Skopje, 31 July 2024 (MIA) — To mark the 121st anniversary of the Ilinden Uprising and 80th anniversary of ASNOM, the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle for Independence will exhibit 24 sketches and drawings by Borko Lazeski for his monumental fresco mural "Ilinden 1903." 

The artworks are being put on display for the first time. The exhibition is titled "Anatomy of a Mural: Borko Lazeski's 'Ilinden 1913'." It opens at 7:30 pm and will run through Nov. 30, 2024. 

The exhibit was curated by Marija Korobar and is organized in cooperation with Skopje's ICON culture association.

Borko Lazeski (1917-1993) is considered one of the most influential, innovative and pioneering 20th century Macedonian visual artists. He was a painter, illustrator, fresco artist, mosaic tile artist, large scale mural artist, and stained glass artist.

Born in Prilep, Lazeski studied art at the University of Belgrade and the State Academy of Art in Sofia, Bulgaria, before joining the Yugoslav Partisans in 1943 to fight against the fascist forces. After the war, in 1945, Lazeski was sent to Paris to study art at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts on behalf of the French government. 

Under the influence of Parisian modern art, Lazeski painted "Romantic Landscape", which is credited as being the first modern painting by a Macedonian. While in Paris, he also took courses in stained glass making as well as a painting course by French cubist painter André Lhote, whose influence greatly contributed to shaping Lazeski's signature style.

In 1948, Lazeski returned to Macedonia and created several murals. One of them was the 1950 painting at the Army Hall in Skopje dedicated to the 1903 Ilinden Uprising. He also created a 45-meter-long fresco mural in the lobby of the Skopje train station titled "People's Liberation Army," which was destroyed in the Skopje 1963 earthquake.

In 1971, he created a 12m wide abstract stained glass along the front facade of a Stopanska Banka branch in Skopje. Between 1972 and 1975, he created a series of four abstract skylights in the ceiling of the Ilinden Monument "Makedonium" in Krushevo. In 1978, Lazeski received the October 11 award for a lifetime achievement in the arts.

Lazeski recreated his lost Skopje train station mural by painting it in his hometown of Prilep, at the Marko Cepenkov Cultural Center. He died three months before it was unveiled on Oct. 11, 1993. mr/