Herzegovinian sculptor who made Čović's bust to represent BiH at the 60th Venice Biennale!

(Patria) - Sculptor Stjepan Skoko will represent Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 60th Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art in 2024, decided the Commission for the selection of project proposals, commissioner and institution from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, formed by the Federal Minister of Culture and Sports Sanja Vlaisavljević, reports Istraga.ba.

Skoko will travel to Venice with the artwork "Measure of the Sea." But that is not his most famous work. His most famous work is the bust of Dragan Čović, the living and healthy president of HDZ BiH.

Let's go back to September 2021. At that time, information was published that the former dean of the Academy of Fine Arts in Široki Brijeg, Stjepan Skoko, had made a bust of Dragan Čović.

"Every artist chooses how to realize their idea. That is the freedom that art gives, including Mr. Stjepan Skoko. Regarding that topic, my only connection to the mentioned project is that I will visit Mr. Skoko's exhibition if it is organized," said HDZ and HNS president Dragan Čović at the time, responding to a query about the information that Herzegovinian artist Stjepan Skoko had made his bust.

The bust of Dragan Čović, the most famous work of sculptor Skoko. The artist Skoko himself stated at the time that Dragan Čović is a Croatian giant.

"It is not a commission, it is my project of ten Croatian giants and three friends. I started with Čović. He is among the giants, meaning the first Croatian giant, and the rest is a secret how the project will develop, given that it is my project, not state, nobody's. It is a series of portraits, preferably with classical materials, traditional, say bronze, stone, but I don't know where it will lead me. There are possibilities of new materials as well. Čović is somewhere there, the portrait is nearing completion," stated artist Skoko in September 2021.

Less than two years later, on June 16, 2023, the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports, headed by HDZ minister Sanja Vlaisavljević, issued a Public Call for the selection of the Commissioner/Curator of the Pavilion of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 60th Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art in 2024.

"Who can apply: Curator or curatorial collective, art historians, art theorists, critics, artists or collectives of artists and curators, cultural institutions and other creators from the territory of the Federation of BiH. Applicants must live and/or work in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (at least one project leader, curator or artist with residence in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina). Applicants must have experience exhibiting in BiH and/or international experience, published works or awards in the field of contemporary Bosnian-Herzegovinian art," stated the Public Call published on June 16 this year.

We were unable to learn the names of the Commission members by the time of this article's publication. However, the decision on the selection of the suitable artist is publicly available.

"The Expert Commission for the selection of project proposals, commissioner and institution from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the participation of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 60th Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art in 2024, selected the Project of the University Gallery of the University of Mostar titled: 'Measure of the Sea,' by artist Stjepan Skoko and Commissioner and Curator Marin Ivanović," it was published on the website of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports, which, as we said, is headed by HDZ's Sanja Vlaisavljević.