Mirko Zrinšćak
Saint Aridotto Volcano Kozjak, 1992
mixed media
95 x 64 cm
MG-6388

Laon Istra apres Kunst, 1993
mixed media
95 x 64 cm
MG-6389

Mirko Zrinšćak is a painter, graphic artist and sculptor who, after having studied the organisation of cultural activities at the Faculty of Teacher Education in Rijeka, went on to obtain a degree in painting from the Academia di belle Arti in Venice in 1987 (E. Vedova). He then spent a year as an artist in residence in Kiel, in Kunstlerhaus, Germany. He is the founder of the Multimedia Research Centre Veprinac – Učka (C.M.I.V.U.). The mountain of Učka, as a natural environment and place where he chose to live, is a microcosm of the artist’s spiritual and material existence and an inexhaustible source of inspiration for his artistic work.

Early on, he painted in the spirit of Action painting, and then he introduced ready-made objects into the painting trying to reconcile and connect tradition and innovation. Later on, the refined, minimalist spatial structures, sculptural works and site-specific ensembles constituted a separate unit in his oeuvre. Coexistence with nature and its abundant changes and shapes have helped form his artistic worldview focused on flawlessly shaped organic forms, primarily the polished wooden structures that strive for a universal and contemporary understanding. The abstract minimalistic organic forms harmoniously convey the rhythm of inner and outer space, balance introspection and phenomenality, meditation and rationality, perfection, but also new correlations of postmodern premises.

The objectified paintings Saint Aridotto Volcano Kozjak and Laon Istra apres Kunst are conceived as assemblages of organic and inorganic elements, heritage and the present time, duration and transience, where the constructed elements form a new autonomous artistic context.

Text: Tatijana Gareljić, museum consultant © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb, 2022
Translated by: Robertina Tomić
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb, 2022