COLOURS

Painting offers the possibility to materialise the spiritual and to realise thoughts visually. Each painting, therefore, represents a colour thought. Initially, the concept of colour was representational. However, in the early 20th century, painting moved away from visible reality, the goal being to completely forget what it represented when looking at a painting. Colour and form were granted extensive autonomy from representational elements.

The exhibition "Colours" is dedicated to this profound impact of colour. It showcases works by three contemporary artists from Serbia and Croatia: Jelena Đurić, Claudio Frank and Duško Šibl engage in dialogue with works by renowned Austrian painters Hans Staudacher, Peter Pongratz, Christian Ludwig Attersee, Joachim Luetke and Kurt Kramer. 

Humans have been using colour for over 40,000 years, mixing ground earth and minerals with plant juices or animal fat to create cave paintings. Over time, natural dyes of plant, mineral or animal origin were discovered. 

The production of these dyes remained laborious, and colours were reserved for a select group. One of the most valuable dyes was purple. The secretion of 10,000 purple snails was required to dye a single garment. Robes in purple red were worn by rulers and religious leaders. The colour remained a status symbol for power, wealth and dignity.

Saffron yellow was as precious as purple. In China, only the emperor and Buddhist monks were permitted to wear the shade. It was obtained from saffron, a crocus that blooms in autumn. The stigmas of 8,000 flowers were used for 100 grammes of dye.

For blue, a colour symbolising divinity in many cultures, lapis lazuli rock was used. From the 15th century onwards, indigo dye, extracted from the indigo plant, was imported from India to Europe. Even today, indigo is used to dye blue jeans.

Since the 18th century, humans have been producing dyes artificially. This development increased the range of available colours, improved the durability of synthetic dyes, and made production more cost-effective. 

The meaning of colours can vary within cultures, religions or historical periods. In painting, symbolic colours are used in line with prevailing general ideas. 

Jelena Đurić (1978, Serbia) graduated from the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad. Her creativity is nourished by a desire to explore both her own nature and the essence of the painting. Her works pulsate with the colour effect, the vibrations of lines and the texture of the surface. The painting ceases to be a static memory of thought and transforms into a living organism. The text appears as a sequence of letters, representing the remnants of communication; the writing loses its primary purpose and becomes a form of drawing.

Claudio Frank (1940, Croatia) graduated from a music school in Zagreb and played violin in orchestras in Rijeka and Zagreb, as well as in the opera houses of Trieste and Palma de Mallorca. He studied at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. Since 1979, he has primarily worked as a painter, oscillating between abstract and representational painting. Expressive, with impressive colour compositions, spontaneity and emotion, he conveys his perception of the Mediterranean environment. His motifs, reduced to striking forms, succeed in emotionally moving and engaging the viewer.

Duško Šibl (1951, Croatia) studied Comparative Literature and Art History in Zagreb. This was followed by studies in painting at the Byam Shaw School of Art and postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Art in London in 1986.

His fascination lies with the human body in motion. Energetic and vibrant, his figures dance through space and time, enticing viewers to feel rather than merely see. The impression created is one of life on the canvas, as the blend of colours and movement vibrates, vividly capturing the essence of music and dance.