Ivo Kalina
Underpass, 1955
oil, canvas
71,1 x 97,9 cm (72 x 99 cm)
MG-2255
Ivo Kalina (1925-1995) graduated at the Academy of Arts in Zagreb, was part of Kristo Hegedušić’s master workshop and founder of the Mart Group and the Group of Six. One of the first painters painting in the Abstract Expressionist style and Art Enformel. He created unique collages in contemporary Croatian art followed by black and white landscapes.
Painting “Underpass” from 1955 is characteristic of its voluminous, reduced painting Kalina developed during the 1950s right before his period in Geometric Abstraction. Wide brushstrokes and strong gestures set within a wide shot were characteristic of Kalina’s oeuvre.
His first exhibition was held in 1958 at the Student Club in Zagreb. He lived in Rijeka from 1963 where Berislav Valušek arranged a retrospective exhibition in 1994. His second retrospective exhibition was held in the Art Pavillion in Zagreb in 2006.
Text: Stella Baki, curator / museum educator at the National Museum of Modern Art Zagreb
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb