A long-forgotten love for drawing and wood carving, deeply hidden in the mists of the childhood, suddenly and unexpectedly aroused in Stankovic's late years. Instead of an exhausted retired man, in front of us is the work full of youthful enthusiasm and passion of a loving child precisely and skillfully shaped with the experience of a mature artist as if he has spent all his life performing this job.
Stankovic was born in Leskovac, in the south of Serbia, where wood carving is deeply rooted in folk tradition and art. In such an environment, in the earliest childhood and closest contact with untouched nature, he discovers the structures of the most precious wood, walnut tree, and the possibilities of its processing.
Stankovic is a retired agricultural engineer living in Novi Sad. He discovers wood carving as a hobby in the late years of his professional career. After retiring he completely devotes himself to it and finds his expression in the discipline which promotes him to an icon wood carver.
The beginning steps of this author include the wood carved replicas of the famous icons which in time have become authentic with clearly distinguished personal reflection and incision (extremely deep, relief cut ). Another authentic characteristic of these icons is the finely nuanced colouring of the wood relief with natural colours, which do not hide, but highlight the characteristics of the precious walnut and maple wood. In time, the author's cut has become more refined, the drawing more secure and precise, colours more subtle and translucent. Beside canonized iconography, the motifs of Stankovic's wood carving are often the replicas of the famous pictures of great and well-known Serbian painters such as Predic, Anastas Jovanovic, Jaksic.
The last segment of Stankovic's creative work belongs to the area of applied arts and it refers to the handiwork of one piece, monolith picture frames, trademarks, unique emblems and Christian relics in the finest engraving. In his wish to be consistent to the rules of iconography, the author often uses encrustation as well as adding of some of the icon elements in three dimensions.
Without going into a deeper, expert art analysis, we can say for sure that these wood carved icons are highly attractive, original and unique. In the recent inundation with commercial, orthodox icons painted in an unprofessional and immature manner, Stankovic's icons and engravings, with all its above mentioned characteristics, significantly stand out. In Serbian tradition, every Orthodox house has an icon with the picture of its patron saint on its walls. It is handed down from generation to generation, so these valuable works of art are the nicest possible presents to all people you care about.
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