movement and psychological intensity through rapid, incisive lines. Over the course of his career, Velickovic exhibited internationally, represented Yugoslavia at the Venice Biennale, and was elected to the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, affirming his stature within the European art establishment. His influence has extended to later generations of artists working in expressive figuration, neo-expressionism, and contemporary drawing, including those exploring the body as a site of psychological and political conflict. Today his works are held in major institutional collections including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, and the Tate in London, and remain highly sought after on the international art market. The highest auction record for Vladimir Velickovic was achieved at Christie’s Paris on December 6, 2007, when a major painting sold for approximately 1,000,000 EUR, underscoring his enduring importance and strong market presence as one of the leading European figurative artists of the late twentieth century.
Vladimir Velickovic bez naslova 1979 lithograph Poligrafa Redfern Gallery figurative print Velickovic collectible lithograph.
