Ivan Kožarić is a Croatian artist who works primarily with sculpture but also works in a wide variety of media, including: permanent and temporary sculptures, assemblages, proclamations, photographs, paintings and installations. He lives and works in Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

, Croatia.

His works are characterized by a sense of mischief, spontaneity and by his nonchalant approach to life. He is one of the founding members of the Gorgona Group

Gorgona Group

The Gorgona Group , was a Croatian avant-garde art group which consisted of artists and art historians: Dimitrije Bašičević-Mangelos, Miljenko Horvat, Marijan Jevšovar, Julije Knifer, Ivan Kožarić, Matko Meštrović, Radoslav Putar, Đuro Seder, Josip Vaništa, operated along the lines of anti-art in...

, whose active members between 1959 and 1966 were Miljenko Horvat, Julije Knifer

Julije Knifer

Julije Knifer was a Croatian painter and founding member of the prominent 60s Croatian art group known as, Gorgona Group....

, Marijan Jevšovar

Marijan Jevšovar

Marijan Jevšovar was a Croatian painter and founding member of the prominent 60s Croatian art group known as, Gorgona Group....

, Dimitrije Bašičević

Dimitrije Basicevic

Dimitrije Bašičević was an artist, critic and curator, working under the pseudonym Mangelos. He made handmade books, sculptures and paintings....

 (who also works under the name Mangelos), Matko Meštrović, Radoslav Putar, Đuro Seder

Đuro Seder

Đuro Seder is a Croatian painter. He lives and works in Zagreb, Croatia.At the beginning of his career he worked as an illustrator, image editor and designer at various magazines...

 and Josip Vaništa. During his period in Gorgona, his sculptures reduced in form, which would become the main characteristic of his later sculptural project consisting of numerous sculptures entitled the Feeling of Wholeness.

He has had many solo exhibitions, both in Croatia and internationally. Some of the more recent exhibitions were held at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 (2002) and at the Art Pavilion in Zagreb (2005–2006). He has participated in many international group shows, including the Venice Biennale

Venice Biennale

The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...

 (1976), the São Paulo Biennale (1979), and documenta

Documenta

documenta is an exhibition of modern and contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. It was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau which took place in Kassel at that time...

 in Kassel

Kassel

Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...

 (2002). The Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb

Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb

The Museum of Contemporary Art is a contemporary art museum located on Dubrovnik Avenue in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the biggest and most modern museum in the country....

 bought his entire studio for display in the gallery in 2007. Commissioned by the Filip Trade Collection

Filip Trade Collection

The Filip Trade Collection is a large private collection of contemporary Croatian art. The collection is a subsidiary of Filip Trade, a distribution company with its offices located in the capital city of Croatia, Zagreb...

, he made Ascent, a slender sculpture more than 13 meters high (2002). He is the author of many public sculptures, including Landed Sun in Zagreb (1971), A. G. Matoš in Zagreb (1978), and Tree in Bochum

Bochum

Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...

 (1979–1980). He has received numerous awards, including the Vladimir Nazor Award

Vladimir Nazor award

The Vladimir Nazor Award is an annual award given by the Croatian Ministry of Culture to Croatian artists for highest achievements in various artistic fields. It was established in 1959 and is named after the notable writer Vladimir Nazor...

for Life Achievement (1997).

Published works on Ivan Kožarić

• Maračić, Antun & Turković, Evelina, Studio Kožarić (Ideaimago, Zagreb, 1995).
• Župan, Ivica, Cheerful Sisyphus (Biblioteka Duchamp, Naklada MD, Zagreb, 1996).
• Koščević, Želimir, Kožarić (Naklada Naprijed d.d. Zagreb, 1996).
• Denegri, Jerko, Ivan Kožarić (Matica Hrvatska Sisak, Sisak, 2006.).
• Denegri, Jerko & Maroević, Tonko, Ivan Kožarić (exh. catalogue, Art Pavilion in Zagreb, Zagreb, 2006).

External links

• Ivan Kožarić at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb