Knifer je prije svega ortodoksni slikar… – artist’s book

Šifra: 1592

Izdavač: Sam izdat

Autor: Julije Knifer

Godina izdanja: 1970

Mjesto izdanja: Italija

Broj stranica: 32

Format: 16.5×11.5 cm

Uvez: tvrdi

Knjiga umjetnika posvećena Juliju Kniferu. Knjižica je neobičnog formata (16.5×11.5 cm), tiskana je isključivo na paus papirima u minimalističkoj formi koja priziva estetiku Kniferovih meandara. Ovaj poseban samizdat započinje blagom provokacijom “Knifer je prije svega ortodoksni slikar…”, nema niti početak niti kraj, a umjesto vizualne naslovnice ima 4 ugravirana kotača (kruga) na kartonskom uvezu.  Nije poznato u kojem tiražu je knjižica tiskana (za pretpostaviti je da ih ima manje od 10 primjeraka) te nije u posjedu institucija kao što su NSK ili MSU. Iznimno rijetko te u odličnom stanju.

***

An artist book dedicated to Julije Knifer. The book is of an unusual format (16.5×11.5 cm), printed exclusively on paus papers in a minimalist form that invokes the aesthetics of Knifer’s meanders. This special samizdat begins with a mild provocation, “Knifer is primarily an orthodox painter …”, there is no beginning or end, and instead of the visual cover there are 4 engraved wheels on the cardboard binding. With this book comes also three slide shows with Knifer’s Meander. It is not known the exact number of copies the booklet is printed (We’re assuming there is less then 10 copies) and is not in the possession of institutions such as NSK, MSU or any other as far as we know. Exceptionally rare and in excellent condition!

***

Julije Knifer (23 April 1924 – 7 December 2004) was a Croatian abstract painter and a founding member of the 1960s Croatian art collective known as the Gorgona Group.

The central motif of Knifer’s art is the exploration of meander, a geometric form which he had been creating since 1960 in various painting techniques such as print, oil, acrylic paint, collage and mural. An example of which is the colossal meander created by Knifer on a 20 x 30 m canvas in a quarry in Tübingen (1975).

He was also one of the founding members of the Gorgona Group, whose members from 1959 to 1966 were: Miljenko Horvat, Ivan Kožarić, Marijan Jevšovar, Dimitrije Bašičević (who works under the name Mangelos), Matko Meštrović, Radoslav Putar, Đuro Seder and Josip Vaništa. In 1961 he participated at the first New Tendencies’ exhibition in Zagreb. He exhibited at many national and international shows including, The New Tendencies exhibitions (1961, 1963, 1969 and 1973), Art Abstrait Constructif International at the Denise René Gallery (Paris, 1961–1962), Konstruktivisten at the Städtisches Museum Leverkusen (Leverkusen, 1962), Oltre l’informale (San Marino, 1963), the Venice Biennale (1976 and 2001), the São Paulo Art Biennale (1973 with Juraj Dobrović and Vjenceslav Richter, 1979 and 1981). He collaborated with the Dany Keller Gallery in Munich, the Hoffmann Gallery in Friedberg and the Frank Elbaz Gallery in Paris. This increased the number of his works in private and museum collections which are now held in many prominent institutions across the world including the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

In 1994 he moved to Paris, where he lived until his death. His first posthumous exhibition was organized by Arnauld Pierre at the Frank Elbaz Gallery in Paris (2010). In 2002 he was the recipient of the Vladimir Nazor Life Achievement Award.