The exhibition features works by Mihael Bađun, Lora Elezović, Bartol Galović, Tomislav Hršak, Nikica Jurković, Mihael Klanjčić, Luka Kušević, Emanuela Lekić, Mia Matijević Akrap, Vida Meić, John Miličić, Alba Miočev, Luisa Pascu, Manuela Pauk, Nikola Pjevačević, Jurica Pušenjak, Josip Rončević, Matej Vuković, and Iva Zagoda.

This exhibition reflects the NMMU’s focus on the work of a new generation of artists working in traditional art disciplines, at a time when the Museum has been displaced from its primary location and the cultural infrastructure of Zagreb continues to operate under post-earthquake reconstruction. Oktogon, the Museum’s new exhibition space – also scheduled for renovation – symbolises the transitional state of a city in repair and the generation of artists emerging within these conditions.

The exhibition presents works by artists belonging to the so-called Y and Z generations, who graduated from art academies after 2015, with works produced between 2022 and 2025. While rooted in traditional media, these artists interrogate their disciplines through experimentation and reduction.
In the paintings, the figure, ornament, and landscape appear as trace, rhythm, or structure; colour loses its illusionistic role, and repetition and detail construct the composition’s rhythm. Sculptures are made from paper, ceramics, and found materials – simple yet expressive elements shaped into suggestive structures.
Marta Radman, curator

Images: (1) Matej Vuković from the Y to Z Oktogon exhibition display (2) Mia Matijević Akrap and Josip Rončević (3) Mihael Klanjčić, Iva Zagoda, Tomislav Hršak from the Y to Z Oktogon exhibition display / Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb