Pugilist Of The Month: Davor Vukovic

The art world is an extremely tough market to break into, but it also the place where dreams are created. Davor Vukovic was the featured artist of May’s Collide exhibition. After discovering Vukovic’s work via work of mouth, I decided to represent the artist and his work here in New York. I was immediately drawn to his paintings upon seeing them. There’s a significant personal presence in his work, but then there’s the Cezanne-like divinity of understanding nature that bring Vukovic’s paintings to the forefront of contemporary art, just as Cezanne did over 100 years ago.

The artist faced quite a challenge for his first show in NYC, how to get exposure in an already saturated international art market. Vukovic rose to the challenge and exceeded all expectations. It take more than just great artwork to make it in this world, especially in NYC where there are hundreds of galleries and thousands of working artists. While exhibiting at Ico Gallery, Vukovic received tons of international reviews and acclaim.

Below you will find just a few of the articles Vukovic and Ico Gallery obtained through hard work and dedication:

Zaprešić Online
Akademija Art
Akademija Art
Vjesnik
Culture Net
Hrvatska Matica Iseljenika

Translation of Vukovi’s interview with Zapresic:

In the center of the Fine Art World

Has there has been a collaboration with the New York Ico Gallery?

Cooperation occurred seemingly quite accidentally. The main curator Ico Gallery in Manhattan New York, Robert Berry has seen my pictures on a web page and turned to me with idea to attend the international group exhibition of abstract art called “Collide.”

How this exhibition means to you as an artist?

This exhibition is a confirmation of my values from best visual arts center in the world, New York, and from the center as soon as all the visual artists wish to be in the artistic life happens. My five works, a painting technique in acrylic on canvas, dimensions 50×70 cm placed at the entrance to the site or in the so-called. Gallery One, and also between 11 world renowned author my pictures “Abyss,” printed on the back side of the catalog. The exhibition also means to me, and due to the fact that I and this time represented by Croatian painting as I worked and previous years in London, Lyon and Zurich, which has confirmed the arrival of Attaché for Culture at the Croatian Consulate in New York, Mrs. Ljiljana Vinkovic, and and then my reception at the Consul General of Croatia in New York, Mr.Petar Ljubičić. It is also the occasion of this exhibition, especially after it, enhanced interest in my paintings so that all interested in pictures from New York cycle will soon be seen in Zagreb in CEKAO gallery from 27 May to 20th June.

Can you compare the attitude towards the art (and artists) to a large New York City with a small Zapresic?

It seems to me as a crucial difference is that for success in New York is not critical lobby, as is often the case with us, but only the value of the work. The movements did not matter what the dominant issue for us, whether the artist completed a fine academy or not, but how it works. Also, given the focus and when opening the exhibition, and concerts that are held in the gallery, again on the work of art so that the opening of the exhibition, for example, started in 19 hours and lasted up to 23 hours without presenting artists through the official art criticism which is almost a rule with us.That was when a famous guest pianist David Holzman of the gallery, where we listened to the greatest part of the works by contemporary composers of whom I had the honor to introduce one in the audience after the concert but the introductory nothing is said about the pianist, but the music and manner of performance said it all.

Which part of your work is exhibited in the gallery?

This was the exhibition of abstraction so that the photographs from the cycle is generally called “transformation landscape” so that the images were recognizable pejzažnih elements, and not pure abstraction. Photographs were born since 2004. until 2008. year. Synthesis between the classical painting and painting over the surface of the canvas so-called dripping or action painting, which is a method used by the most famous American painter Jackson Pollock. In these paintings, the most common motive is the one which in themselves carry from earliest childhood preserved in the clean state of the natural elements, and that is the sea, islands and the mainland. One of these pictures were on the track and the previous cycle when I did the Croatian national parks in figurative manner.

Will there be an upcoming re-cooperation with New York?

At the very opening of the exhibition, Robert Berry I met with the owners of Ico Gallery, expressing his and her pleasure in my work displayed and announced my re-cooperation in early 2010. The new exhibition in abstraction, but this time with works of larger dimensions.

Croatian cultural attaché in New York, Ljiljana Vinkovic, I had the need to introduce the director Tzarev Gallery Ana, the Croat who began paint in its 50-years and she have made a respectable opus is set in a permanent exhibition of the gallery which is located in one of the most expensive street in the world. How is Mrs. Ana Tzarev, originating from Trogir, an interest in presenting Croatian painters in New York, Ms. Vinkovic presented my work and the work of famous Croatian painter Miljenko Bengez already decades exhibited in New York, director of galleries and artistic director of the gallery the idea of one-man exhibitions as well as group exhibitions of our most famous painters.

What’s next in the plan? If you continue by the old or we can expect something completely new?

It has set my new solo exhibition of paintings in the gallery of the recognized (criterion HDLU ) in Zagreb called “Vibrations”, which will be set to 20 June. On exhibition will be able to see some new yet unseen works but also one of the most successful of the recent exhibition from the Gallery Matice hrvatske and Vladimir Filakovac Gallery in Zagreb. Also modeled on New York galleries will be a special opening of the exhibition because it is itself such a space that allows you to communicate with people. On exhibition will be in addition to the catalog, which is designed painter Stjepan Katic , and catalogs with New York exhibition. It also continues to work on the development of monographs written by Darko Glavan, and regulates Tonko Maroevic. As every year, most productive period of my artistic work is the summer school break since this is my studio located in SŠ ban Josip Jelačić, then I have the most peace and the time available to the continuity of work for which the picture of this moment I do not know how look. And that is the charm of my approach painting as a constant plunge into new and unknown.

Please keep an eye on the Ico Gallery exhibition calendar, to find out the next time you will be able to see Davor Vukovic’s paintings in person in 2010.

Robert Berry
Curator