Immortality of the Vigorous Gesture

author Edo Murtić
written by Branko Franceschi

 

The exhibition Ceramics organized by the Murtić Foundation and the Museum of Arts and Crafts has once again reminded the Zagreb art scene of the unique and incomparable strength and energy of Murtić’s colors and gestures, this time additionally accentuated by the gleam of ceramic glazing. The uniqueness of each and every vehement visual explosion, all of which are leaned against the perimeter walls painted in a dim shade of neutral grey color, has been both isolated and emphasized by a clever exhibition set up by Ranko Murtić and Ante Rašić. At the same time, the dark walls evoke the interior of a gloomy and deep ceramic oven in which the alchemy of the gleam occurs. The choice of finished works, as well as the sketches of the unfinished series and projects, and the photographic documentation of the existing interiors and sculptures all show that Murtić is always the same Murtić with his proverbial and recognizable qualities we had grown so accustomed to during the second half of the 20th century, no matter which material or technique the artist employed.