Ivan Kožarić
(1921-2020)
Shape of Space XVIII, 1965
bronze
MG-2626
Ivan Kožarić, an avant-garde Croatian sculptor, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1949, and completed Prof. Antun Augustinčić’s master course. In 1959 and 1960 he stayed and studied in Paris. Between 1959 and 1966 he was a member of the unconventional avant-garde Gorgona Group, which brought together the most prominent names in contemporary Croatian art. Several of his sculptures are mounted in public spaces, amongst which his monument to writer Antun Gustav Matoš and his Landed Sun in Zagreb are the most famous.
Since the very beginning of his career as an artist, his sculptural expression has fluidly encompassed a wide array of expressions, ranging from expressiveness, condensed forms to conceptual projects. He experimented with different materials and techniques, and introduced the principles of redesign and recycling of various everyday items and his own sculptures. He modelled a number of emblematic pieces of conceptual openness and originality, often featuring a touch of creative humour.
In the period between 1961 and 1969, Ivan Kožarić modelled a series of abstract sculptures called Shapes of Space displaying his distinct feeling for the values of space. Kožarić’s Shape of Space XVIII sculpture from 1965 is defined by a dominant upright form of soft and rounded surfaces and outlines. The spatial forms contained within and on it – hollowed out deeper and shallower forms – are suggestive of spiritual traces, metaphysical properties and openness of interpretation.
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, Zagreb