The opening of Fedor Džamonja’s photographic exhibition was held on 27 April at the National Museum of Modern Art in front of numerous attendees. Branko Franceschi, NMMA’s director and the author of the exhibition set-up, as well as the artist himself Fedor Džamonja addressed the audience, while the exhibition was opened, on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, by Anuška Deranja Crnokić, head of the Directorate for Archives, Libraries and Museums. The opening was also attended by the envoy of the Mayor of Zagreb, Filip Miloloža, senior expert associate in visual arts at the City Office for Culture, International Relations and Civil Society. The exhibition, which the cultural public in Zagreb will be able to view until 26 June, presents the selected works from Fedor Džamonja’s photographic oeuvre. In terms of subject-matter, since the 1970s Fedor Džamonja is essentially preoccupied with the eternal theme of nature, presented on this occasion through the series: Lotus Fields, A Moment in the Life of Trees, Reflections (On the Lake), Storms over Valkanela, Nature, Come to Me. In the exhibition catalogue Branko Franceschi writes: What sets Fedor Džamonja apart from other photographers is precisely the high artistic quality of his entire production. For most photographers, it can be argued that they based their aesthetic code, even their pursuit of visual art in general, on the initial fascination with the technology of photography or, in turn, the idea of a photographer as a charismatic and modern social protagonist, and only then an artist. Whereas for Fedor, the opposite is true, he has eventually found photography to be the medium best suited for his artistic sensibility and inclination. …
The exhibition is accompanied by a bilingual catalogue in Croatian and English with a text written by art historian Branko Franceschi. The catalogue is designed by Fedor Džamonja.
Translated by: Robertina Tomić
Photo: From the opening of the exhibition of Photographs by Fedor Džamonja at the NMMA. Goran Vranić © NMMA, Zagreb, 2022.