Inviting Kažimir Hraste, a professional sculptor, to be a guest artist in the garden of Meštrović’s Gallery, apart from an extraordinary respect that the artist cherishes for the legacy of Ivan Meštrović and the very venue of Meštrović’s Gallery, is an exceptional act since the Meštović’s guest does not exhibit his existing works only but creates them under the impression of the scenery of this place. He creates them driven by the impression of the artist and his space. This is not about the interpretation of Meštrović, nor the new reading. This is about art and the creative impulse inspired by the invitation to exhibit alongside Meštrović. Hraste’s art in the true sense of the word is a guest at Meštrović’s, hitting the core of the very idea of this series of exhibitions - that art is a living creature, it has the need to compare itself, to show itself, to contextualize itself, to define itself and to appear.
Kažimir HRASTE was born in Supetar on the Island of Brač on 2nd February 1952. He graduated at the School for Performing Arts in Split. He graduated at the Sculpting Department, Academy of Fine Arts, Universityof Zagreb in 1978 in the class of Professor ValerijeMichieli. In 1984 he completed his post-graduate study at the Sculpture and New Media Department of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, University of Ljubljana. He was Italian Government scholarship student one scholastic term in Rome. He is one of the founders of the Arts Academy of the University of Split and its professor of sculpture, serving as the Academy’s Dean in one term. He participated at more than hundred group exhibitions in Croatia and abroad. He has had some thirty solo exhibitions since 1974. Hraste is the author of numerous public monuments and sculptures.
His work, combining traditional experiences with contemporary arts practices, has been numerously awarded. Hrastehas been the member of the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences since 10th May 2012.
The exhibition will be open until 14th of August.