Palmizana’s extraordinary cultural summer continued late into October this year, with a gathering of international artists. We received the following report of the event, which we publish in full below:
Thirteen well-known international artists created two weeks on Hvar’s inslett St. Clement. Their pictures will be exhibited in the spring of 2016 in Beijing, and in some other Chinese towns. The exhibition will be documented in extensive monograph with reproductions of works created in the artistic colony, but also photographs of the life and work of artists on Palmižana.
China Youth International Cultural Exchange Foundation sponsored a large painting colony. Carefully selected participants from different continents have been invited to the joint the project. The work for slated for the exhibition that will be held in 2016 in Beijing. The works will remain heritage in China. as another segment of the huge Chinese cultural heritage.
Almost 100 works / oils, acrylics, gouaches … creted on St. Clement will be immortalized in the sumptuous monograph as a permanent document of this important cultural endeavor of great importance for Croatia, Dalmatia and island Hvar. The future opuses of the participating in international artists will probably be linked with our landscape. Almost all of the artists were for the first time in Croatia.. Creating the new environment together with other artists, they have become surprising parts of an important cultural mosaic.
This great cultural idea was realized Xinyou Wang, owner Pifo Art Gallery in Beijing and Gordan Novak publisher and owner of Novak Graphics Inc. graphics studio and art publisher from Admiral, Saskatchewan, Canada. .
Gordan Novak native of the island Hvar, now permanently settled in Canada, is the soul of this project . Thanks to Novak’s initiative and insistance the colony moved “to our end of the world”. International artists meet with our tourism potential, the beauty of the sea and landscape, the Mediterranean traditional food, seafood delicacies, Hvar wineries, island hospitality. Novak knew PALMIŽANA and Dagmar Meneghello a long time respecting Dagnar’s half a century long for quest to being culture and high end art on islet of Palmizana., He knew that the world’s artists in will be on Palmizana in a good, caring hands and under good karma. Hvar is world wide known for its beauty, as a desirable destination for other forms of high end and culture tourism in addition to “sun and sea”.
Bringing the similarities and differences
“It is the aim of these art colonies – not just to do on site work in the field of fine arts, painting, collage – but the foreground is personal experience of previously unknown destinations, the freshness of a new, bringing together artists from very different countries. Discussions and exchange of very different cultures based on the similarities and differences of the world where participants integraly belong. In the event this vigorously swirled globe sphere – from Canada across America, from France and Belgium, to Polish and Croatian in Europe, Israel and the vast provinces of China.
The participating artists discovered the world in which Gordan Novak up, Hvar and environments picturesque islands. . It has allowed the artists from the world a glimpse at unparalleled cultural, political, natural and manmade environments. The ambience of civilization not yet polluted. By choosing Palmižana Novak chose the place living under the abutting nature for 200 years, enriched by art: The magical place and botanical gardens where centuries-old tourism respects the necessity of foundation and application of ecology.
Painters set up their easels in numerous green groves. Completely separated from each other, the open studios, fulfilled the artists needs for and inspiration abd the necessary silence of contemplation.. Almost exotic visual experience “filled their batteries,” said one Chinese artist Anong Migwans Beam, and contributed to a successful and fruitful creation.
Another artist Liu Jian from China and Canada, half jokingly said, “I would not be surprised if my opus of black and white suddenly waked in rampant green”.
Participants of the artists colony are all very well known artists in their countries and have won numerous international awards, and some are also represented their countries at the Venice Biennale. All of them were delighted with Palmizana get-together and stay.
Alexandra Roussopoulos lives and works between France, Swiss, Greece, “I was on Palmizana for two weeks and I met some very nice people and made friends, we had great time. Dagmar, has beautiful collection of arts, and she is really supportive to artists, you can see she is passionate about it .. “
Kang Haitao China – “I am very happy to be part of this event. I met a lot of interesting people passionate about their art here, and I learned a lot from them. I hope to have more opportunities like this in future. “
Zhang Jian from China. “I am very happy to have met the artists this time and will remember this island and this artist for ever. I am very appreciative to see their works and also it was great experience to learn from them. They are all good characters. “
Wang Jian from Beijing. “I am very happy to be on this island here. Very thankful to Gordan for inviting me. I am very impressed with the beauty of the land and the see of this island “
Miriam Cabessa from Israel, lives in New York “I am from Israel and I live in New York. It has been a pleasure. pleasure, pleasure to be here with everyone. It was amazing experience and I know this experience is now a part of who I am. It was really special. It was a great combination of working hard and playing hard. “
Olga Palka Slaska Poland “It’s very hard for me to find good words at this time because it was so nice for me and I’ve met some beautiful people and spent great time on Palmižana and made 3 big good canvases”
Theresa Blois USA “New York” I came here and made paintings and met many great artists from all over the world and it was an amazing opportunity to meet a group of international artists. I will go anywhere where Gordan invites”
Sophia from Beijing “Its my first time to Greece and Palmižana. Its a great island. Bella / Palmižana guard, tornjaks / is so cute and i think she knew we were leaving soon and she kept following us for the whole day and it was sweet. Am am happy to meet everybody and it was great. Thank you. “
Wang Xinyou from Beijing China. “It was a long journey but I am very happy to have lived and worked with those people here. Want to thanks Gordan and his friends for organizing this event and I am looking forward to invite all of participants here to visit us next time in China “
Graham Gilmore, Canada: “Hey Gordan. Thanks for a spectacular adventure! I will be back. Stay in touch“
Anong Migwans Beam, Canada: „Love you all so much and thank you again for the best time, I think I needed that the most of all! Now start my next series for my show next year! It’s gonna be great! I’m seeing Museum director Tom Smart next week on Manitoulin island, if you can please send me pictures mine and Gillmores monoprints. He was really enthusiastic to see them“
Joris Ghekiere, Belgium: „It was wonderful the days we stayed together, the location was fabulous, the food was delicious, the atmosphere was warm slavic.
For me it was the first time I participated in art-residencie and I felt a lot of friendship between artists from all places in the world
I feld sad to leave you all and the place after that intense staying and hope we see again one of next years.It was also nice to come home with all that memories…..
congratulations to Gordan and Xinyou ( and of cause Sofia, the translator ) and thanks to the invisible sponsor. Send me invitations when you have exhibitions, hope we keep in contact
Zivko Grozdanic Serbia “In my art I’m in the production of allegories and as an artist I really an allegory of the artist. Counting that we are on kind an island in this context I am an artistic island in the sea of contemporary art. I gained weight ten pounds and this means that the food was excellent and that the colony was successful. They were all fantastic artists from around the world. Organizers Wang Xinyou owner and manager Pifo galleries in Beijing, and Gordan Novak, owner of the publishing house and graphic studio from Canada have made an excellent selection of serious artists who have all created stunning works during their stay in Palmižana.
Art Colony arouse interest in a number of other artists from the surrounding areas who have come to visit and meet its participants: Amra Zulfikarpasic, professor at the Academy in Sarajevo, Dalibor Stosic, Peter Hranuelli sculptors from Zagreb. Grgo Anzulovic painter from Jelso living in Germany and Canada, Toni Franovic prepared cinematic work “Landscape in the works of contemporary Croatian artists.” Guest of the colony was Mrs Flora Turner curator and collector and great prmotor of Croatian culture in London with Mr. Curator of Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
From the Museum of Contemporary Art Novi Sad came curator Daniel Halda and most likely this exhibition before China will be set up in the province of Vojvodina, as well as in Vrsac, Gera Museum …
Kiefer / Knifer
The painter and sculptor Zivko Grozdanic Gera came back to Hvar after a long time. He lived in Hvar in the eighties, as a very involved representative of the artistic life in this island town. Together with the premature depaerted Hvar artist Niksa Barisic, Gera initiated and participated in a regular art event “Days of Hvar art” in which continuously exposed ver well known Croatian artists as Kuzma Kovacic, Peruško Bogdanić, Kazimir Hraste.
The war and post-war period the artist spent a considerable artistic struggle “against violence, political crimes and tyranny of all kinds ..”. H eworked closely with Marina Abramovic. Famous for uncompromised cultural management he is well known in the art world in Europe as long time director and chief curator of the Novi Sad Contemporary Art. . His curatorialexelence was confirmed by the Grand Prix in 2013 at the Venice Biennale, which was granted to Serbia as the best national pavilion, for the solo exhibition by Rasa Todosijevic curated and designed by Grozdanic.
In Palmizana artistic colony Grozdanic made four very impressive and interesting large works, rekindling in a new way his eighties cycle “Kiefer-Knifer”. The initial cycle “Kiefer-Knifer” waqs first done for the last exhibition before the war Biennial od Youth in Rijeka1989.. The basic idea for the realization of the cycle “Kiefer-Knifer” was determined by the political crisis in the former Yugoslavia and the atmosphere just before the break of and the start of the war. The artist’s idea was that, in addition to formal artistic attitudes and personal attitude to create work that will investigate the turmoil in Serbia and emphasize and criticize the nationalistic government of Slobodan Milosevic . For the true artist is difficult to deal with the darkest hour just with the aesthetic and formal aspects of art and painting in particular. It is one of the complicated issues dealing with the most powerful socially conscious conceptual art as did in their times great artists from oMarchel Duchamp and Kasimir Malevich to Joseph Beuys and the more contemporary artists s Anselm Kiefer, and to Marina Abramovic and Braco Dimitrijevic and Tomislav Gotovac. Grozdanić dealing with this issue since its early days of his art practice, as seen on his last exhibitions in Croatia in 1989, right here in Hvar, in the sacristy of the Church of St. Mark, titled: “How to Explain Pictures to Joseph Beuys”.
At the insistence of the curator Palmižana colony, Gordan Novak artist after nearly 25 years returned back the same subject – in response to blurred political reality of blackmail and deception, yet undiscovered wictims graves, missing people, tolerated corruption and lies, a society in which human individual have it hard to live and work. Serious artist must not stand isolated … Artist from Sarajevo, Amra Zulfikarpasic on one of her works has written – “the duty the artist to tell the truth.”
No one is a prophet in his own village
Hvar has many notable artists who had contributed to the history of Croatian art and culture. But the big surprise of the international colony was humble painter, virtual graphic artist from Hvar Ivo Čorković: His artistic output goes through Canada to the world, and that Croatia is not realized. Only on this serious presentation of the world’s respected artists, we were able to measure his excellence and quality.
Ivo Corkovic spent his formative years in Germany at a time when the world scene favored conceptual artists as the forerunner of post-modernism. Today his work is on the crossroads of minimal art of Sol Levitt, process art of Eve Hesse and new geometrical contemporary tendencies. Corkovic’s most recent works are conceptually (but not visually) closest to the works of the great American artist Alann Sarett.
In art, private initiatives are laudable, but the city and its institutions have a fundamental duty to build and implement a culture on its own soil
In this large well-organized project only unprofessional part was late mailing of the necessary media package informing the public about the final gala and the public presentation of works. And that’s no fault of curators and organizers, who carefully built project and counted on an adequate exhibition space in Hvar Arsenal. Arsenal and the civic theater above were the place where for the centuries unfolded important cultural and social life. And it should have to be role today.
Arsenal have closed because the works were not carried out satisfactorily, and no one knows his destiny. Hvar art gallery as part of the old Hvar Theater has been closed for years. With the theater closed, Hvar has no place – the scene of cultural events that would satisfy the tourists and locals.
Until the last moment, the organizers of the art colony were hoping to mont the closing exhibition at the neglected Hvar Loggia as not available and the exhibition was held at Vila Meneghello family transformed into an open studio and exhibition gallery for a full presentation of 50 large canvases.
It was a truly impressive visual treat,
Very large turnout of Hvar people and guests who are staying in Hvar, who all
came to on the “word of mouth”, It further established the need of permanent and temporary residents of this island town are lacking such cultural events and gatherings …
This “cultural hunger” will we hope, start theserious dialogue about present
sad and pathetic cultural face of the city , and will try aggressively to change the cultural image of inaction and lack of culture in their city.
Private initiatives such as continuous engagement of Dagmar Meneghello are laudable, but the city and its institutions have a fundamental duty to build and implement a culture in their area.
Artists Palmižana artists colony
Alexandra Roussopoulos (France, Swiss, Greece)
Graham Gilmore (Canada)
Ivo Ćorković (Croatia)
Joris Ghekiere (Belgium)
Kang Haitao (China)
Liu Jian (China, Canada)
Anong Migwans Beam (Canada)
Miriam Cabessa (Israel, lives in New York)
Olga Palka Slaska (Poland)
Theresa Blois (USA)
Wang Jian (China)
Zhang Jian (China)
Zivko Grozdanic Gera (Serbia)
Photos by Andrej Sapric
