ANAGRAM OF ARTIST
I gra (game)
Z vuk (sound)
V oda (water)
O tok (island)
R adost (joy)

P redosjećaj (presentiment)
E nergija (energy)
N ada (hope)
D ubrovnik (Dubrovnik)
E ntuzijazam (enthusiasm)

A WALK AROUND THE CITIES
ZAGREB   Born in Zagreb.
DUBROVNIK  Food  (I don't think of nutriment by that)
DUSSELDORF Education
NEW YORK  Cool city
BEČ  Cakes
VENECIJA  Tintoretto, coffee and cookies

FIRST EXPERIENCE OF VISUAL ARTS
NMMA: Do you remember your first drawing?
Izvor Pende: The plaster cast of the ancient sculpture Discobolus in the Glyptotheque in Zagreb.
NMMA:  Who gave you your first drawing supplies?
Izvor Pende: My mother.
NMMA:  Who accompanied you on your first museum visit?
Izvor Pende: A friend.
NMMA: How has the beauty of Dubrovnik determined the course of your life?
Izvor Pende: To such an extent that I always feel compelled to return to it.
NMMA: What did you learn from your first art teacher?
Izvor Pende: Line, blotch and dot.
NMMA: Who bought your first painting?
Izvor Pende: A collector from Düsseldorf.
NMMA: What did you spend the money on?
Izvor Pende: Painting material and travel.

INNER TURMOIL
NMMA:  Why did you switch from studying sculpture to painting?
Izvor Pende: The influence of German painting.
NMMA: Figuration or abstraction?
Izvor Pende: Currently, abstraction.
NMMA: In colour or monochrome?
Izvor Pende: Currently, in colour.
NMMA: What would you do if you were not an artist?
Izvor Pende: I became an artist probably because I had no choice but to become one.
NMMA: Large or small formats?
Izvor Pende: Large.

ENCOUNTERS
NMMA: Crucial influences?
Izvor Pende: Boris Demur, Karin Risse, Daniel Richter, Markus Lüpertz and Marijana Pende.
NMMA: An unforgettable artistic encounter?
Izvor Pende: Marijana Pende.
NMMA:  A moment you will always remember?
Izvor Pende: Enrolment at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.
NMMA:  The best advice you have ever received?
Izvor Pende: To fight against superficiality! This was drilled into us by the professors at the Düsseldorf Academy.
NMMA:  A year to remember?
Izvor Pende: 1976 – when I met my mother.
NMMA: The most important award?
Izvor Pende: Award for Painting from the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.

NEW SERIES
NMMA: What inspired the paintings you are showcasing at the NMMA?
Izvor Pende: I don’t have an inspiration, that term is more suitable for amateurs or some sort of therapy. I have a professional approach to work, as one would in any other profession.
NMMA: What are you trying to convey in these paintings?
Izvor Pende: A mindset.
NMMA: Is there a particular story related to them?
Izvor Pende: There is no particular story. Sometimes the painting tries to resist my dictatorship, and is then, of course, painted over.
NMMA: The meaning of colour in this series?
Izvor Pende: Colour separates form and provides contrast, although it has no tangible artistic meaning, I pay a lot of attention to it, as I create my own specific shades and tones. Still, I believe the paintings would function similarly even if executed in black and white technique.
NMMA: Favourite colour?
Izvor Pende: Colours of the rainbow.

Conversation with Izvor Pende : Lana Šetka
Translated by: Robertina Tomić
Image: Izvor Pende in the setup of his exhition at the NMMU in Zagreb. Photo: Boris Berc © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb, 2022.
- Izvor Pende at his Studio. Photo: © Marijana Pende