July 20 – September 12, 2021

The new exhibition in the cycle Art in front of the Art Pavilion is open on July 20, 2021 with the work of a renowned Croatian sculptor Kažimir Hraste.

Hraste is an artist inspired by the joy of life and his works are characterized by the dialogue between tradition and contemporaneity as well as by the architectural approach to sculpting. They are likewise influenced by the author’s attachment to the local context and tradition.

On the entrance steps of the Art Pavilion visitors are greeted by Hraste’s sculpture 1901. – 1907. from 2016, also known as the portrait of Ivan Meštrović. The sculpture, made of iron and glass, testifies to the harmonious union of series of voids and spatial penetration. Interior and exterior spaces intertwine in it. The work is a sort of an homage to Ivan Meštrović and his formative Secession period spent in Vienna. It was made as a site specific sculpture for Hraste’s exhibition at the Ivan Meštrović Gallery in Split, and now is exhibited for the first time in Zagreb, in a different context. From the steps of the Art Pavilion, Meštrović’s portrait look upon the work of the great master himself – the monument of Andrija Medulić situated in front of the Pavilion. This curatorial decision highlights the act of honoring artistic predecessors as well as the crucial role of the Art Pavilion in merging the tradition with the exceptional contemporary art production.

Kažimir Hraste was born in 1954, in Supetar, on Brač Island. He took a degree in sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1978, class of Valerije Michieli. Hraste did post-graduate work in sculpture in Ljubljana, completing in 1984. He was one of the founders of the Arts Academy in Split in 1997 where he currently works as a tenured professor at the Sculpture department. Hraste has put on some forty solo shows and taken part in about two hundred exhibitions at home and abroad. His works are to be found in national galleries and museums. He has created a considerable number of monuments in public and religious spaces. He is the recipient of a number of prizes and commendations as well as two national decorations – the Order of the Croatian Daystar with the image of Marko Marulić and another with the image of Katarina Zrinska. Since 2012, he has been an associate member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

 

Besides the splendor of the building itself, the Art Pavilion’s new exhibition cycle makes use of the advantages of its impressive ambiance. The public will be able to enjoy Kažimir Hraste’s outdoor sculpture until September 12, 2021.

Photographs: Mario Krištofić

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