Mimi and Vanja Rakočević, father and son, owners of the Zagreb gallery Paravan at Martićeva 4 were motivated by the great demand for the works of our famous artist Boris Bućan, to create a unique limited series of firebird posters in Plexiglas in collaboration with the author himself.
About one hundred copies of the Multipla Firebird were made in the size of 40x40cm. The item consists of six individual plans made of Plexiglas. Each multiple is numbered and signed on an aluminum plate by Bućan himself.
“Months passed from the idea to realization, several months filled with interesting and vivid conversations with the artist Boris Bućan. The preparation for printing itself lasted three weeks,” says graphic designer and owner of the Paravan gallery, Vanja Rakočević.
One hundred original copies of the Firebird poster
Firebird is the most famous Croatian poster, created in 1982 for Igor Stravinsky’s ballet at the Croatian National Theater in Split. Today, it is also in the lineup of the Tate Modern and MoMA museums and has become a recognizable motif of Croatian contemporary culture. As such, the Firebird poster is one of the most sought-after works in the Paravan gallery, where one of the hundred original copies from 1982 is exhibited. However, that copy is not for sale.
Vanja and Mimi Rakočević came up with the idea of performing it through a different medium and decided on a multiple. Multiples were created in 1955 when the artists Jean Tinguely and Arman, wanting to make their works more accessible, presented the idea of producing a more extensive and unlimited series of their artworks.
“The specificity and in fact the transparency of the medium itself resulted in an interesting and somewhat pop art expression. Because of the combined six individual planes, the work has a three-dimensional effect and takes on different forms, depending on the angle from which it is viewed,” explains Vanja Rakočević.
The foreground is in red color, the beak, the tail, and the heels. The second plan is the bird itself, the third, fourth, and fifth plans have green leaves printed on them, and the sixth plan is white. Getting the exact shades and color variants was one of the biggest challenges, and until the final product was ready there were more than 10 numbers of printed proofs.
As expected, the general public and the artistic community recognized the value of this series and have already reserved almost 50 copies of this limited series in the Paravan gallery. For reservations and more information about the work itself, you can contact [email protected], via Facebook, Instagram, or in person at the address Martićeva 4, Zagreb.
