FOREST

• 19.05.2017 - 16.07.2017

Art Pavilion in Zagreb opens an exhibition dedicated to forest, which will start a four-year cycle of exhibitions devoted to nature, i.e. the four fundamental Croatian natural resources - wood, water, earth and sea. The exhibition aims to bring focus to these beautiful Croatian natural resources through art, and, in addition, through lectures which will accompany the exhibition, in order to highlight and underline their value and importance. Lectures accompanying the exhibition dedicated to the forest are organized in cooperation with the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences at the Academy premises.

Forest - multidisciplinary exhibition created in collaboration of the Art Pavilion in Zagreb and the Croatian Wood Cluster, which includes in its concept painting, sculpture, literature and product design during the period from the 19th century until today.

Many writers and artists have found their inspiration in interpreting in their works the motives of forest. One of the greatest writers who dealt with the above theme is Josip Kozarac,  leading representative of the Croatian realism, who published his Slavonian forest in "Vijenac" in 1888.

Forests and trees have also been inspiration of many painters. During 19th century and early 20th century in the field of painting the motif of forest can be found in works of landscape painters of Slavonian forests Hugo Conrad von Hötzendorf and Adolf Waldinger, who have made the greatest contribution to Croatian landscape painting of the 19th century. The motif is also present, among others, in the works of Ivan Zasche, Ferdo Quiquerez, Vlaho Bukovac, Dragan Melkus, Oton Iveković, Ferdo Kovačević, Slava Raškaj, Tomislav Krizman, Nasta Rojc, Vladimir Becić,  Oskar Herman, Vladimir Filakovac, Zlatko Šulentić, Sonja Kovačić-Tajčević, Đuro Tiljak, Ivo Dulčić, Željko Lapuh, Ivo Šebalj, Zlatan Vrkljan,...

To sculptors, forests and trees are a valuable raw material in which they make their pieces. There are many Croatian sculptors who have made and are making sculptures in wood -  Ivan Meštrović, Dušan Džamonja, Ksenija Kantoci, Branko Ružić, Šime Vulas, Peruško Bogdanić, Slavomir Drinković, Matko Mijić, Vladimir Gašparić Gapa, Dalibor Stošić, Mirko Zrinšćak,....

Also, trees, especially oak tree, are a valuable raw material from which furniture is made. This exhibition will show the development of industrial production and furniture design from the very beginning of the twentieth century to the present. Among the exhibits there will be shown products of the Tvornica pokućstva od savijenog drva in Rijeka; Mundus „Florijan Bobić“, Varaždin; Mobilia „Ivo Marinković“, Osijek; Thonet-Mundus d.d., Varaždin; Bothe i Ehrmann, Oriolik, Oriovac, .... and among the authors products of Bernardo Bernardi, Herman Bolle, Vjenceslav Richter, Mario Antonini, Boris Babić, Željko Kovačić, Numen, Redesign, Grupa, ....

Works by all listed authors and many others will be exhibited in this unique exhibition, which will show a total of about 140 exhibits - paintings, sculptures and furniture - from a dozen Croatian museums and numerous private collections.

The author of the concept of the exhibition and the exhibition setup is Jasminka Poklečki Stošić, and co-authors are:

-  section of painting:

   19th century  prof. dr. sc. Jasminka Najcer Sabljak

   20th and 21st century academic Tonko Maroević

- section of sculpture prof. dr. sc. Ive Šimat Banov

- section for product design :

• sc. Vanja Brdar Mustapić, Head of Collection of furniture, Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb
• sc. Ksenija Jurinec, interior architecture designer

expert associates:

• dr. sc. Danijela Domljan, Faculty of Forestry, University of Zagreb
• Silvija Lučevnjak, director of the Našice Local History Museum
• dr. sc. Aleksandar Durman, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb
• Danijela Križanec Beganović, senior curator, Ethnographic Museum Zagreb

Exclusively for the exhibition and the catalog of the exhibition, one of the most successful and most translated Croatian authors Miljenko Jergović will write an essay on forest!

The exhibition will be followed by scientific lectures organized and in cooperation by the Art Pavilion and Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The lectures will take place in the Academy.