IVAN FIJOLIĆ
ARMY OF NO GOOD
Bačva Gallery, Home of HDLU (Meštrovićev paviljon)
4.9.-6.10.2024.

On Wednesday, 4.9.2024. Ivan Fijolić opens his solo exhibition entitled „Army of No Good”, at 7 pm in at Bačva Gallery (Home of HDLU / Meštrović pavilion).

In her foreword, Marina Đira emphasizes:

„The exhibition Army of No Good by Ivan Fijolić brings together, in one space, the sculptures that the artist has created over the years. He has thoughtfully selected them, emphasising both his early works (e.g., Duel, 2002) and more recent ones (e.g., Mišo, 2022). The sculptures are arranged frontally, in a somewhat threatening manner, ready for any sudden confrontation. However, this is far from a typical army where individual qualities of an individual are often lost in the uniform rhythm of the collective.

Fijolić’s volunteers resemble those last-resort options in action movies, called upon in desperation when it turns out they are humanity’s only hope. These are always individuals embodying the best of everything, yet together they seem irreconcilable, torn between their egos and the fight for a greater cause. Transpose this concentrated Hollywood scenario to sculpture, dilute its plot over more than twenty years of Fijolić’s professional engagement, and the action film can be experienced as a fast-forwarded journey of a sculptor’s growth, defined by all the insights gained through constant confrontation with form. In this film, the (anti)hero becomes the sculptor, and the army becomes the evolving sculptures he sets before himself as a kind of polygonal challenge. And he masters them, transforming them into a rich sculptural arsenal for the future.”

Biography:

Ivan Fijolić was born in Zagreb (1976), where he graduated from the School of Applied Arts, earning the title of metal designer. In 2004, he graduated in sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in the class of Professor Miro Vuce, and art history methodology under Professor Emil Robert Tanay, earning the title of professor of art education. He completed his postgraduate doctoral studies in sculpture in 2016, defending the theoretical part of his doctoral thesis, The Role of the Pedestal in the Derivate of Pop-Art Sculpture with Memorial Sign, under the mentorship of Professor Peruško Bogdanić and Professor Žarko Paić. Since 2010, he has been employed at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, where he is the holder of the course in sculpture, as an associate professor. He has been actively engaged in artistic activity since 1999. Fijolić has had over 30 solo exhibitions, including six abroad (Maribor, 2002; Italy, 2004; Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2008; Serbia, 2013; Macedonia, 2014). In total, he has participated in more than 70 group exhibitions. He has also created ten public sculptures (Vrsar, 1999; Czech Republic, 2003; Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2006; Krapina, 2010; Sljeme, 2011; Sculpture Alley, Zagreb (temporary), 2014; Sinj, 2015; Technical Museum, Zagreb, 2015; Duga Resa, 2016; Glina, 2019), and has participated in two international sculpture workshops (Vrsar, 1999; Czech Republic, 2003).

He is the recipient of one of the three equivalent awards for artistic work at the XII Triennial of Croatian Sculpture, Glyptotheque, Zagreb (2015), the award for the best set design in the play Cyclops (Euripides) at the 16th JPFU Festival, Serbia (2011), the award for the work Hopscotch (Labin) at the 37th Mediterranean Sculpture Symposium (2009), the award for his thesis work Duel by the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb (2004), and the Rector’s Award for the exhibition Check your head out at the Vladimir Nazor Gallery (2001).

Preface

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The exhibition will be open from September 4 to October 6 2024.

Organizer: HDLU
With the support of: Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb

Working hours:
Tuesday – Sunday: 11.00 – 19.00
Mondays and holidays closed.