One of Australia’s foremost colour painters, Tomislav Nikolic, is the recipient of this year’s $80,000 Bulgari Art Award for his painting Just before the most significant events, people are particularly prone to deny the possibilities of the future. (cause all we’re doing is learning how to die). The annual Award aims to support Australian contemporary painters in the middle of their careers. Sponsored by Bulgari, it consists of a $50,000 acquisitive cash prize, meaning his Just before… will enter the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ collection, and a residency in Rome valued at $30,000.

^{Tomislav Nikolic Just before the most significant events, people are particularly prone to deny the possibilities of the future. (cause all we’re doing is learning how to die) 2014-17}

“We see the Bulgari Art Award as both a celebration of, and support for, Australia’s visual artists and a unique opportunity for Bulgari to assist to strength the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ permanent collection”, managing director of Bulgari Australia Brad Harvey said. “Tomislav Nikolic’s work is an extraordinary example of his signature form of abstraction and we are delighted to announce him as the 2017 recipient of the Bulgari Art Award.”

Dr Michael Brand, the director of the Art Gallery of NSW, said that Nikolic is one of Australia’s greatest colour painters, with his winning piece a sublime example of how experiential the medium can be. “The chromatic intensity that Tomislav builds using hundreds of layers of paint results in an incredible and deeply physical experience – an experience we know our visitors will relish and we are delighted to receive it into our collection”, he said.

A member of the judging panel, AGNSW head curator of Australian art Wayne Tunnicliffe said that Tomislav’s work was completed over a period of four years. “Nikolic’s practice is research based and the chromatic origin point for his painting was Caravaggio’s Judith beheading Holofernes, which was also painted over four years, from 1599 to 1602”.

“The pigeon blood red at the centre of Nikolic’s canvas has a source in the red curtain and the red spurt of Holofernes’ blood that anchors Caravaggio’s composition,” he added. “Nikolic has moved far from the Caravaggio though to arrive at his abstract painting, while retaining a sense of drama anchored purely in intense colour rather than in subject and composition.”

^{Caravaggio’s Judith beheading Holofernes}

Nikolic is renowned for paintings that explore colour’s ability to deliver symbolic narrative, expressing both physical presence and character. In recent years, his career has grown significantly with well-received showcases in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Germany.

“I would like to thank Bulgari for its generous and ongoing support of Australian artists. The Bulgari Italian residency will provide incredible opportunities for my practice and it is a great honour to have my work become a part of the Art Gallery of NSW collection”, Nikolic said

“I had such a strong emotional reaction to that painting,” Nikolic told the Sydney Morning Herald speaking about the Caravaggio orginal. “She’s cutting his head off with a huge sword and there is blood everywhere. It’s a really dark, powerful and confronting image and I wanted to make something confronting, too”.

“My painting is not a literal representation; it’s more of a response”, he explained. “But I try not to go too deeply into that sort of thing because we all see things so differently. Every viewer will see something different”.