The Croatian Association of Fine Artists (HDLU) and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MSU) Zagreb invite you to the opening of the retrospective exhibition Picelj and Friends by one of the most prominent Croatian artists of the second half of the 20th century, Ivan Picelj. The opening will take place on Thursday, September 19, at 7:30 PM at the MSU Zagreb. This first comprehensive retrospective of Picelj’s work since his passing is organized on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth (1924–2011), and the exhibition is curated by Prof. Zvonko Maković, PhD. The retrospective will remain open until November 17, and during its duration, a rich and diverse accompanying program of films, educational activities, and discussions will be organized, along with numerous guided tours.

The exhibition Picelj and Friends showcases Ivan Picelj’s remarkable and extensive body of work, highlighting his innovative contributions to the field of art and emphasizing his key role on the international art scene. Ivan Picelj was a leading figure in abstract art in the 1950s and a member of the art groups EXAT-51 and the New Tendencies movement, which placed the city of Zagreb on the global map of artistic events. His works are featured in the collections of prominent museums worldwide, such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate Modern and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, and the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź, among others.

As the exhibition curator Zvonko Maković points out, Ivan Picelj is important not only as a distinguished individual and artist who, in challenging times, introduced abstract art while consciously referencing the great predecessors of the early 20th-century avant-garde, which had a negative resonance in the social and political context of that era. Picelj always linked his art with that of his close collaborators and friends. From his earliest days, Picelj aspired to collective recognition rather than individual acclaim. He was the one who established connections abroad, thereby creating opportunities for Croatian artists, not just himself, to be represented at relevant exhibitions worldwide as early as the 1950s, and in reputable galleries. Additionally, Picelj’s work demonstrated clear connections that integrated Croatian art of the 1950s into the artistic currents emerging in major, predominantly European, cultural centers of that time.

All of the aforementioned reasons are the main impetus for expanding the retrospective exhibition Picelj and Friends to include all aspects of his work, from painting to objects, as well as graphic design, encompassing posters, book design, catalogs, and magazines. Alongside Picelj’s works, the exhibition also features pieces by the artist’s friends, all of whom were prominent figures of his time: Yaacov Agam, Getulio Alviani, Hans Arp, Mihajlo Arsovski, Vojin Bakić, Vladimir Bonačić, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Ivo Kalina, Julije Knifer, Almir Mavignier, François Morellet, Vladimir Kristl, Božidar Rašica, Jesús Rafael Soto, Aleksandar Srnec, and Victor Vasarely.