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.

PREFACE

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.
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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.”

PREFACE

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

MIRAN BLAŽEK
STILL LIFE
11.12.-31.12.2024.
KARAS GALLERY

On Wednesday, 11.12.2024. Miran Blažek opens his solo exhibition entitled Still life, at 7 pm in Karas Gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).

In his foreword, Zlatko Kozina emphasizes:
This principle of “trimming” of space is distinctly evident in the exhibited works of Miran Blažek. And not the infinite, cosmic (read: prosaic) space, but rather limited (gallery) space. Blažek uses photography printed on canvas, in the form of horizontally positioned “cubes” (canvas mounted on stretcher bars with an accentuated voluminousness, all together supported by wooden legs) and a photograph printed on canvas in a frame with glass. His palette, dominated by achromatic tones—black, white, and grey—features only one chromatic element: yellow, ranging from intense primary yellow to pale yellow. Observed as a whole, the exhibition exudes a sense of calm, even comfort. While yellow, as a colour, possesses an expansive quality and inherent dynamism that challenges its boundaries, in this context, it seems to confront the constrained space of defined dimensions, creating an ambience that can be described as an ecstasy of low intensity.

PREFACE

Biogprahy:
Miran Blažek (1983, Osijek, Croatia), has earned a BA in painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 2006, and an MA at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana in 2012. Soon after completing his studies, he started to enhance his work with practices that transcend the traditional idea of painting. In his work, he is drawn to border fields of the medium, primarily drawing and painting, and he engages in transposition – through action, material, or space itself. Blažek uses the experience of painting to develop various possibilities inherent to the nature of the medium. He has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Croatia and abroad. In 2012 he has received the Radoslav Putar Award for best young artist under 35, awarded by the Institute for Contemporary Art in Zagreb, and in 2020 he received Vlastimir Kusik Award on 27th Slavonian Biennale. He took part in several artist residency programs abroad: Hafenkombinat/HDLU, Leipzig; CREART, Kristiansand; and International Studio and Curatorial Program, New York. In 2015 he founded the project International Student Biennial, an award exhibition for students and emerging artists.

The exhibition will be open during the period from 11.12. to 31.12.2024.
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