Vjekoslav Nemesh

VJEKOSLAV NEMESH

Vjekoslav Nemesh (known simply as Nemesh) is an international artist born 14th May 1963, in the former Yugoslavia and now living in New Zealand. From early childhood he manifested exceptional drawing skills and interest in drawing, especially comics, which naturally progressed into intricate drawings.

His artistic direction however was about to change when in his early twenties a schoolmate commissioned him to create a large oil painting, an event that ultimately led him onto an artistic path.

Having only been painting for a few years Nemesh was fortunate enough to win several local art awards; events which ultimately gave him the encouragement to pursue a career as an artist, a decision he has never looked back from. Events were also about to take a positive change for him and many other artists when in the early nineties there was a sudden reform in former Yugoslavia which saw a number of new private art galleries open.

This fundamental change offered Nemesh an opportunity to start building his artistic career but sadly this opportunity would be short lived as civil war soon broke out which eventually saw the breakdown of the entire country. Yet even as the country was going through this very difficult time Nemesh was still able to experience great local success with his art.

However, in 1993 with the war still raging; Nemesh decided that he and his former wife needed to leave the country and start a new life elsewhere. They decided on New Zealand as their new home due to its temperate climates and beautiful scenery, yet as we all know any move has its challenges and for Nemesh this meant him having to let go of his local artistic successes and start his career from the very beginning again in a brand-new country.

It took Nemesh about a year to become settled with his new life in New Zealand so in between his artwork he also decided to focus some time and energy on his computing education so signed himself onto a 6-month graphical design and publishing course.

In 1989 and 1991 as a young and already recognized artist he was elected and sent twice to participate in the Art Colony "17 Watermills" in Dušnik near Niš in Serbia (when it was still part of former Yugoslavia).

In 2015 he was invited to participate in the exhibition for the Matariki Celebration in Rotorua where he was the 'artist in residence' for a period of two weeks. For the last 20 years Nemesh has also had annual solo exhibitions in Sargent's Fine Art in Lahaina, Maui Island in Hawaii, USA and from 1995 to 2014 he was participating in Peter Reynolds Christmas exhibitions, 8 of these years has seen him doing live public demos in this gallery since its initial opening.

Together with his close friends Nemesh have organized seven 'Interconnection exhibitions' around New Zealand, the idea behind this Interconnection being "to utilize a collaborative approach with other artists, exchange ideas and create works which will differ from the artists usual style".

Today his artistic career spans over 35 years since he first put his drawings and sketches into a local exhibition back in 1984 (in former Yugoslavia). Nemesh has participated in more than 300 group exhibitions in New Zealand and overseas and has had more than 50 solo exhibitions in the former Yugoslavia, Sri Lanka, USA, and New Zealand. 

Nemesh has had his work presented in collections throughout Europe, Russia, Britain, U.S.A., Canada, Australia, Asia, and New Zealand and has established world-wide recognition for his unique, authentic and visionary artistic style of work.

RECENT SOLO EXHIBITIONS:

2022, ETTERNA, Art on the Quay, Kaiapoi, New Zealand

2022, ETTERNA, Quarry Arts Centre, Whangarei, New Zealand

2022, ETTERNA, The Art Lounge NZ, Tauranga, New Zealand

2021, FROM THE NORTH TO THE SOUTH, Eastside Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand

2021, FROM THE SOUTH TO THE NORTH, Reyburn House, Whangarei, New Zealand

2020, THE POWER HOUSE, The Art Lounge NZ, Tauranga, New Zealand

2019, SEVEN WONDERS, Art on The Quay, Kaiapoi, New Zealand

2019, GUIDE TO ANOTHER DIMENSION, Sargent's Fine Art, Lahaina, Hawaii, USA

2019, UNCHARTED TERRITORY, The Art Lounge NZ, Tauranga, New Zealand

2019, INTERDIMENSIONAL AND THREE DIMENSIONAL, Helensville Art Centre, New Zealand

2018, GUIDE TO ANOTHER DIMENSION, Quarry Arts Centre, Whangarei, New Zealand

2018, GENIE COLLECTION, Sargent's Fine Art, Lahaina, Hawaii, USA

2018, GENIE COLLECTION, The Art lounge NZ, Tauranga, New Zealand

2017, INTERDIMENSIONAL, Art lounge NZ, Tauranga, New Zealand

2017, INTERDIMENSIONAL, CAN, Napier, New Zealand

2016, INTERDIMENSIONAL, Sargent's Fine Art, Lahaina, Hawaii, USA

2015, MISTIQUE, Quarry Arts Centre, Whangarei, New Zealand

2014, MOTHER OF ALL ILLUSION, Quarry Arts Centre, Whangarei, New Zealand

2014, MOTHER OF ALL ILLUSIONS, Terrace Downs, Christchurch, New Zealand

2014, MOTHER OF ALL ILLUSIONS, Sargent's Fine Art, Lahaina, Hawaii, USA

RECENT GROUP EXHIBITION:

2022, NEMESH ART AWARD, Art on the Quay, Kaiapoi, New Zealand

2022, NEMESH ART AWARD, Reyburn House, Whangarei, New Zealand

2022, Auckland Art Show, Auckland, New Zealand

2022, Christchurch Art Show, Christchurch, New Zealand

2021, CHERRY BLOSSOM SALON, FGS Buddhist Temple, Auckland, New Zealand, Virtual Exhibition

2021, Christchurch Art Show, Christchurch, New Zealand

2020, CHERRY BLOSSOM SALON, FGS Buddhist Temple, Auckland, New Zealand

2019, CHERRY BLOSSOM SALON, FGS Buddhist Temple, Auckland, New Zealand

October 2019, SACRED ART CONNECTION, Fo Guang Yuan Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand

2019, MULTICULTURAL CONNECTION, The Art Lounge NZ, Tauranga, New Zealand

2019, Christchurch Art Show, New Zealand

March 2019, SACRED ART EXHIBITION, Fo Guang Yuan Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand

2018, CHERRY BLOSSOM SALON, FGS Buddhist Temple, Auckland, New Zealand

2018, Peter Reynolds Memorial Exhibition, Rotary Club Rotorua, New Zealand

2018, Dunedin Art Show, New Zealand

2018, Christchurch Art Show, New Zealand

2018, Members exhibition Helensville, Arts Centre Hellenswille, New Zealand

2017, Peter Reynolds Memorial Exhibition, Rotary Club Rotorua, New Zealand

2017, Art Shopping, Carousel Louvre, Paris, France

2017, Dunedin Art Show, Dunedin, New Zealand

2017, Christchurch Art Show, Christchurch Art Show, New Zealand

2017, Matariki Exhibition, Penny Haka Gallery Rotorua, New Zealand

2016, Interconnection VI, touring exhibition with students, Bruce Mason Centre, Auckland, Artspost, Hamilton, Quarry Arts Centre, Whangarei, CAN (The Creative Arts Centre Napier), Napier, New Zealand

2016, Interconnection VII, Paihia, New Zealand

2016, Colour for The Soul, The Percy Thompson Gallery, Stratford, New Zealand

2016, Christchurch Art Show, Christchurch, New Zealand

2016, Nelson Art Show, Nelson, New Zealand,

2016, Wellington Art Show, Wellington, New Zealand

2016, Interconnection VII, Paihia, New Zealand

2015, Christchurch Art Show, Christchurch, New Zealand

2015, Soul Connection, Reyburn House, Whagarei, New Zealand

2015, Matariki Exhibition, artist in residence, Penny Haka Gallery Rotorua, New Zealand

2015, Christmas Exhibition, Exhibitions Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand

2014, Peter Reynolds Christmas Exhibition, Peter Reynolds Gallery, Rotorua, New Zealand

PRIZES AND AWARDS:

1988 Exhibition of Fine Arts, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia - FIRST PRIZE

1988 Award of the 35th Caravan of Friendship, Belgrade, Yugoslavia

1989 Review of Fine Arts, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia FIRST PRIZE

1989 22nd Yugoslav Meeting, Kraljevo, Yugoslavia - FIRST PRIZE

1989 Artists Colony “l7 Water Mills”, Nis, Yugoslavia - THIRD PRIZE

1991 Medal of the Olympic Games in Chess (for Donation), Yugoslavia

1991 1992 and 1993 Red Cross Medals for Donations, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia

1996 Royal Easter Show, Auckland, New Zealand - FIRST PRIZE in Category Oil / Opaque

2001 Royal Easter Show, Auckland, New Zealand - FIRST PRIZE in Category Oil / Opaque

2001 K. G. Fraser Award for Best Painting over all on Royal Easter Show, Auckland, NZ