„Painting within a painting“ – On centenary of the birth of Ivo Kalina

The hundredth birthday of Ivo Kalina (1925-1995) is commemorated by an exhibition “Painting within a painting” which is based on the artwork from the MMCA collections. The limelight being the wealth of his oeuvre which, through his highly active career, was part of the major changes in the field of visual arts in the second half of the 20th century in Croatia.

Paintings, prints, and collages represent a painting within a painting, a story within a story with the defining characteristic that one work contains another, its pair. Therefore, inside Kalina’s art, a new artwork appears, a whole that becomes a fragment and a fragment that becomes a whole. A brush stroke, the frantic gesture, an emotion, flows seamlessly onward and fades through a wide and a close-up shot, the ongoing movement that continually redefines what was and puts in perspective what is yet to come. It depicts the spirit of the artist who is ever present no matter the format or the technique. As we gaze at these paintings, we uncover more layers of art, constantly reinterpreting the passion that the artist brought to life. The scenographic element in the display accentuates the element of a painting within a painting as well as gestures as untamed expressions. Where the beauty lies is that, until we read the title of the painting or

Curator: Kristina Barišić

Graphic design: Marino Krstačić Furić i Ana Tomić

Biography:

Ivo Kalina was born in Zagreb, on February 21, 1925, and has lived in Opatija since he was two years old, where he completed his primary education. Afterward, he moved to Zagreb where he attended Gymnasium and enrolled into the Academy of Fine Arts in 1943. He graduated with a degree in painting under Professor Jerolim Miša and commenced his work as an associate in the Master Workshop of Krsto Hegedušić (1950–1956). He was also a member of the Mart artistic group (1956–1962). Belonging to the Mart group (which brought together all former collaborators of the Master Workshop) had a pragmatic nature, serving as an impetus for more frequent exhibition opportunities, both locally and internationally. Alongside the artists who formed the core of Hegedušić’s Master Workshop (Dogan, Kulmer, Kujundžić, and Perić), he was also part of the Group of Five, the foundation of what is now known as the historical Informel movement in Croatia. He held his first solo exhibition in 1958 in Zagreb, at the Student Club. A few years later, in 1963, he returned to Opatija, where he lived and worked until the end of his life.

Valorization and presentation of Kalina’s oeuvre sets off with a monograph, Kalina (1985) by author Vanda Ekl. What followed was a retrospective exhibition, Ivo Kalina, curated by Berislav Valušek at the Modern Gallery in Rijeka (1994). This was followed by a the book Good Morning, Mr. Kalina by Ervin Dubrović (2000). Next, another retrospective was held in Zagreb at the Art Pavilion (2006), Changes of Gesture, accompanied by a monograph of the same name. The most recent monograph on Kalina, from 2018, is authored by Milan Bešlić, Ervin Dubrović, and Berislav Valušek, published by the Croatian Museum of Tourism, Opatija.

Kalina is the recipient of the CAFA Rijeka Award (1984), the City of Rijeka Award for Painting (1974 and 1994), and the Vladimir Nazor Award for Lifetime Achievement (1995). Posthumously, he was awarded the Order of the Croatian Morning Star with the likeness of Marko Marulić for his lasting contribution to Croatian culture (1997).

The Ivo Kalina Visual Arts Award is conferred every two years as recognition for outstanding achievements in contemporary visual art. The award is conferred for the best visual arts exhibition in the field of contemporary art held during the year in galleries and public spaces in the city of Rijeka.