1924 (-1996) Born in Kovacica, Serbia (formerly Yugoslavia)
Self-taught artist who started painting as a child
1944 Began his artistic career as a painter; a theater set decorator and a writer for the pin-up newspaper “Bojovnik;” during World War II, joined the partisans
1951 Jointed the Kovacica “school” of naןve art ; co-founder of the arts and ethnic section of the Cultural and Educational Society of Pokrok, Serbia
1955 Participated in establishing of a farmer-painter gallery in Kovacica, Serbia
Solo Exhibitions
1962 Djuro Salaj Gallery, Belgrade, Serbia
1963 Workers’ Home, Dubrovnik, Croatia
1964 Numaga Gallery, Auvernier, Switzerland
1966 Nora Gallery, Jersualem, Israel
1967 Regional Museum of Porec, Porec, Croatia
1968 Tourist Association, Zagreb, Croatia
1970 Community Culture Center, Kovacica, Serbia
1971 Nokum Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland
1973 Simone Budet Gallery, Toulouse, France
1976 Studio d’Arte T, Latisana, Italy
1978 Nayttely Tolon, Helsinki, Finland
1981 Gallery of Self-Taught Artists, Jagodina, Serbia
1982 Ethnographic Museum, Belgrade, Serbia
1983 Common Center, Moscow, Russia
1987 Jugoslavisk Norsk Samband, Trodheim, Norway
1988 World Bank, Washington, USA
2006 “A Retrospective: Man and Earth”, GINA Gallery of International Naןve Art, Tel Aviv
Group Exhibitions
1952 First exhibition, Celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Kovacica, Kovacica, Serbia
1955 Exhibition of amateur painters from Vojvodina, Subotica, Serbia
Exhibition of Painters from Banat, Pancevo, Serbia
1957 Masarikova Street Pavilion, Belgrade, Serbia
Gallery of Primitive Art, Zagreb, Croatia
1960 “The Kovacica School,” Gallery of Primitive Art, Zagreb, Croatia
1961 “Contemporary Yugoslav Primitive Painters,” The Arthur Jefresson Gallery, London, England
Edinburgh Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland
1962 Yugoslav Naןve Artists’ quadrennial exhibition, Nadeza Petrovie Gallery, Cacak, Serbia
1963 Galerie St.-Etienne, New York, USA
1964 Numaga Gallery, Auvernier, Switzerland
1966 Nora Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel
Slovene National Gallery, Bratislava, Slovakia
1968 Kunsthalle Bremen Gallery, Bremen, Germany
Albert Dorne Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland
Bols Taverne, Amsterdam, Holland
Groningen Museum Voor Stad en Lande, Groningen, Holland
1969 El Tallery Gallery, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Slovene National Gallery, Bratislava, Slovakia
1971 Nokum Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland
Palais de Beaux-Arts, Charleroi, Belgium
“Naןve Painters from Vojvodina,” Cultural Center Gallery, Kovacica, Serbia
1972 Isy Brachot Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
1973 Renee Darom Art Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
Simon Boudet Gallery, Toulouse, France
Salotto dell’Arte, Milan, Italy
Mattkasse Gallery 24, Wil, Germany
1974 Milan Gallery, Berlin, Germany
1976 Studio d’Arte T, Latisana, Italy
Gold engraving exhibition, Capri , Italy
1978 Maison de la Culture, Amiens, France
1981 Kasper Gallery, Morges, Switzerland
1982 “Pastel Reports," Cultural Center Gallery, Kovacica, Serbia
1983 Dom Druzby, House of Friendship, Moscow, Russia
1984 The Royal Festival Hall, London, England
1986 City Museum, Prague, Czech Republic
1988 Transco Gallery West, Houston, TX, USA
Yugoslavian Cultural Center, Paris, France
1989 Villa d’Art, Voreppe, France
1990 Andre Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Balmoral Art Galleries, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
1991 Expressions Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
1992 Expressions Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA
Holdsworth Galleries, Sydney, Australia
Balmoral Art Galleries, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Solander Gallery, Canberra, Australia
Duke Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
1993 George’s Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Holdsworth Galleries, Sydney, Australia
Duke Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
The Magic Art Center, New York, New York, USA
1994 Duke Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Jeannine Blais Gallery, North Hatley, Quebec, Canada
Museum of Naןve Art, Kecskemet, Hungary
1995 Museum of Naןve Art, Jagodina, Serbia
1996 City Musuem, Skopje, Macedonia
1998 Museum of Modern Art, Minsk, Belarus
2005 “Shades of Contrasting Cultures,” GINA Gallery of International Naןve Art, Tel Aviv, Israel
Prizes
1974 Gold Medal, Rome, Italy
1975 Gold Key to the City of Toulouse, France
Gold Medal, Rome, Italy
1977 Key to the City of Feluca, Italy
1978 Primitive Modern Art Contest Prize, Morges, Switzerland
1987 Gold Medal, International drawing competition, Italy
Collections
Museum of Naןve Art, Jagodina, Serbia
National Gallery, Bratislava, Slovakia
Ethnographic Museum, Belgrade, Serbia
Royal Collections in Spain, The Netherlands, Jordan
World Bank, Washington D.C., USA
Lyndon B. Johnson (former President of the United States)
Ronald Reagan (former President of the United States)
Francois Mitterand (former President of France)
Brigitte Bardot
Bibliography
“Peintres Naifs - A Dictionary of Primitive Painters,” Anatole Jacovsky, 1967, New York, USA
“Les Proverbs vus par les Peintres Naifs,” Anatole Jacovsky, 1973, Paris, France
“Yugoslav Naןve Art,” 1973, Belgrade, Serbia
“Naןve Art Paintings,” 1977, New York, USA
“Martin Jonas”, M. Boskovic, 1978, Amiens, France
“Naןve Painters of Yugoslavia,” Summerfield Press, 1978, USA
“Modern Primitives”, Oto Bihalji-Merin, 1978, London, England
“Primitive Painting”, D. Zdunik, 1981, New York, USA
“World Encyclopedia of Naןve Art,” Oto Bihalji-Merin and Nebojsa-Bato Tomasevic, 1984, Belgrade, Serbia
“Serbian Naןve Art with Australian Guest Artists,” V. Carapic & K. Smiljkovic, 1989, Melbourne, Australia
“Martin Jonas,” I. Melichercik, 1993, Bratislava, Slovakia,
“Naןve Art in Australia, Canada and Europe,” Vasa Carapic, 1994, Melbourne, Australia
“The Key to Making Dreams Come True,” Koviljka Smiljkovic, 1999, Novi Sad, Serbia
“Naןve Art in Serbia,” The Serbian Academy of Art and the Museum of Naןve Art, 2003, Jagodina, Serbia