Michael Galovic was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia and graduated from the Belgrade Academy of Arts in 1974. He had already started painting icons in 1970, under the influence and guidance of his step-father, himself a painter, conservator, and restorer of old icons and frescos in Serbia. Michael was thus able to develop the discipline of structured icon making while simultaneously developing a comprehensive understanding of conventional art with all its freedom and different approaches.
After graduation, though, Michael decided to follow a personal quest for seeing the world and learning other languages. He spent three years living and working in Spain as a tour guide and supervisor in tourism, then another seven in Libya, Iraq, Gabon and Ivory Coast. There, he was employed as a translator and interpreter of English and French for Yugoslav construction companies. Michael’s insatiable interest in languages would later lead to his study of Greek and Japanese, both of which he still hopes to master seriously one day.
Australia became Michael’s new home in early 1990. It was then that he resumed his art practice, while also teaching icon painting in regular classes in Sydney for a number of years, as well as running workshops in Australia and New Zealand, which he eventually stopped to devote himself fully to his art practice.
In 2008, Michael was commissioned to create an icon of St Benedict to be presented as a gift to then Pope Benedict XVI. This resulted in a personal letter from Vatican thanking Michael for the special effort and outcome; another major work, Our Lady of the Southern Cross icon has been reproduced as a print and given to the current Pope St Francis in 2016. During his time as the Anglican Archbishop, Rowan Williams also sent a private letter to Michael praising his work after seen some of his icons as well as the book Icons+Art: Michael Galovic.
Michael Galovic was also the first iconographer in Australia to create an icon of Mary MacKillop (even before she was beatified). Since then, he has created several forms of Blessed, and later, Saint Mary MacKillop. Many icons of the first Australian saint are now part of churches and institutions throughout the country, including the Josephites’ centres in Sydney and Melbourne.
Michael still presents talks on icons and religious art throughout Australia and overseas. In 2012, he was a speaker at the Year of Grace Conference in Townsville, then in 2014 in Hobart at the Catholic Education Conference, New Wine in New Skins. Overseas talks include presentations at the Kyoto University, Japan, Department of Comparative Religions, as well as in Reykjavik, Iceland, in the Religious Department of the University.
He has also had both solo and group exhibitions in major cities and regional centres throughout Australia.
A particularly outstanding solo one was ‘The Son of Man’ (at the Australian Catholic University, galleries in Sydney and Melbourne, Francis Rush Centre Brisbane, St Monica Cathedral, Cairns, and the Mary MacKillop Centre, Sydney, amongst others.)
His involvement in group exhibitions include ‘Windows on Eternity’ (St Mary’s Cathedral, 1992)’ the Mary MacKillop Art Award (Sydney, 1995), ‘Prayer and spirituality in the early Church’ (Sydney, 1999), Icon exhibition (Macquarie University Library Sydney, 2001), Leading Australian Iconographers (Australian Catholic University Gallery, 2007) and Painting in Gold: An Exhibition of Ancient and Contemporary Icons (Macquarie University Gallery, 2011).
Michael has been a finalist in four of the prestigious Blake Prize exhibitions.
In addition to his exhibitions in Australia, Michael has also had solo exhibitions in many overseas venues. To date, these include: Peru (Japanese Cultural Centre Gallery, Lima), USA (Taos and Santa Fe), United Kingdom (Westminster Abbey, Hellenic Cultural Centre, Anglican Church, Eccles), New Zealand (many shows, mainly in the Anglican and Catholic Church centres, halls, in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch), Serbia (Gallery Yubin), Belgrade), South Korea (Catholic Art Gallery and Sookmyung Women University Gallery), New Caledonia (Noumea Town Hall), France (Marist Centre L’Hermitage, near Lyon), Ecuador (Loja Municipality Gallery, Guayaquil University Gallery), Ethiopia (Italian Cultural Centre), Marquesan Islands (local municipalities and churches on different islands)), Slovenia (St Stanislav Education Complex Gallery).
Michael’s body of work is not limited to his achievements as an iconographer; he also engages in contemporary religious art, ever experimenting with new forms of expression and different techniques. Gilding, in its many shades and forms, has been a particular focus. For painting, egg-tempera remains his favourite medium and he has extended its use outside the realm of iconography to cover the depiction of themes such as ‘The Flight and Fall of Icarus’ (an image which he has explored since his student days), ‘The Son of Man’, ‘Stabat Mater’, and ‘Uluru’, where a significant body of work has been produced over some 20 years. While most of Michael’s work is commissioned, he also is exploring his own projects, showcasing the outcome in physical exhibitions and on the internet. YouTube under “Michael Galovic” shows many video clips about Michael’s work including a documentary film ‘Short, Happy Life of Michael Galovic’.
Although many of Michael’s works are in private collections, a large number can be seen in public spaces, including over one hundred churches and institutions such as Colleges, Universities, Spiritual Centres and Libraries.
Michael Galovic’s work has also been featured in a considerable number of books and articles
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Heavenly beings: the icon paintings of Michael Galovic
