Lovro Artuković
Encyclopedia
Lovro Artuković is a contemporary Croatian painter and graphic artist who primarily paints large scale figurative canvases. He lives and works in Berlin
, Germany
.
His painting style is based on the theme of intimism and explores the figurative using the iconography of urban civilisation. In the 1980s many of his works focused on portraiture and the artist's wife figures as the most prominent sitter. His works then developed through the 1990s, although never directly painting the war which he experienced, (Croatian War Independence) his self-portraits and portraits of couples of this period reflected an atmosphere of war. After 2000, Artuković created a series of "Votive Paintings", which used real characters reconfigured into allegorical scenes. The characters in these Votive Paintings would wear written messages on their clothes for example, in the painting 64, (2006), Artuković paints himself wearing a T-Shirt upon which is written "God How I Love Botticelli". One of the artist's best known, and most controversial works is called, the Signing of the declaration of the unification of Western Herzegovina and Popovo Polje with the Republic of Croatia (Wer hat das bier bestellt?) (2008). The making of this painting features in Igor Mirković's film L.A. Unfinished.
His works are kept in gallery institutions and many private collections such as that of Neda Young, New York, the Filip Trade Collection
, Zagreb and the Essl Museum of Contemporary Art, Vienna.
Awards:
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Artistic career
For nine years, until 2003, he worked as an assistant professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb. He then moved to Berlin where he still works as a freelance artist.His painting style is based on the theme of intimism and explores the figurative using the iconography of urban civilisation. In the 1980s many of his works focused on portraiture and the artist's wife figures as the most prominent sitter. His works then developed through the 1990s, although never directly painting the war which he experienced, (Croatian War Independence) his self-portraits and portraits of couples of this period reflected an atmosphere of war. After 2000, Artuković created a series of "Votive Paintings", which used real characters reconfigured into allegorical scenes. The characters in these Votive Paintings would wear written messages on their clothes for example, in the painting 64, (2006), Artuković paints himself wearing a T-Shirt upon which is written "God How I Love Botticelli". One of the artist's best known, and most controversial works is called, the Signing of the declaration of the unification of Western Herzegovina and Popovo Polje with the Republic of Croatia (Wer hat das bier bestellt?) (2008). The making of this painting features in Igor Mirković's film L.A. Unfinished.
His works are kept in gallery institutions and many private collections such as that of Neda Young, New York, 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...
, Zagreb and the Essl Museum of Contemporary Art, Vienna.
Exhibitions and Awards
He has had numerous group and solo exhibitions, including:- Museu da Água, Lisbon (2002).
- The Repository, the Textile Factory Zagreb TKZ (2004).
- Zero-gravity Paintings, Labor 019, Berlin (2004).
- Painting and Object, Artists' Gallery, Dubrovnik (2004).
- Observation, Prima Center, Berlin (2005).
- 64, Josip Račić Gallery, Zagreb (2006).
- Ball of Fame, Umspannwerk, Berlin (2006).
- Declaration, Haus Ungarn/.BHC Kollektiv, Berlin (2008).
- Island Map, Gallery Klovićevi dvoriKlovicevi dvoriKlovićevi dvori is an art gallery in Zagreb, Croatia named after the Croatian painter Juraj Julije Klović. It is located in the historic Gornji Grad neighborhood. Two smaller galleries are located within the building, the Galerija Gradec and Kula Lotrščak. The gallery was opened in 1984.- External...
, Zagreb, (2008). - The Best Paintings, Gallery Klovićevi dvori, Zagreb (2008). A selection of the artist's works from 1984 - 2008.
- Gledati druge / Looking at Others, Art Pavilion in Zagreb, (2009).
Awards:
- Artuković received the Croatian Society of Artists Award for best exhibition in 2001.
Films inspired by Lovro Artuković
- The experimental film Theft, (2004), directed by Lukas NolaLukas NolaLukas Nola is an acclaimed Croatian film director.-Filmography:* Each Time We Part Away * Russian Meat * Celestial Body...
was inspired by the theft of the artist's works during an exhibition in Spain in 2002. - The documentary film L.A. Unfinished, (2008), by Igor Mirković.
Published works on Lovro Artuković
- Purgar, Krešimir - The Neo-baroque Subject, (Meandarmedia 2007).
- Perica, Blaženka - The Best Paintings, (exh. Cat, Klovićevi dvori Gallery, Zagreb, 2008).