ŽELJKO BELJAN &
ALEKSANDRA SAŠKA GRUDEN
GUMI TWIST
2.6.-23.6.2026.
KARAS GALLERY

On Friday, 26st of June Željko Beljan and Aleksandra Saška Gruden open their solo exhibition entitled Gumi Twist at 7 pm in Karas Gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).

In her foreword Marija Kamber emphasizes:
“The exhibition Gumi Twist, named after the popular playground game in which players jump and weave through a loop of elastic stretched between two participants, explores games, toys, and playing through newly created objects by Željko Beljan, video works by Aleksandra Saška Gruden, and the transformation of the gallery into a site of interaction. Much like the way we remember childhood games, Gumi Twist approaches play through fragments or interpretations of fragments. Rather than presenting complete games accompanied by printed instructions, it offers movement, rhythm, sound imagined from a silent object, a close-up of a hand, or a toy waiting to be set in motion. (…)
By occupying the space of Karas Gallery, Gruden and Beljan create a temporary world of play in which the gallery is transformed into a kind of playground, where the artworks are not untouchable artefacts displayed on walls but prompts and sets of rules that encourage visitors to move through the space and explore the fragments presented to them. A gesture seen in a video becomes a proposed gesture in the gallery; a coloured line across a grey floor is transformed into a path leading towards the exploration of a toy. The rules are written nowhere, and interpretation remains open: jump; stop; push; make a sound, the choice belongs to the players.”

PREFACE

Artists’ biographies:
Željko Beljan (Vukovar, 1984) is a visual artist whose practice explores the phenomenon of manual labour and its place within contemporary art. He is particularly interested in the relationship between manual labour and amateur and recreational sport, with an emphasis on participation and audience involvement in the realisation of his works. He graduated in 2021 from the Department of Animated Film and New Media at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. He is an alumnus of the WHW Academy (2022) and was a finalist for the Radoslav Putar Award (2023). Since 2011, he has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Croatia and the wider region and has had several solo exhibitions.

Aleksandra Saška Gruden is an academic sculptor who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana in 2004. Since 2006, she has held the status of an independent cultural practitioner. Through her interdisciplinary approach, she has established a strong presence on the contemporary art scene both in the country and internationally. Her work frequently explores questions of identity, historical memory, and social position, using a wide range of materials and technologies to create immersive, thought-provoking experiences. She has created several public installations in Slovenia and abroad, and her works are held in the collections of a number of prominent cultural institutions. Gruden has led sculpture symposia and exhibition programmes and for six years served as President of the Artistic Council of the Ljubljana Fine Artists Society (DLUL). As a cultural critic, she also collaborates with Radio Slovenia and Likovne besede, a Slovenian visual arts periodical.

The exhibition will be open during the period from 26. to 3.7.2026.

Working hours of Karas Gallery
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 4pm – 8pm
Tuesday, Saturday 10am – 1pm
On Sundays and Mondays closed.
___
Organizer: HDLU
With the support of: Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb