Belgrade's Artistic Salon Returns with Love Theme

The October Salon, one of Serbia's most important contemporary arts events, opens on Friday and runs until November 6 at the Belgrade City Museum's new building - the former Military Academy - under the motto 'The Pleasure of Love'.

'The Pleasure of Love' explores "what role emotion plays in contemporary art and how it may be framed in ways that are neither banal nor kitsch," said show curator David Elliott in a press release.

"This may include the not-so-simple pleasures of love, humour, horror and any other perspectives that art may bring to bear on the fragility of human experience and life which, in itself, may have a transient or long-lasting impact," Elliott added.

Nearly 60  artists from Serbia, the Balkans and beyond are displaying work during the exhibition - more artists than in previous years - and in a wide variety of formats and mediums.

A classic French love song called 'Plaisir d'Amour' inspired the theme. The song was composed by Jean-Paul-Egide Martini in 1784 and is based on a poem written by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian, who was killed during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror in 1794.

"The pleasure of love lasts only a moment. The grief of love lasts a lifetime," the song says.

Despite the centuries that have passed since his death, Elliott believes that Florian's song still rings true today.

"Florian's words have echoed across time to still speak in the present, both in Martini's original arrangement and deformed into kitsch, at once eternal and fleeting," Elliott said.

The city of Belgrade established the October Salon in 1960 as a local exhibition of the best works of fine arts. The festival has hosted many prominent artists and curators since becoming an international showcase in 2005.<...