Lujo Bezeredy
(1898-1979)
A Horse, 1937
earthenware
MG-1459
Sculptor and potter Lujo Bezeredy studied at the Advanced Teacher School in Budapest, after which he enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, which he soon left. Having placed much emphasis on the grotesque and social awareness – both of which were characteristic of the Earth Group of Artists – in 1928 he began making pottery. Later in his career, he modelled monumental and abstract forms in durable materials, such as bronze and concrete, and having been an influential and distinctive sculptor he proved himself to also be good at experimenting with ceramic and plastic materials (terracotta, majolica, clay printing).
What stands out in Bezeredy’s oeuvre are his expressive ceramics from the 1930s inspired by social themes. He created a wide range of figures as protagonists of the universal human experience. The origin of his sculptures is naturalistic, featuring elements of empathy and tragedy, pronounced deformations and a special sensibility for colour.
Lujo Bezeredy’s modelling of animals, which ranks him amongst Croatia’s best animalists, unearths a deep, grotesque reality. Captured in its arduous walk, his figure of A Horse from 1937 was inspired by an old, tortured and humiliated animal, featuring a paradoxically glittering, emerald green glaze finish.
Text: Tatijana Gareljić, museum consultant of the National Museum of Modern Art © National Museum of Modern Art
Translated by: Ana Janković
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb