Category: Exhibitions
10 July 2025
Aleksandra Saška Gruden and Željko Beljan
WE ARE WITH YOU!
9.7.–2.8.2025.
Veselov vrt Gallery, Komenskega 8, Ljubljana, Slovenia
On Wednesday, July 9 at 7 PM, the exhibition We Are With You! by Aleksandra Saška Gruden (SLO) and Željko Beljan (HR) opened at the Veselov vrt Gallery (Komenskega 8, Ljubljana, Slovenia).
The project continues a previously initiated international reciprocal collaboration in partnership with the Ljubljana Fine Artists Society (DLUL), which began in 2024 with exhibitions of Slovenian and Croatian artists at the PM Gallery in the Meštrović Pavilion in Zagreb and the DLUL Gallery in Ljubljana. The new phase of collaboration includes the newly opened exhibition, with a reciprocal exhibition planned in Zagreb in 2026. The exhibition curator in Ljubljana is Sarival Sosič.
“New sculptural achievements are placed in relation to the exhibition spaces, but are primarily material-temporal modulations that imply the variability of matter, and thus of form, as a striving toward continuous movement – or, in the case of the presented visual project by multimedia artist Aleksandra Saška Gruden and Croatian multimedia artist Željko Beljan, a striving toward image effects with a strong emphasis on dialogue.
The exhibition at Veselov vrt Gallery is titled We Are With You! and represents an extremely adaptable artistic constellation, as it can be freely extended or shortened, expanded or displayed, and can even be integrated into many different concepts.”
(From the preface, written by Sarival Sosič)
Artist Biographies:
Željko Beljan (1984, Vukovar) graduated from the Department of Animated Film and New Media at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 2021. In his artistic practice, he focuses on the phenomenon of handcraft and its position in contemporary artistic practices, exploring textiles and handcraft techniques as an artistic medium. In doing so, he investigates the relationship between handcraft and amateur, hobby-based involvement in sports, with an emphasis on audience participation and involvement in the realization of the works. He was a finalist for the Radoslav Putar Award in 2023 and is an alumnus of the WHW Academy, class of 2022. Since 2011, he has participated in a significant number of group exhibitions in Croatia and the region, and has held several solo exhibitions, including: Project Arkade (MSU, Zagreb, 2023); Unresolved (Šira Gallery, Zagreb, 2022); Guest (Prostor, Split, 2022; Tratinska 64 – CIMO, Zagreb, 2021); Three Corners Penalty (Football field of Marijan Elementary School – Culture Hub Croatia, Split, 2022; Žitnjak Studios, Zagreb, 2022); Truth is a Forgotten Memory (in collaboration with Rebecca Merlić, Ethnographic Museum, Zagreb, 2022); Benjamin Beljan: Željko (Garage Kamba, Zagreb, 2022); Benjamin (CEKAO Gallery, Zagreb, 2022); Myth, Embroidery and Vuteks (NMG@Praktika, Split, 2020; Karas Gallery, Zagreb, 2020); Cartoon Core (Siva Gallery, Zagreb, 2018; Inquiry Inc., Osijek, 2016).
Aleksandra Saška Gruden graduated in sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana. Since 2006, she has held the status of an independent cultural worker. As a multidisciplinary artist, she works in the fields of sculpture, spatial installations and interventions, video, performance, photography, scenography, and drawing. Her work addresses themes such as the human body and its limitations, the relationship between the private and the public, the intimate world of the individual, the image of women in contemporary society, and cultural heritage. She regularly exhibits in Slovenia and abroad (Austria, Italy, the United Kingdom, Serbia), through solo and group exhibitions. She is the author of numerous public installations in Slovenia (Grosuplje, Kranj, Celje) and abroad (Austria, Croatia). She is the recipient of the second prize in the Emzin Slovenian Photography of the Year competition, the third prize for video at the Man–Monument exhibition (Velenje), and the Designers Society of Slovenia Award (2016) for the project Zidnice (EPK Maribor). She often collaborates with other female artists (Nataša Skušek, Saba Skaberne). She has led numerous sculpture symposiums and exhibition programs (Video Dinner and Showcases), the MFRU festival, and discussion series (Tea Party for Art, O:MIZA). She also works as an art critic and is the President of the Artistic Council of DLU Ljubljana.
The exhibition is open from July 9 to August 2, 2025.
Gallery opening hours:
Tue – Fri: 10 AM – 6 PM
Sat: 10 AM – 1 PM
Closed on Sundays, Mondays, and public holidays
Supported by:
MONIKA ELIETTE JANDL I LUKA TOMIĆ
MOVING PARTICLES
15.-28.7.2025.
KARAS GALLERY
On Tuesday, 15.7.2025. Monika Eliette Jandl and Luka Tomić open their solo exhibition entitled Moving particles. at 7 pm in Karas Gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).
In his foreword, Josip Zanki emphasizes:
„In 2024, a collaboration was initiated between the Austrian art collective Gruppe 77 and the Croatian Association of Fine Artists (HDLU). The collaboration takes the form of a Double Act – joint exhibitions featuring one Croatian and one Austrian artist, first at the PLÜ23 Gallery in Graz, followed by a second-year exchange at the Karas Gallery in Zagreb. Luise Kloos, a member of Gruppe 77, and Josip Zanki, Vice President of HDLU, selected the first two artists for this project: Monika Eliette Jandl and Luka Tomić. Their work was first showcased last autumn at the PLÜ23 Gallery in Graz as part of the Moving Practicels exhibition, and the collaboration now continues under the same title at the Karas Gallery in Zagreb. (…)
The works of Jandl and Tomić communicate through contrasts: while Jandl creates imagined fragments, parts of hypothetical ruins, Tomić intervenes in an actual ruin, using fragments and also exhibiting them in the gallery; while Jandl avoids meanings and starts from the negation of the image – iconoclasm, Tomić builds everything on meaning and the narrativity of images; while Jandl uses the whiteness of the wall by exhibiting reduced formats, Tomić uses the floor and disrupts that same whiteness of the wall with a screen. In the most wondrous part of the poetics of these two vastly different works, the artists touch upon the temporality of ruins and the beauty of fragments. After emptiness, wars, destruction, misunderstanding, and transience, all that remains are the remnants that record time, amorphous and temporal fragments that are cleansed but also imbued with meaning.”
Biography:
Monika Eliette Jandl is an Austrian artist working across various media. She studied at the Mozarteum University Salzburg. Her artistic practice encompasses ceramics, textiles, performance, installation, and drawing. Since 2020, she has been a member of Gruppe 77. She has participated in several exhibitions in Austrian cities, including Graz, Salzburg, Vienna, and Dornbirn.
Luka Tomić (b. 1995) is a multimedia artist from Zagreb who completed his undergraduate studies in New Media and Animation at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 2023. His artistic practice includes drawing, painting, illustration, street art, tattooing, graphic arts, performance, installation, and land art. He has had two solo and numerous group exhibitions and projects both in Croatia and abroad. He has been a member of the Croatian Association of Fine Artists (HDLU) since 2020 and of the Croatian Freelance Artists’ Association (HZSU) since 2024.
The exhibition will be open during the period from 15. to 28.7.2025.
Working hours of Karas Gallery
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 4pm – 8pm
Tuesday, Saturday 10am – 1pm
On Sundays and Mondays closed.
___
http://karasarthub.eu
Organizer: HDLU
With the support of: Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb
ANDREJ DROŽĐAN
HELP, WHERE’S THE EXIT FROM THE RESTAURANT
17.6.-8.7.2025.
KARAS GALLERY
On Tuesday, 17.6.2025. Andrej Drožđan opens his solo exhibition entitled Help, Where’s the Exit from the Restaurant at 7 pm in Karas Gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).
In her foreword, Iva Jurić emphasizes:
„In the work Help, Where’s the Exit from the Restaurant, Andrej Drožđan constructs a charged atmosphere of being stuck – an installation that, through an imaginary restaurant, becomes a place of the impossibility of forgetting, letting go and escaping. The starting point of the work is the scenes evoked by contemporary pop songs, those that depict inner stagnations and moments of breakups, where emotions are trapped in space and time. Inspired by the image of a person left at a restaurant table, both literally and emotionally, Drožđan explores spaces in which emotions are not processed but persistently accumulated, displaced and revived. This is a place of stagnation, an emotional crossroads, where time stops flowing, and experiences remain served like an unfinished plate. The restaurant, typically a space for shared meals and encounters, is here transformed into a metaphorical interior of inner states, a landscape of nostalgia, loss and quiet discomfort.”
Biography:
Andrej Drožđan (Zagreb, 1997) is a visual artist whose practice includes installation, illustration, photography, and graphic design. His work explores the concept and aesthetics of the everyday, the influence of the digital sphere on individual perception, and the presence of pop culture in contemporary life. Over the past few years, he has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions, as well as various creative projects. In 2022, he earned his Master’s degree in Animated Film and New Media from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. His thesis project, Konekcija memorija (Connection of Memories), was awarded the Academy Council Prize and subsequently exhibited in a solo exhibition at Šira Gallery and as part of the 37th Youth Salon.
The exhibition will be open during the period from 17.6. to 8.7.2025.
Working hours of Karas Gallery
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 4pm – 8pm
Tuesday, Saturday 10am – 1pm
On Sundays and Mondays closed.
___
http://karasarthub.eu
Organizer: HDLU
With the support of: Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb
23 April 2025
DORIAN PACAK
RETRO-MACHO
29.4.-20.5.2025.
KARAS GALLERY
On Tuesday, 29.4.2025. Dorian Pacak opens his solo exhibition entitled Retro-Macho, at 7 pm in Karas Gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).
In her foreword, Franka Puharić emphasizes:
With his exhibition, Retro-Macho, Dorian Pacak effectively parodies this contemporary issue by crafting character-sculptures in ceramics – a medium associated with quality, expense, and a long-standing tradition – in contrast to their well-known plastic counterparts (action and scale figures). By presenting carefully selected characters as busts, typically reserved for historically significant figures or wealthy patrons, Dorian elevates their overall value – whether monetary or sentimental. Through the predominantly traditional medium of ceramics, he continues to explore ideas rooted in “popular” collecting, which are particularly evident in the various versions of the He-Man busts. One is painted entirely white to suggest rarity and desirability, similar to the “holographic versions” of Pokémon cards, while simultaneously referencing the unpainted sculptures of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The same goes for the Ninja Turtle busts, whose names, borrowed from old masters, ironically point to a strong connection with tradition.
Biography:
Born on 5 May 1996 in Zagreb. He graduated from the Fifth Gymnasium in Zagreb in 2015, and in 2017 enrolled in Art Education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. He graduated in sculpture in 2023 under the mentorship of Ivan Fijolić. He has exhibited in five solo exhibitions (Crta Gallery, Lauba (Šalji dalje), Polica Gallery, M23 Gallery, Šira Gallery), and in several group exhibitions (Šira Gallery, Karas Gallery, Pallas Projects/Studios Gallery, Canvas Gallery, Bačva Gallery, SC Gallery, etc.). He has also participated in art projects such as Art in the Community: Redefining the Legacy of the Zemlja Group, Grand Tour: Postcolonial Pilgrimage and Age of Pyramid (Mexico), and Staring at the Sea (Ireland). He lives and works in Zaprešić.
The exhibition will be open during the period from 29.4. to 20.5.2025.
Working hours of Karas Gallery
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 4pm – 8pm
Tuesday, Saturday 10am – 1pm
On Sundays and Mondays closed.
___
http://karasarthub.eu
Organizer: HDLU
With the support of: Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb
02 April 2025
MARLEN BAN
AMORE IST GONE
8.4. – 26.4.2025.
KARAS GALLERY
On Tuesday, 8.4.2025. Marlen Ban opens her solo exhibition entitled Amore ist gone, at 7 pm in Karas Gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).
In her foreword, Tena Bakšaj emphasizes:
„As in the previous work, text forms the central element of this site-specific installation. In this case, the text takes the form of a message sent to a loved one after the end of a relationship, which serves as a representation of pathos and youthful innocence in the pursuit of romantic attachment, but is also a kind of self-reflection or an attempt to break the illusion we have created about someone but also functions as self-reflection, an attempt to dispel illusions created around another person. The title itself, using three different languages in one sentence, subtly hints at a subcontext – the virtual quest for a partner often leads to relocation abroad, and relationships with foreigners frequently culminate in a moment of parting. Whether it is the fear of separation or of connection, of intimacy or the economic opportunities that lead to moving, Marlen Ban skilfully reflects broader social phenomena and mechanisms through the synthesis of personal thoughts and emotions, weaving social engagement into her chosen themes.”
Biography:
Marlen Ban (b. 1999) holds a BA in Animated Film and New Media from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. She is currently completing her studies in Administrative Law at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb. Through her artistic practice, she explores social and personal relationships, as well as her own emotional states and fears. Her site-specific installations examine the concepts of space and the individual within it. She has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Croatia and abroad. She is currently a member of the production team at the Miroslav Kraljević Gallery and volunteers at the Sveti Ivan Psychiatric Hospital, where she manages art workshops.
The exhibition will be open during the period from 8.4. to 26.4.2025.
Working hours of Karas Gallery
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 4pm – 8pm
Tuesday, Saturday 10am – 1pm
On Sundays and Mondays closed.
___
http://karasarthub.eu
Organizer: HDLU
With the support of: Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb
LARA ANA KULENOVIĆ
THE GRASS USED TO BE GREENER
13.3.-1.4.2025.
KARAS GALLERY
On Thursday, 13.3.2025. Lara Ana Kulenović opens her solo exhibition entitled The Grass Used to Be Greener , at 7 pm in Karas Gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).
In his foreword, Iva Jurić emphasizes:
“The grass used to be greener. Or at least that is how it exists in memory, detached from the reality in which it is simultaneously “earth and stone and twig and branch and leaf and worm and dandelion and clover and bramble and bramble and bramble and glass and plastic and trash”*. In that distant image, grass is simply grass, without layers or impurities, just a vivid green colour. Yet, the attempt to reconstruct that memory proves inevitably unsuccessful. Repetition of gestures and the pursuit of perfection only reveal the imperfections of both the process and memory itself.
Lara Ana Kulenović’s work The Grass Used to Be Greener explores the impossibility of reconstructing past perceptions and reflects on the boundaries between reality and subjective memory. Through a repetitive process of attempting to create the perfect blades of grass, using freshly cut grass from her grandmother’s garden, the artist inscribes the passage of time into the material, realizing that grass is no longer just grass but a trace of time passed; an altered experience of the world.”
Biography
Lara Ana Kulenović (2000, Zagreb) earned her Master’s degree from the Academy of Fine Arts, Department of Animated Film and New Media, under the mentorship of Professor Nicole Hewitt. Although she uses her own perspective as a starting point, her works are not about her – but about others who perceive them. Lara conveys emotion and feeling through physical manifestations in objects, installations, video and photography. The materials she uses are closely linked to the very concept of the work or are a key part of it. She chooses topics that she considers part of the collective memory of her generation’s past, aiming to make their interpretation more accessible to a wider audience and to encourage dialogue. She has exhibited in several group exhibitions in Croatia.
The exhibition will be open during the period from 13.3. to 1.4.2025.
Working hours of Karas Gallery
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 4pm – 8pm
Tuesday, Saturday 10am – 1pm
On Sundays and Mondays closed.
___
http://karasarthub.eu
Organizer: HDLU
With the support of: Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb
12 February 2025
ANA DOMLJAN
I LONG FOR A PLACE I DON’T KNOW
18.2.-7.3.2025.
KARAS GALLERY
On Tuesday, 18.2.2025. Ana Domljan opens her solo exhibition entitled I long for a place I don’t know, at 7 pm in Karas Gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).
In his foreword, Iva Jurić emphasizes:
“In her work I long for a place I don’t know, Ana Domljan creates a fictional archive through which she explores the emotional landscapes of memory and imagination. Using objects, sound, video, and cyanotype, the artist evokes fragments of space and time, creating an atmosphere imbued with nostalgia and a yearning for a place that has never existed—yet, through memory and emotion, feels tangibly real. Each artefact becomes a vessel of nostalgia, symbolizing an attempt to capture the elusive—a place that exists between the real and the imagined, the past and the present.”
Biography
Ana Domljan (b. 1997) completed her secondary education at the School of Applied Arts and Design in Zagreb, earning the title Photographic Designer. She then pursued further studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, majoring in Animated Film and New Media. Her work has been featured in several group exhibitions in Croatia. In her work, she strives for simplicity, which she communicates through various media, with a particular focus on video. In 2021, she earned her Master’s degree under the mentorship of Ana Hušman, presenting a thesis titled “Without Symbolism“.
The exhibition will be open during the period from 18.2. to 7.3.2025.
Working hours of Karas Gallery
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 4pm – 8pm
Tuesday, Saturday 10am – 1pm
On Sundays and Mondays closed.
___
http://karasarthub.eu
Organizer: HDLU
With the support of: Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb
MEŠTROVIĆ PAVILION CLOSED DUE TO RENOVATION
INFORMATION FOR VISITORS
Web Hosting
