Oton Gliha
Oton Gliha | |
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Born | Lyrical Abstraction | 21 May 1914
Oton Gliha (
Gliha held solo exhibitions of his work in Croatia, and abroad. He participated in the Venice Bienniales of 1962 and 1964. Two retrospective exhibitions of his work have been held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb.
Oton Gliha received the Vladimir Nazor Award for lifetime achievement in 1977. He was elected to the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1998. Oton Gliha's paintings are held in public collections around the world, for example New York, São Paulo, Paris and Turin.
Biography
Oton Gliha was born 21 May 1914 in
While at the academy, Gliha met and married fellow art student Mila Kumbatović. Her family came from the island of Krk, where the couple would spend much of their time when not in Zagreb. The images of the island would make a strong impression on Gliha's art.
In 1938, Gliha participated in his first exhibition in Zagreb, and in 1954 held his first solo exhibition. That year, the painting Primorje (Coast) introduced the Drystone Walls cycle that would become Gliha's life work. In 1957, a second solo exhibition focused completely on his paintings of the Drystone Walls of Krk.[1]
Gliha travelled and exhibited his work abroad, including several visits to Paris, Italy (in 1952 and 1961), USA (in 1958 and 1979).[2]
In 1977, Gliha received the Vladimir Nazor Award for lifetime achievement in the visual arts.
In 1998, he was elected a member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.[1]
Oton Gliha died 19 June 1999 in Zagreb.
Legacy
Gliha's early work during the 1930s and 40s were landscapes, portraits and still lifes, painted with in conventional, rather neutral colours. His
In the 1950s, lyrical abstraction was taking hold across Europe, with a new abstraction based on natural subjects. In 1954, Oton Gliha painted "Primorje", a coastal landscape that marked the beginning of one of the major series in Croatian art.[3] His subject was the lattice of drystone walls (gromače), so common on the island of Krk, and along the Croatian coast. In Gliha's mind, he connected the patterns of the walls on the landscape with the ancient Croatian glagolitic script from early religious texts and stone inscriptions.
Gliha himself described the connection:
Gliha's excitement about his subject led him to interpret the motif in endlessly creative ways for the rest of his life. The shapes, rhythms and textures are caught in a variety of artistic styles and techniques, each one creating an individual mood from joyous to sad and reflective.
Oton Gliha's art can be seen in public collections around the world. The
Since Gliha's death in 1999, two books have been published about his work. In 2002, a comprehensive monograph was released by Masmedia in Zagreb, containing an almost complete photographic record of his work. A second publication in 2011 by the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb assesses the importance of Gliha's work within Croatian Contemporary art.
In 2003, Croatian Post, Inc issued a stamp with Gliha's "Gromače 5-71" (Drystone Wall 5-71), 1971, as part of their Croatian Modern Art series.[2]
Oton's relatives, Vilko Gliha Selan (1912-1979) was also a well known Croatian painter and illustrator, and Christina Gliha is following in the family footsteps as a commercial illustrator.
Works
- Špiritijera (Spirit heater), 1939[4]
- Primorski pejzaž (Coastal landscape), 1946[4]
- Ljubice (Violets), 1952[5]
- Smokve (Figs), 1953[5]
- Krčki pejzaž - Omišalj (Krk Landscape - Omišalj), 1954[5]
- Portret žene (Portrait of a woman), 1954[5]
- Gromače (Dry Stone Walls) cycle, 1954-1999[4][5]
Exhibitions
Recent exhibitions of his work include:
Solo exhibitions
Gliha held solo exhibitions of his work in Zagreb, Rijeka, Belgrade, Ohrid, Sarajevo, Turin, São Paulo, Milan, and Genoa. He also participated at the 31st and 32nd Venice Biennial in 1962 and 1964.[5]
- 2003 Oton Gliha - Krk Drystone Walls and the Croatian Glagolithic Script, Adris Gallery, Rovinj[4]
- 1974 Oton Gliha - Paintings and Drawings, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb[5]
- 1964 Oton Gliha, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb[5]
Group exhibitions
- 2009 Alternative Landscapes of the 1950s to 1960s - From Nature to Vision, Art Pavilion, Zagreb[3]
- 2008 From the Holdings of the Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Dubrovnik[6]
- 2006 Croatian Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje[6]
Public collections
Oton Gliha's work can be found in the following public collections
Brazil
- Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro[6]
Croatia
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb[5][6]
- Gallery of Fine Arts, Split[6]
- Museum of Modern Art, Dubrovnik[6]
- Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Rijeka[6]
- Rovinj Heritage Museum, Rovinj[6]
- Filip Trade Collection[7]
France
- Centre Pompidou - National Museum of Modern Art, Paris[6]
Italy
- Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, Turin[6]
Macedonia
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje[6]
Serbia
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade[6]
United States of America
- Picker Art Gallery at Colgate University, Hamilton, NY[6]
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY[6]
References
- ^ a b c d "Oton Gliha - biography". Artists. Galerija Divila. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Oton Gliha: Drystone Walls 5-71, 1971". Series: Croatian Modern Art. Croatian Post, Inc. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
- ^ a b "Alternative landscapes of the 1950s and 1960s - From nature to vision". Exhibitions. Art Pavilion, Zagreb. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
landscape in works of the most eminent croatian painters in the 1950s and 1960s
- ^ a b c d Igor Zidić. "Krčke Gromače, Hrvatska Glagoljica, Ono Drugo I Oton Gliha". Exhibitions (in Croatian). Adris Gallery. Archived from the original on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
Gliha saw some direct connection between the rocks of Krk, as some sort of "letters" in an open landscape of a book, and the Croatian Glagolitic script which is found in religious books and inscriptions on stone.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Oton Gliha". Artists. Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Oton Gliha 1914-1999, HR". Artists. ArtFacts. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
- ^ "Oton Gliha: Drystone Walls". The Collection. Filip Trade Collection. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
Bibliography
- Oton Gliha. Author: Zdenko Tonković; Photographs:Goran Vranić; Publisher: Masmedia, Zagreb. 2002. ISBN 953-157-102-3.[1]
- Gromače by Oton Gliha. Text: Jure Kaštelan, Vladimir Marković, Zdenko Tonković; Photography: Krešimir Tadić. Published by SNL, Zagreb, 1983. [2]