Recognition and reaction to the context, location of the neuralgic points, the use of the local visual, symbolic and other ‘language’, exploration of the art scene and it’s critical frame are the main determinants of my artistic activity. In the same time it’s a search for a human dimension and ‘spiritual gravity’, natural speed of life and balance between the human, the nature and God.
I understand art as a field inseparable from our beliefs, thoughts and deeds that are, in their turn, mainly determined by the place and time of birth. The place and time of birth create and form our consciousness and personality; our nationality, religion, customs and language depend upon them.
To raise ourselves from the level ground and to envisage critically our own position means to change ourselves. By changing place we are changing the formative context of our individuality. Buddhas of Bamiyan, Pregate per la pace and Wooden Angel form a video trilogy (2003 – 2005) that is most characteristic for my work and my position as an artist. In those works I superimpose the spiritual value above the material, artistic, historical, archeological or any other added value.
Redefinition and revision of art history, questioning of the position of art and artist himself in the contemporary society, the importance of the “person” of the artist and the problem of the human “ego” are some of the topics and issues I am adressing in my most recent work and thoughts.
Tomislav Brajnović
Born 1965 in Zagreb.
- 1993 completed the first year of studies at the KABK Den Haag
- 1999 graduated on the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb
- 2003 finished the MA Fine Art Course, St Martins College, London
- 2007/2008 assistant / Art Academy, Rijeka, Croatia
- 2008/2010 senior assistant / Art Academy, Rijeka, Croatia
Solo exhibitions
- 1990 Piazza, Rovinj
- 1993 City Museum Rovinj
- 1995 Aura, Zagreb
- 1998 Vincent od Kastva, Pula
- 1999 Nova, Zagreb
- “Revolution is not foreseen by Law”, Gallery Gradska, Zagreb
- Vladimir Nazor, Zagreb
- Klovic, Rijeka
- Downtown, Labin
- 2000 City Museum, Rovinj
- 2001″ Holly Structures”, SC Gallery, Zagreb
- “Alfa & Omega” (Marcelo, Tomislav & Petar Brajnovic)
- O.K. Gallery, Rijeka
- 2004″ Greenhouse”, Gallery Miroslav Kraljevic, Zagreb
- City Museum, Rovinj
- Juraj Sporer, Opatija
- 2005 Mali salon, Museum of Contemporary Art, Rijeka
- Gallery Rigo, Novigrad
- 2007 City Museum, Rovinj
- City Museum, Labin
- 2009 Adum Gallery, Zlarin
- 2010 Gallery SIZ, Rijeka
- CK Charlama, Seknderija, Sarajevo (together with Robert Sosic)
- City Gallery of Slavonski Brod, (together with Tanja
- Dabo & Alen Floricic)
- Kjosk, Bassano del Grappa, Italy, (21th of May, 2010)
- “Ekspedition_ego”, Gallery Alkatraz, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- 2011 “Law of Love and Book of Life”, Gallery Prozori, Zagreb
- “Flags” (together with Robert Sosic), Museum of Contemporary Art,
- Skopje, Macedonia
Group exhibitions (selection)
- 1993 KABK Den Haag, Nederland
- 1994 18th Graphic exhibition
- 1995 Sesam, Motovun
- 1998 Spring Festival, Budapest, Hungary
- 25th Salon of Young Artists, Zagreb
- 1992 Drawing Triennial, Zagreb
- Taking Liberty Mobius /Istria
- 2000 Taking Liberty/Mobius/Boston, USA
- 2nd Graphic Triennial, Zagreb
- MIB Art Trieste, Italy
- 2001 Ready Made, Porec
- Goli otok, installations and performances, Adriatic see
- The Reduction of Form, Pula
- 36th Zagreb Salon
- Shadow Casters-Public Art workshop-Bologna, Italy
- 2002 “Homemaker” , Gliptoteka, Zagreb
- Goli otok, Kraljevic, Zagreb
- Six Artists from Rovinj, Gallery Forum, Zagreb
- “From A to B”, Varazdin
- “Local & Global”, Koprivnica
- “Cinemania©”, Luka, Pula
- “Zeravica”, Bjelovar
- “Multimeridian” , Pula
- “The world will never be the same again” , Contemporary
- Croatian photography & video art, Amsterdam, Holland
- 2003 “Touch & Go” , Space 44, London
- “Pinch Punch”, Cobden Club, London
- Xhibit, London Institute, London
- Cinemania(c), Pula, Croatia
- Artist Colony of Rovinj, Town Museum
- MA Degree Show, St Martins, London
- “Splitski salon”, Split
- “Dialoghi incrociati”, Cascina Roma, Milano, Italy
- 2004 Sobe, Ljubljana, Slovenija, Pula, Zagreb
- Device Art, Zagreb
- 2005 Peti evangelij (The Fifth Gospel), Celje, Slovenia
- Put u nepoznato, Pula, Croatia
- Hicetnunc, San Vito al Tagliamento, Italy
- Insert, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb
- Sense in place, Bay Art Gallery, Cardiff, Wales
- 2006 Sobe/Camere/Rooms, Galery Karas, Zagreb
- IX Triennial of Croatian Sculpture, Zagreb
- Media Scape, Novigrad
- Artist Colony of Rovinj, Town Museum
- Avvistamenti, Bisceglie, Italy
- MUVI 01, projection of croatian video,Zagreb
- 2007 City mapping, Pula
- Media Scape, Novigrad
- T-HT award, selection of contemporary Croatian artists
- 5+, selection of former students of the Fine Art Academy in Zagreb
- Exhibit, Museum of the Moving Image, New York
- MSUI (Museum of Contemporary Art of Istria), muzej u osnivanju, Pula,
- T-HT nagrada@msu.hr
- 2008 “Formalno-angažirano”, MMSU (Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art), Rijeka
- “Grand opening”, Artist in residence, Manorhamilton, Ireland
- Jadran Polis, Pula
- “Un bel posto per dimenticare”, Buttrio, Italy
- “Multimeridijan”, Pula
- 2009 “Crime and Punishment”, Kortil, Rijeka
- “Crisis”, Luka, Pula
- “Clubture Forum”, Zagreb
- “Mediascape”, Novigrad
- “Dogma”, Dom HDLU, Zagreb
- X Triennial of Croatian sculpture, Zagreb
- “On paper”, MMC Luka, Pula
- 2010 X godina Šikuti Machine, Pula
- Volume Collection, Palazzetto Tito, Fondazione Bevilaqua La Masa, Venezia
- “Strogo osobno”, Galerija Vladimir Buzančić, Zagreb
- Multimeridijan, MMC Luka, Pula
- “Izložba malog formata”, Galerija Nova, Zagreb
- “Erased Walls”, Berlin
- “New Istrian Video”, Remont, Beograd, Serbia
- 2011 “Volume Collection”, MMSU, Rijeka
- “Volume Collection”, MMSU, Split
- “Dopust”, Molekula, Rijeka
Public works and performances (selection)
- 2001 “Urban Picnic”, performance on different urban locations, Zagreb
- 2002 “Trg gradana” (Citizens Square), Trg Marsala Tita 10, Zagreb
- 2003 “An artist who doesn’t pretend to be an Englishman is not an artist”, walk
- through London in a 19th century moring suit
- 2005 “Flat Holm Project”, Sense in Place, Flat Holm, Cardiff, Wales
- 2009 “Franz Joseph Picnic”, Island of Zlarin
- “Ego Trip”, Zlarin, Venezia, Novigrad, New York, Arctic
Residencies and expeditions
- 2005 “Sense in Place”, Cardiff, Wales
- 2007 BUK, Baranja, Croatia
- 2008 Leitrim Sculpture Centre, Manorhamilton, Ireland October 2009 “The
- Arctic Circle Project”, Svalbard, Norway
- 2010 “Ego Trip”, Times Square, Brooklyn, New York
Other projects
- 2007-2011 “Studio Golo brdo”, running a gallery for contemporary Croatian and international art
Awards
- 1997 Grand Prix, Piran, Slovenija
- 1998 1st Prize, Grisia, Rovinj
- 1st Prize “Salon of Young Artists”, Zagreb
- 1999 Rector of the University of Zagreb Award
- Award of the Fine Arts Academy Council, Zagreb
- The Museum of Rovinj Prize
- 2000 Award, Piran
- 20011 st Prize, Grisia, Rovinj
- 2003 1st Prize on the Artists Colony Rovinj exhibition (with the “Druid’s Prayer Valse” sound piece)
- 2004 1st Prize, Grisia, Rovinj
- 2006 2nd Prize, Artist Colony Rovinj exhibition
Grants
- 1993 Karel-Klinkenberg fonds, Den Haag
- 1998 Soros Grant
- 2000 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant
- Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences Grant
- 2001 Gunk Foundation Grant
- 2002 Frankopan Foundation Scholarship
- Croatian Ministry of Science & Technology Scholarship
- 2009 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant