Visitors can wash clothes in the morning and enjoy the art in the evening.
The Art Laundry in Selce is owned by Ivica Pobor, while the entire entrepreneurial and artistic idea about a laundry room and a gallery under the same roof, inside a space that was closed for over 70 years, was implemented together with the artist Marijan Mavrić, reports Novi List on June 22, 2016.
This combination of art and laundry is very unusual, but obviously possible. Art Laundry, a place where visitors can wash their clothes and enjoy the paintings, is probably the first of its kind in Croatia. It opened in the centre of Selce, in a house that used to be a local blacksmith shop.
“In the morning you can wash the clothes using two professional washing machines, while in the evening the space turns into a gallery”, explains Pobor. He is originally from Selce, but he spends his time between Milan and his hometown. “Mavrić is our long-time friend and he gladly accepted this idea. He believes that it is good to exhibit his work in several places. It does not bother him that his paintings are located around the washing machines”, says Pobor.
He adds that there are many tourists in Selce who have no place to wash their clothes. We wanted to introduce this kind of service into the tourist offer of Selce, because tourists need it. “But we did not want this space to be only a laundry shop”, says Pobor, who himself works in the tourism industry when he is in Croatia.
His laundry-gallery was renovated in stages, and the interior designer was his wife Sunčica Pobor. It is fully equipped with items characteristic of any laundry (two washing machines, shelves, small table and chairs for rest and a sink). The walls are decorated with Mavrić’s art pieces.
The artist explains that he is sleeping in Grižane, where he also has his own gallery, but lives in Selce. He emphasizes that he is a cousin of Croatia’s most famous miniaturist Julije Klović. Mavrić’s paintings usually display coastal motifs, and he also paints self-portraits.
