Bison Cola, 1995

Ljubomir Milinkov  

Born in Serbia, in Sovac, 100 km from Belgrade.

Arrived in France in 1962.

Milinkov enters the world of art. He begins to distill his own style.

Good life and beautiful models on the Place du Tertre in Montmartre fill and inspire him. He makes countless portraits.

In 1967 he went on an adventure to the USA. For 6 months in 1968 he crossed America from New York to San Francisco aboard his own Cadillac hearse, bought for this trip. It's the full hippie period, he shaves his head in contrast to all the bearded people around him.

Back in New York in 1969, he exhibited at the Woodstock Music & Art Fair with 60 artists, five hundred thousand visitors. Sponsored by the organizers to register for 2 years at the New York School of Fine Arts, he declines this generous offer to preserve his freedom and explore his own mode of expression. Proud to be a graduate of the Fine Arts Schools of “Nulle part” and “Every where”.

In 1972 he opened his first solo exhibition at the Massur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana.

In 1973 he joined the Wally Findlay International Gallery, with which he worked exclusively for 16 years, exhibiting in New York, Chicago, Palm Beach, Beverly Hills, Paris, ...

His tapestry “Noah's Ark n ° 1” was purchased by the royal family of Saudi Arabia.

In 1974 he returned to France and settled between Cannes and Paris

Hermes

Collaboration with Hermès began in 1982: creation of the first Carré “Jardin Enchanté”, followed in 1998 by Gavroches scarves “La Cavale Joyeuse” and “Les Ailes pleinines de Joie” and in 2013 the Carré “Bateau Flowery ”. Collaboration that continues today with future editions.

It is the “Enchanted Garden” which will have had the honor in 1983 of being the emblem of Hermès' participation in the 150th anniversary of Central Park in New York, where he will be the guest of honor.

Also in 1982, creation of his second tapestry "Arche de Noé n ° 2".

Twin towers New-York

In 2000 his famous “Twin towers” paintings were exhibited for the first time by the HAMMER Gallery in New York. The attack of September 11, 2001 will give them a very special meaning. They will be presented three times in the USA in memory of this tragedy. A year later, in 2002, “Tribute to 9-11” in Austin, at the Texas State Capitol; five years later, in 2007, “Homage to the Twin Towers” at the Fire Museum in New York; and 10 years later, in 2011, “Pride and Remembrance Exhibition 10th anniversary” at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum in Austin Texas.

Objects of lust, 20 paintings were stolen at the end of the 2002 exhibition at the Capitol in Austin. A long investigation carried out by a specialized firm will make it possible to find them, unexpectedly, stored in Chigago. These canvases are part of the artist's private collection.

From 1990 to 2017 numerous exhibitions in France, Italy and the United States. Among which, in 1991 "La Terre et l'Amour" at the municipal museum in Mougins, in 1995 "Le Monde et la Fertility" at the Angelicum cultural center in Milan sponsored by the Cartier and Hermès houses, in 1997 "Eurostar" in Paris, in 2011-12-16 “Art en Capitale” at the Grands Palais, Champs Elysées Paris, in 2013-14-15-17 New-York Art Expo, 2015 Carrousel du Louvre Paris.

Winner of the International Grand Prix for painting and sculpture, cup of the city of Beaulieu sur Mer (1997), winner Bronze medal “Art en Capitale” (2002), “Golden canvas of the year 2012 from the National Federation of French Culture ”, winner of the Madeleine Paillard prize,“ Art en Capital ”(2012),“ Giant of Fine Arts ”“ Art en Capital ”prize (2016).

In 2018, the most recent in Paris, at the Taylor Foundation, September 2018.

2018: China

In October 1998, he was asked by the AIAP gallery, Paris, (Alexandre Idier Art Promotion), in association with ToMaster, the first public art distribution company in China, to exhibit for the first time in China, in Shanghai, at the occasion of an inauguration sponsored by Mangoo Hub, a large Chinese company. Without hesitation he responds favorably. He thus made his first trip to China in Shanghai and Beijing where he received an extremely warm welcome. The exhibition brings together 10 of his works dedicated to horses (“Extraordinary Cavale”,… “Free to run”,… “Free ride”…), compared to his creations for Hermès (horses oblige). The exhibition is a great success and opens the door to a collaboration with ToMaster and AIAP for China. To be continued…

To explore Milinkov's work is to encounter a hymn to the Earth and to Love on bucolic paths.