The exhibition of the academic sculptor Krešimir Katušić entitled "Art is the link" will open on Thursday, October 8, at 7 pm in the University Gallery "Vasko Lipovac". Together with the author, the exhibition will be inaugurated by the curator Ivana Mance, art historian.
The exhibition at the University Gallery is the author's selection of works created in the last five years. The conceptual frame of the exhibition consists of the artwork Lost Words, smaller sculptures entitled Seeds - from the last exhibition Correlations, which the author used to present himself at the KIC Gallery in Zagreb, and documentary ‘Link’(Spona). The artwork Lost Words consists of 74 terracotta scrolls in five wooden boxes, serving as the author’s emphasis on the crisis of culture, language and man. In this work, Katušić interprets and describes how "words have lost their meaning because man and his authentic life in nature, determined by free will, have disappeared in today's era of the technosphere." The sculpture Seeds-Correlations boldly questions the complexity and meaning of human existence. Analyzing the mentioned work, Emil Matešić wrote: "Seeds sum up a life’s wisdom embodied in small figures saying that every man is equal by the fact of his coming into existence and the right to be, also that each of us, no matter how different we are, is just a memory of the origin we came from and where we are headed.” ‘Link’ is a doctoral thesis in the form of a documentary about people-artists who seek to come to know themselves and the world. In this constant cyclical process, artists share their experiences with others and so realize dialogue. As individuals who strive to live an authentic intuitive life, in a state of openness and through dialogue, they create space for potential transformation of self and the world.
The exhibition realized with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Media and the City of Split remains open until October 26.
In the foreword to the catalog Ivana Mance, curator of the exhibition, points out:
(…) Katušić, as a polyvalent artist, defends his position in different creative situations. In his projects that, as can be seen from this exhibition, are not exclusively sculptural, he tends to involve other collaborators and create platforms for exchange and conflicting opinions. Due to their essentially exploratory and heuristic approach, his works are constantly open to upgrade; they do not rest in their current state, but develop in time and adopt new elements; they easily adapt to new spaces and social environments, move from one to other media and combine what is stylistically and aesthetically heterogeneous, which can confuse the uninformed. Precisely through such a wide range the author verifies the universality of his symbolic system, pictorial language; ready to take risks, steadily enduring even failure trying to reach different people, not losing sight of the guiding principle, which we do not want to give up either: that art is the link connecting the world’s plural face.
About the author:
Krešimir Katušić was born 1979 in Zagreb. He completed his professional education as a co-therapist in stage-expressive psychotherapy, Psychodrama in 2005. He got a Master’s degree in sculpture in 2011 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in the class of prof. Miro Vuco. He worked as an art co-therapist in the workshop organized by the Day care center for rehabilitation and assistance to children with visual impairment and other developmental disabilities called the Little House. He presents his sculptural and theoretical works at philosophical symposia and art academies in Croatia and abroad. Nine sculptures by Krešimir Katušić have been exhibited in public spaces in Croatia and one in Austria. He has exhibited his work in 13 solo exhibitions and participated in several group exhibitions. He is a doctoral student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb under the mentorship of prof. art. Petar Barišić and Associate Professor Žarko Paić PhD.