Presentation of the Monumental Graphic Work „Hercegovina Noir“ at the Mostar Print Days

The “Mostar Print Days”, organized by the Museum of Modern Art of the University of Mostar, open with the presentation of the largest contemporary print in Bosnia and Herzegovina – the monumental work “Hercegovina Noir” by academic printmaker Asst. Prof. Darko Dugandžić.

The print, measuring 400 x 107 cm, was created using a combination of high etching, aquatint, etching, reserve technique and mezzotint. The creation of the work was initiated by Božo Biškupić, long-time Minister of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, art promoter and donor of the Museum of Modern Art of the University of Mostar.

“Hercegovina Noir” stands out as the largest contemporary print in Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of physical format and pushes the boundaries of a medium traditionally associated with more intimate, sheet-based formats and precise craftsmanship. Enlarged to the scale of a wall, the print becomes a spatial experience – a work perceived through movement, body and distance.

For the contemporary art scene in Bosnia and Herzegovina, this monumental format carries a dual significance: it confirms printmaking as an equally powerful medium alongside painting and new media, capable of being ambient, dominant and spectacular while preserving the layered structure, rhythm of impression, trace of the matrix and process discipline. At the same time, “Hercegovina Noir” positions printmaking as a conceptual space – its large scale intensifies atmosphere, narrative and emotional impact, while the visual “noir code” engages with contemporary sensibilities, urban and regional identities, and modern exhibition practices.

Darko Dugandžić was born in Mostar in 1984. He completed secondary school at Fra Slavko Barbarić Secondary School in Čitluk and graduated in 2008 from the Academy of Fine Arts of the University of Mostar in Široki Brijeg, Department of Printmaking, in the class of Prof. Miro Petrović. Since 2009, he has been employed at the Department of Printmaking at the same Academy, where he has been attending the specialized doctoral study programme ARS SACRA since 2014. In 2023, he was appointed Assistant Professor and currently serves as Vice Dean for International Cooperation.

He has realized ten solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group exhibitions in the country and abroad. He is the recipient of the Grand Prix at the 2nd Biennial of Sacred Art 2025, the M-tel Project Connection Award (Banja Luka, 2011), the Printmaking Award at the 33rd International Mini Print in Cadaqués (Barcelona, 2013), and the Printmaking Award at the Young Artists Biennial in Sarajevo 2018. He lives and works in Donji Ograđenik and Široki Brijeg.

The largest Croatian print can be viewed from June 26 to November 1, 2026, as part of the 4th International Printmaking Triennial at the Franciscan Museum and Gallery Gorica in Livno.