Arts Alive San Antonio

BY JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor

Serbian-born artist Maya Sokovic has known Musical Bridges Around the World founder, Anya Grokhovski, for several years because her husband, Zlatan Redzic, often performs for MBAW concerts. But when Sokovic had a solo exhibit at the Brick at Blue Star in 2020, Grokhovski was surprised to discover her talent. “Why didn’t you tell me that you are an accomplished artist?” Grokhovski wanted to know.

“I knew Maya socially as Zlatan’s wife. I had no idea that she was such a fabulous artist,” said Grokhovski recently. “I saw her work at the Brick for the first time and I even purchased some of her pieces. I told her that if she ever was interested in showing her work at our gallery, she would be welcomed.”  

The Brick exhibit was curated by well-known San Antonio artist Sarah Fox who was running the Brick gallery at the time. More than ten paintings were sold opening night. But then COVID took over and like so many other businesses, arts organizations closed their doors or drastically reduced their activities and delayed plans. But now, everyone is eager to pick up where they left off, which for Sokovic means a new solo show at the MBWA Gallery, curated by experienced gallerist Diana Roberts. Titled Fragments of Landscapes, the exhibit is scheduled to open this coming Saturday, April 23.

The show will include two different bodies of work, explained the artist: “Africa” and “Texas, nature, memories, adventures.” The press announcement describes the overall approach thus: “Reflecting on previous travels and experiences, artist Maya Sokovic, expresses moments of observation and memory. Fusing past and present, her works evoke both physical landscapes and sensory recollections in her commitment to seeing beauty in the world.”

“I draw a lot of inspiration from nature, a big source of energy that influences our life and shapes our environment, “said the artist during a recent interview in her San Antonio home. “But my memory of special moments with people are also reflected in my work.”

The Brick exhibit was more reflective of her memories from her native country of Yugoslavia, she explained, and her native city, Belgrade, that sits majestically on the shores of two mighty rivers – The Danube and the Sava. Montenegro, where her grandmother lived, and the Adriatic coast are also woven into her artistic memories. “It’s all still so vivid for me,” she noted.

The MBAW exhibit reflects her more recent experiences. The “Africa” paintings were inspired by a trip to Egypt and long days spent in the Sahara Desert. Her colors and shadows capture the sense of red sand, yellow light, intense brightness. The Texas influences – including Latin ones – and the color palette of the Lone Star State that have surrounded her life in the last decade are also there on other canvases, largely abstract but eloquent in their unique way.

“She is presenting new strong colors in the current exhibit. It’s a really interesting show,” said Grokhovski. “Like in life, the most important thing in art is balance. Maya’s work looks simple but it’s like the music of the masters that can sound simple, not because it is, but because everything is in balance.  She has balance in her canvases, balance of shapes, colors, lines. There’s a lot going on, but it makes you feel good.”

Sokovic was born in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia and the former Yugoslavia, where she grew up and attended the Academy of Fine Art, which is a college-level art school. She has experimented with a number of media, including jewelry making, before settling mostly on painting and photography. Sadly, she lost her entire immediate family – mother, father and brother – to cancer. Family friends invited her to join them in Atlanta, Georgia, where they lived, so she crossed the Atlantic for the first time. And it was there that she met her future husband, also a Yugoslav who was born in Sarajevo. Curiously, they met in a bar by chance, not through Yugoslav friends. The couple settled in San Antonio because Redzic has been a bassist with the San Antonio Symphony since 1999. They have a six-year-old son. And she still has a link to Belgrade – a house her parents built in the capital’s suburb of Borča.

Her work has also been exhibited in Madrid (Spain), Miami (FL), Sebastopol (CA), and can be found in private collections in the United States, Europe and even Australia.

Once in San Antonio, Sokovic started teaching yoga for several large employers in town, including Valero, City Bank and UTSA. She met Sara Fox in her class at UTSA and the two soon bonded as friends and artists. “I’ve been doing yoga since I was 16, back in Belgrade,” she noted. “The practice of yoga helps us cope with life.”

While the transition to living in San Antonio was not easy, she now enjoys the Alamo City. “I like the culture and the people here,” she stated.
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Fragments of Landscapes Opening reception, April 23 at 5-8 p.m.; MBAW Art Gallery, 23705 Frontage Rd., Ste.101, 78257; free but tickets required; free parking; masks encouraged; https://musicalbridges.org/event/opening-reception-fragments-of-landscape-mbaw-art-galley/