From 6 to 30 March, the National Museum of Modern Art will present Kruno Vrgoč’s exhibition titled "Rijeka Rains" at the Josip Račić Gallery. Curated by Branko Franceschi, director of the National Museum of Modern Art, this Zagreb exhibition of the Rijeka-based artist will feature a painting cycle of the same name, which Vrgoč has been continuously developing since 2020. In addition to nine acrylic paintings on canvas, characterised by a muted colourway and simple horizontal compositions with two interwoven planes, visitors to the Josip Račić Gallery will also have the chance to see three metal sculptures.
(...) Unlike other cities along the Croatian coast, Rijeka is a predominantly modern urban complex, with a dense network of winding streets and a strong presence of port and industrial activity, even though its intensity has noticeably decreased in recent decades. Kruno Vrgoč’s Rijeka Rains nostalgically evoke the unique atmosphere, scents, and colours of the industrial surroundings and urban decay. As such, I paradoxically regard these abstract compositions as the most honest and compelling contemporary variation of the cityscape genre, even though they reference views, rhythms, smells, and colours that may no longer exist in Rijeka, yet still dominate the collective imagination. Naturally, their dystopian mood also makes them relevant within the wider context of global trends and the waning ecological drive to save the planet. In the end, they appear as the visual counterpart to the long-celebrated hard rains that are inevitably gonna fall. - writes Branko Franceschi in the exhibition catalogue designed by Ana Zubić.
Artist's biography
Born on 12 September 1957 in Strizirep near Sinj, Vrgoč obtained a degree in sculpture in 1989 from the Department of Fine Arts at the Faculty of Teacher Education in Rijeka, under the mentorship of Prof. J. Diminić and Ž. Violić. Although he initially focused on painting, he shifted his attention to sculpture in 1997. He has completed three large-scale public art projects: Musical Ox in Buzet (1997), Star Gate in Roč (1998), and Butterfly and Flower in Rijeka (1999). In 2007, he installed the Japanese Portal in a park in Poreč. In 1998, he created a site-specific ambient work titled Process at the Kortil Gallery in Rijeka, which he constructed over twelve days using one tonne of metal rods. His sculpture series Infinities (2001–2004) was highly praised by art critics and was exhibited in Opatija, Poreč, Pula, Grožnjan, Novigrad, Piran, and Rijeka.
The exhibition has been made possible with financial support from 
Kruno Vrgoč, works from the Rijeka Rains cycle, 2020 – 2025 / acrylic on canvas, 200 x 200 cm and Rijeka rain 0, 2020 / acrylic on canvas, 140 x 160 cm
Crown Vrgoč, He, 2024 / welded metal parts 96 x 10 cm / She, 2024 / welded metal parts, 94 x 10 cm / Crown Vrgoč, Ono, 2024 / welded metal parts, 60 x 10 cm
Translated by: Robertina Tomić