75 Paintings and Impressions by Young Croatian Artists of ŠPUD Zagreb
Celebrating 75 Years of India's Independence
An exhibition of works by students of the School of Applied Arts and Design in Zagreb entitled "75 Paintings and Impressions of Young Croatian Artists of ŠPUD Zagreb" was set up on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of India's independence.
The exhibition will be realized in cooperation with the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb and the Embassy of India in Zagreb.
75 IMAGINATIONS AND IMPRESSIONS
The number 75 in the title of the exhibition "75 IM" (ŠPUD at the Šira Gallery in Zagreb, HKD Rijeka, Dubrovnik) symbolically connects the significant occasion (the "A.K.A.M" initiative) and the motif of the creation of the same number of works (paintings, collages, graphics, mixed-media posters, prints) of young designers and artists (students of ŠPUD) with the number of years that have followed since the world's significant historical event: the acquisition and act of the official declaration of independence of India in 1947.
In addition to explicit references to the name of the country, text, event and anniversary through textual, typographical, letristic, calaghic, heraldic and other design procedures in the traditions and idioms of the lavish history of art, architecture, folklore – originally created in the vast territory of India – and modernist and contemporary such as pop art, psychedelic-art, "underground" comics, urban naïve, to retro-avant-garde, minimalist, abstractionist, monochrome procedures (as in achromatic, white "relief" work with the motif of the flow of the Ganges River, B. Marelić), in the imaginarium of a large number of our young authors, iconographically and even cult-iconically recognizable symbolic figures of stylized zoomorphic (the tiger and the peacock with three "eyes" on their tail feathers are well-known symbols of India, and the elephant, also associated with the symbolism of Indra, Ganesha, and sovereignty, constancy and cognition, and other significant "animals"), floral, geomorphic (the outlines of India with coloristic and sign heraldry), cartographic shapes, arabesques, phantasmatic visions, utopian projections, mostly taken from the medialized, but not only centuries-old, but several millennia old and archetypal treasury of India. Indian culture and art have had a very significant impact on modern, postmodern and contemporary "imaginary" and "art", which is stylistically highlighted in a series of works at this exhibition.
Erudite, sophisticatedly selected or intuitively "struck" symbols of ancient but no less contemporary, independent – no more colonial, but independent India, and their creative transposition into their own paintings, "ideas" and visions in the works of students of the old and renowned Zagreb School of Applied Arts and Design (ŠPUD) have taken on a transcendental, universal meaning of referring to the beauty, aesthetic and ethical value of mutual communication between the sovereign countries of India and Croatia, which also marks and celebrates its – thirtieth – anniversary of independence.
The perspective of development and strong spiritual complementation of the already established and advanced ties and relations between our countries and peoples is the basic idea, vision, mission, guiding thread and spiritus movens of the organization and presentation of the exhibition "75 IM" in three Croatian cities, Zagreb, Rijeka and Dubrovnik, as part of a more complex event marking the anniversaries of the independence of India (75!) and Croatia (30).
Branko Cerovac
ŠPUD and India
It is a great joy and honor for us, this year, when the School of Applied Arts and Design from Zagreb is approaching its great 140th birthday, and the Republic of India celebrates 75 years of independence, to enrich the celebration of the Republic of India with the works of our students that will be sent around the world through this edition of postcards.
The School of Applied Arts and Design in Zagreb was founded in 1882 as the Royal National School of Crafts. At that time, artificial crafts were taught at the school, which, according to the terminology of the time, corresponded to what would later become applied arts, and today partly design. Over the course of 139 years, the School has changed several names while retaining the basic content of education, and during these years, teachers and students of the school have founded various other important educational institutions in Zagreb (Academy of Fine Arts, Faculty of Architecture, Faculty of Civil Engineering, School of Civil Engineering...). It is precisely the long tradition and many internal reforms of the School that have favored its adaptability to new paradigms of education, creating a place and practice that creates a stimulating environment for creativity, innovation and development of current and future generations in the educational approach of the art school.
In the past year, our students, together with their mentors, responded to two invitational art competitions of the Embassy of the Republic of India in Croatia, and presented their best works through an open-air exhibition in front of the School as part of the activities of our Izidor Kršnjavi Exhibition Salon. The great response of our students, and then the selected works, testifies to the interest and curiosity of our students to learn about the cultural and other values of India and their transformation into a visual and artistic language. We believe that the Image of India of our students will travel to as many addresses around the world as possible and thus devotedly and inspiringly record this solemn moment of the 75th birthday of the Republic of India.
Filip Pintarić, Director of ŠPUD
EXHIBITORS & MENTORS
Mentor: Vinka Mortigjija Anušić, Prof. Advisor
Estera Balog, Sara Brlić, Sara Kovačić, Maša Međurečan, Nikolina Milačić, Klaudija Milić, Petar Mitrović, Jura Momčilović, Lucija Sabolić, Nika Vrbanić, Majda Vukalović
Mentor: Damir Brčić, prof. (deceased)
Karlo Buden, Sara De Mitri, Jelena Draženović, Sara Fakin, Sara Guzan, Leda Hergešić, Erik Hrebinec, Tara Ivančev, Ema Jančetić, Dora Kiš, Lea Klarić, Enea Knežević, Matej Kociper, Lorena Kovačević, Ena Kovačić, Viktor Lužnik, Lucija Marić, Marija Marić, Anja Martinović, Pia Palić Jarec, Vid Pavlić, Noa Pisačić, Borna Smolčić, Mihaela Spiegl, Ivona Stambolija, Katarina Stjepić, Ana Škarpa, Ana Štritof, Teodora Tintor, Mihaela Toth, Mirta Vrkić, Eva Vukasović
Mentor: Andro Grdinić, prof.
Magdalena Balogović, Gabrijela Benko, Vid Berković, Petra Cesarec, Lora Jendriš, Luna Krlin, Jana Mišković, Marina Morović, Villő Papp, Lev Polimac, Jan Luka Shourgot, Dora Šimpović, Ana Švaljek, Sara Tolić, Franka Zokić
Mentor: Antonio Kutleša, prof.
Bruna Marelić
Mentor: Tomislav Tomić, prof.
Lana Bertić, Vito Pešut, Dominik Pleše, Franka Poslek, Nicole Vidović, Nina Vitković, Elena Zadravec, Lara Zajac, Mika Zorić, Magdalena Žulj
Mentor: Mario Jurjević, prof.
Lovro Babić, Lorena Dujić, Paula Hlup, Jurica Pakračić
Mentor: Tea Pranjić, prof.
Noa Hrupec, Vibor Hostić
Browse and download bilingual as part of the exhibition and commemoration of India's independence anniversary.
You can see the exhibition in the Šira Gallery during the working hours of the Gallery (Mon-Fri: 9-16 h, 18-20 h, Saturdays: 11-16 h) until 14/02/2022.
