Zlatko Bourek
(1929-2018)
A Babe from Bizovac, 1980
polyester, papier mâché
MG-6902
Sculptor, painter, set and costume designer, and animator Zlatko Bourek graduated in sculpture and metalwork from the Academy of Applied Arts in Zagreb (under Professor Kosta Angeli Radovani) in 1955. In 1954 he started producing animated films at Zagreb Film. He was one of the founding members of the world-famous Zagreb School of Animation and was the set designer of the cult Professor Balthazar animated series. Having created an original version of Fantastic Realism, he painted figurative compositions with elements of the grotesque, irony and humour.
Painted in blue, yellow and white, and a tricolour belting it, Zlatko Bourek’s sculpture A Babe from Bizovac is an oversized three-legged female figure with pronouncedly long legs and of a grotesque allure. It is modelled as a hybrid of popular and high art. The elegance of the figure’s posture collides with some rough-hewn segments, as is the case with the figure’s carefully modelled legs that are at odds with the sculpture’s massive chests that open like drawers.
Text: Tatijana Gareljić, museum consultant of the National Museum of Modern Art © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Translated by: Ana Janković
Photo: Goran Vranić©National Museum of Modern Art