Tag: 1959.

Aleksandar Srnec, Composition T-24, 1959

Aleksandar Srnec
Composition T-24, 1959
oil on canvas
91 x 88 cm
MG-2576

Composition T-24 by Aleksandar Srnec is an example of radicalized geometric abstraction, characteristic of the avant-garde art group EXAT 51, of which he was a member. The work is based on a dynamic arrangement of simple geometric forms—squares, rectangles, and lines—that float on a light surface, creating a balanced yet rhythmically engaging visual impression. The contrasting use of primary colors (red, blue, yellow) alongside black elements enhances the dynamism of the composition and reflects influences of Constructivism and Suprematism. A centrally placed, diagonally oriented square acts as a stabilizing element within the composition, while the surrounding forms are arranged to suggest movement and spatial tension. Here, Srnec explores the relationships between surface, color, and balance, employing minimalist expressive means to achieve a pure abstract harmony.
He built his artistic expression through radicalized geometric abstraction, experimenting with kinetic sculptures and lumino-kinetic explorations. As early as the 1950s, he constructed his first mobile kinetuc objects of free composition, and from 1962, he intensively worked with light effects in art, developing a series of luminoplastic works and experimenting with pure light. From 1968 onward, he focused on creating kinetic sculptures in highly polished metals and designing environmental installations. He was briefly engaged in animated film, but his primary contribution remained tied to innovative forms of abstract and kinetic art. For his artistic achievements, he received the Vladimir Nazor Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.
Aleksandar Srnec attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb from 1943 to 1949, where he acquired his foundational artistic education. He was one of the founders of the EXAT 51 group, which advocated for the synthesis of art and architecture and the affirmation of geometric abstraction.

Text: Lorena Šimić, curator at the National Museum of Modern Art © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb

Ivan Kožari, Internal Eyes, 1959

Ivan Kožarić
(1921 – 2020)
Internal Eyes, 1959
casting, bronze
19.5 x 19 x 16 cm
MG-4030

This avant-garde Croatian sculptor graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1949, and then attended Prof. Antun Augustinčić’s advanced sculpture course. Between 1959 and 1960, he continued his training in Paris. From 1959 to 1966, he was a member of the unconventional Gorgona Group, which brought together the most prominent figures of contemporary art in Croatia. Several of his sculptures are permanently installed in public spaces, the most prominent being the monument to A. G. Matoš and the Grounded Sun in Zagreb.
Since the very beginning of his art career, his sculptural expression has fluidly encompassed a wide array of styles, ranging from expressivity, condensed forms to conceptual projects. He experimented with different materials and techniques, and introduced the principles of redesign and recycling of various utility objects, as well as his own sculptures. He modelled a number of conceptually open and original emblematic pieces, often featuring a touch of creative humour.
Kožarić’s Internal Eyes is a characteristic Gorgonian work, executed as a negative hollow, an empty human face, as an anti-volume of the interior of the head of all members of the Gorgona Group, presented in an absurd, ironic and nihilistic manner. The gilded surfaces suggest the rehabilitation and sublimity of the mundane, setting something apart as sacred, while the new variable aspects of the everyday are left as a possibility in the white version of this work. The work Internal Eyes is characterised by two premises of this atypical sculptor, that is, the negation of sculptural mastery and the formal aesthetics.

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