A sacred work of art

Michael Galovic is a Serbian artist who has made his home in Aus-
tralia for the past 27 years. He is renowned for creating works of sacred
art that are artistically and spiritually challenging. He was recently
commissioned by St Columba’s Girls College in Essendon to create The
timeless dance, a work that celebrates women and invites us to en-
counter the divine.

It is interesting to consider what motivates Michael Galovic to con-
tinue to create his special works of art, and how it is that, time and
again, his sacred art carries the ability to awaken and delight our sens-
ibilities and lead us to a better understanding of spirit.
A visit to Galovic’s studio on the Central Coast of New South Wales
may shed some light. When I made the journey some years ago, I found
a number of works in progress and a creative space that reflected Galo-
vic’s aura of gentleness and serenity. What became evident was a ‘buzz’
that lingers in the viewing of his work—a positive vibe that speaks of
absolute dedication; a layer of energy he has perfected in the pursuit of
a true, grounded passion for his work.
Galovic’s traditional icons and contemporary sacred works em-
bellish churches, schools, provincial houses and private dwellings
throughout Australia and the world. Commissions too numerous to
mention have been accepted and tackled with zeal. In viewing the
work in Galovic’s studio, I wondered what it was that inspires him to
keep coming up with these interesting and thought-provoking works
of art. His recent work, The timeless dance, gives significant insight
into his ongoing passion.
The timeless dance was commissioned by St Columba’s College
in Essendon. The prospectus for the girls’ college is titled ‘Uncom-
mon women’. Galovic explains that he wanted this work to celebrate
women, sung and unsung. His idea was to honour women in gener-
al—those who enable others and those who take responsibility with-
out desiring personal acclaim. He selected Miriam, the courageous
sister of Moses, for his central motif: a figure mirrored in the dancing
women arranged shoulder to shoulder around the circumference of a
circle. Who better than the iconic figure of Miriam to awaken a sense
of leadership and vitality in a school community? Miriam knew what it
was to experience both despair and hope, terror and deliverance, slav-
ery and freedom; to experience being disregarded and being valued.
She seems in many ways to be just like us. It is helpful to be mindful of
her experiences when we ask ourselves whom we should listen to and
allow to influence us.
The revolving figures in the painting are solidly connected, enhanced
by their aristocratic dress and trailing sashes, suggestive of an endur-
ing commitment. In typical Galovic style, he has carefully chosen the
perfect iconic device to press home his aim to celebrate remarkable
women and, at the same time, inspire young women to become re-
markable. Little wonder the women in the central panel dominate the
triptych. It is this panel we are drawn to, first and last. We look direct-
ly at the figures—each one connected and yet displaying a satisfying
uniqueness; each one joyful in the execution of the celebratory dance.
On each side of the central panel is a vibrant, colour-filled panel
supporting the mesmerising centre. The powerful effect of the triptych
is a sense of harmony that flows through the three panels. In view-
ing The timeless dance, we become aware of the vital interconnected-
ness of the three panels. Galovic tells us that the panels represent past,
present and future. He is keen to represent energy as ever fluid and
moving in vibrant, circular motion with no beginning and no end. We
become very much aware of the past and the future echoed in the cen-
tral panel of the present — the Christian idea of the incomplete leading
contemplatively to the fulfilled.
A red thread moves through the three panels. As the Chinese prov-
erb tells us, ‘an invisible red thread connects those who are destined
to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may
stretch or tangle but will never break.’
Galovic involves his audience in his personal history, drawing
them into his early experience in Yugoslavia—as a small boy holding
his mother’s hand, standing in the Orthodox church and watching as
his stepfather and a team of conservators detach layers of mortar to
reveal frescoes from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Galovic
carries the excitement from that room of his boyhood experience into
the workshop space and his works of art.
Each of the many specially commissioned works Galovic has com-
pleted over the years carries its own unique significance. He dedi-
cates himself to each task in order to create something beautiful and
thought-provoking. The engaging experience of Galovic’s art work is
deeply grounded in a mindfulness of the creator. Each work carries
a hint of transcendent beauty and disappears momentarily into the
divine. The process acts as an enabler to transcendence. We experience
the flow of divine energy in the act of participation with his creation.
Galovic promotes a powerful sense of connection through his
work—a hint of beauty inscribed in the sacred. The invisible thread is
made visible. It endures and connects us with the gift of vital energy
as it streams from the divine, expanding our hearts and enabling our
moments of difficulty to be made easier.
Galovic’s art throws up ever changing images. He works tirelessly
to arrive at suitable images that will suggest what is so difficult to ex-
press. The images grab hold of us and drag us into the present moment.
And isn’t this the marvel of the creative process? To allow us to face up
to the connection between past and future ... and to recognise it when
it is represented so positively in our glorious present?
However we interpret Galovic’s work, we can appreciate the process
of creativity that is enduring. We are grateful for the images that allow
us to open ourselves to a better understanding of creation. Images that
allow us to connect to our essential selves in a moment of wonder. A
moment in our timeless dance.