Nenad Roban

He was born on March 25, 1951 in Koprivnica. He completed his graduate studies in 1977 at the Department of Jewelry Design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium. During his studies, he was awarded two awards – in 1976. The Inno Bourla Award and in 1977. The Ringer & Diamond Award, both in Antwerp. In 2008, he was employed as an assistant professor at the Department of Sculpture at the Academy of Applied Arts, University of Rijeka, where he teaches the courses Industrial Design I, II, III and Jewelry Design. Since 2013, he has been an associate professor of art at APURA, where he teaches Jewelry Design. Since 2014, he has been introducing a new course Objects for Body and Space at the same academy, and since 2015 the course Design: History and Contemporaneity. Since 2023, he has been teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagrebu.Na group exhibitions in 1976, and solo exhibitions in 1978. He has had solo exhibitions in Zagreb, Novigrad and Vienna, and collectively in numerous galleries and museums in Croatia and Europe. He was named Jewelry Designer of the Year and awarded for his collection of unique jewelry in 2006 (Zlatna Barga – Mineralexpo, Zagreb).

He is a member of the Croatian Society of Designers (since 2011) (twice elected to the Board of Directors of HDD), the Croatian Association of Fine Artists (since 1999), and from 1979 to 1999 he was a member of the Association of Fine Artists of Applied Arts of Croatia – Section for the Design of Precious Metals.

From 1999 to 2007, together with his wife Sandra Križić Roban, he organized and led the exhibition program of the Križić Roban Gallery in Zagreb, where a large number of solo and group exhibitions of leading Croatian artists were organized over the course of eight years, and several foreign guest appearances were realized. The gallery published several joint annual catalogs and several separate catalogs-monographs of authors.

The concept of Jewelry Design

Have you ever dreamed of a world without borders? It is less likely that you have thought about what would precede it. History proves that human nature is prone to inertia to the utmost possible limits. Accordingly, changes occur when a certain form of existence is completely exhausted. By entering the age of sustainability, we are completely leaving the familiar area of modernity that marked the twentieth century. Recently, it has been evident to what extent the events in the field of jewelry design are actually conscious (or unconscious) responses of creators to the climate change we witness every day. The disappearance of borders occurred precisely in the area of this, long neglected and unrecognized, artistic expression. The boundaries that have disappeared refer to the area of use of materials, but also to the awareness of defining body decoration. Contemporary jewelry has been used for several decades to emphasize personal attitudes. Jewelry was mostly made in conventional materials, i.e. precious metals and precious or semi-precious stones. The most important change in this jewelry compared to earlier periods is noticeable in its form, which was previously based on the settings of the fine arts of the 20th century. Today's environmental and social situation has forced artists to change the materials from which they will realize their ideas. This was largely influenced by the overproduction of usable objects.

The choice of materials and the attitude towards this unavoidable type of design express resistance to pronounced consumerism and inflation of the production of all those objects that support profit by ensuring precisely and only – consumerism. In the second half of the sixties of the last century, the attitude of several authors, most of whom worked in Europe, emerged in a similar way, who changed the way materials are used in the design of jewelry and revolutionized its understanding. To some extent, they commented on the consumer society with the desire for jewelry to become the same artistic discipline as the others. Thus, jewelry from that time has a social component, sometimes a political one, depending on the author.

Today's designers refer to all the essential components of modern life, so in addition to social commentaries, they have also included ecological ones. However, in the deeper layers of their creative process, we come across the questions posed, pointing out and discussing a number of topics related to globalization, the so-called Third World, a possible technological apocalypse, etc.

The course Objects for Body and Space is an interdisciplinary study that examines the relationships and mutual influences of the body, space, light, personality, aesthetics, and the natural and urban environment. The study enables the use of all known media and materials that can be used by students to express themselves as clearly as possible.

Two subjects are performed that complement each other: Jewelry Design and Objects for the Body and Prost

– "Uncertainty", Kranjčar Gallery, Zagreb

– Filo Rosso - IV International Biennial of Contemporary Jewellery, Museo d'Arte Moderna "Ugo Cara", Muggia (Italy)

– Lauba - Bowiesque, Design Week, Zagreb

– "Out of the Blue", Kortil Gallery, Rijeka

– "Out of the Blue", Greta Gallery, Zagreb

– Richter Collection. Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, 2010.

– "Unknown Place", Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb

– Rigo Gallery – Lapidarium Museum, Novigrad

– V&V Gallery, Vienna

2005 – The Book of Jewelry by Nenad Roban