Miroslav Šutej
(Duga Resa, 29
After finishing the School of Applied Art in Zagreb (1951-1956), he graduated under professor Marijan Detoni from the Academy of Fine Arts in 1961. An associate at Krsto Hegedušić’s Masterclass (1961-1963). His debut came with the group exhibition I Youth Biennale in Rijeka, and he actively exhibited since 1962. Positive critical reception of his first solo exhibition at the Student Centre Gallery in Zagreb (1962), where he introduced himself with around thirty drawings which foretokened his future direction in arts, as well as the first awards, including the Award of the Council for Culture and Education of the People’s Republic of Slovenia at the 2nd Zagreb Exhibition of Yugoslav Prints organised by the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (Bombardment of the Optic Nerve, 1962, etching and aquatint), confirm that Šutej was acknowledged as a rising star of the national art scene of the time.
After finishing the School of Applied Art in Zagreb (1951-1956), he graduated under professor Marijan Detoni from the Academy of Fine Arts in 1961. An associate at Krsto Hegedušić’s Masterclass (1961-1963).
His debut came with the group exhibition I Youth Biennale in Rijeka, and he actively exhibited since 1962. Positive critical reception of his first solo exhibition at the Student Centre Gallery in Zagreb (1962), where he introduced himself with around thirty drawings which foretokened his future direction in arts, as well as the first awards, including the Award of the Council for Culture and Education of the People’s Republic of Slovenia at the 2nd Zagreb Exhibition of Yugoslav Prints organised by the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (Bombardment of the Optic Nerve, 1962, etching and aquatint), confirm that Šutej was acknowledged as a rising star of the national art scene of the time. Soon after national success, marked by unanimous praises and the first significant honours, international acknowledgment followed. In Paris, at the 3rd biennial of young artists in 1963, he won the Grand Prix for painting, which included a residency in the French capital (1964/65). The same year (1963), as an invited artist, for the first time he took part in the 2nd New Tendencies exhibition – Zagreb’s most significant artistic movement of the time, with a strong international exchange. As an exhibitor, he joined the movement’s exhibition project twice more, in 1969 and 1973. Šutej’s work was recognised and represented, together with Ivan Picelj’s works, at the group exhibition The Responsive Eye, curated by William Chapin Seitz at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1965, the exhibition which portended a new artistic phenomenon – Op art. Miroslav Šutej’s ultimate artistic acknowledgment came with the selection of Yugoslav contemporary art for the 34th Biennale Internazionale d’Arte Venezia in 1968, whose central event was the international exhibition Linee della ricerca contemporanea: dall’ informale alle nuove strutture curated by Guido Ballo. The young artist, as one of the three national representatives (together with Ivan Tabaković and Oto Logo) exhibited at the Venice Biennale his objects and his first ever mobile serigraphs.
Šutej continued to exhibit at local and global prominent group exhibition, especially those focusing on graphic arts and drawings, such as the biennial and triennial exhibitions in Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Krakow, Wroclaw, Bradford, Frechen, Vienna, Jyväskylä, as well as Zagreb, Rijeka, Ljubljana etc. He held around 160 solo exhibitions. Apart from Zagreb, his solo exhibitions took place in Ljubljana, Belgrade, Sarajevo, New York, Venice, Genoa, Pesaro, Bologna, Lausanne, Krakow, Berlin, Geneva, Bremen, Rotterdam, Haarlem, Cologne, Brussels, Frechen etc. His last solo exhibition, Covered Eyes, took place in 2004 at the Art Pavilion and presented the artist’s large-scale spatial and video installations.
From 1978 to his death, he taught at the Department of Graphic Arts, Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, and since 1996 at the Department of Graphic Arts of the newly founded Academy of Fine Arts in Široki Brijeg.
In 1997 he was appointed a full member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
His artistic work earned him over sixty national and international honours and prizes, including: Grand Prizes (1966, 1970, 1974) and other awards (1962, 1976, 1978) at the biennial Zagreb Exhibitions of Yugoslav Prints, awards at Zagreb Exhibitions of Yugoslav Prints (1971, 1983) and the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts Award at the 2nd Croatian Drawing Triennale (1999), Grand Prize at the 11th International Biennale in Sao Paolo (1971), Grand Prix at the 10th International Print Biennale in Ljubljana (1973), Grand Prize at the 11th International Print Biennale in Krakow (1986), Second Prize at the 4th International Print Biennale in Frehen (1976), award at the 6th International Print Biennale in Tokyo (1968, 1974), Grand Prize at the 3rd British International Print Biennale in Bradford (1972), as well as the Annual Vladimir Nazor Award for design for 1985 (1986), Annual Croatian Artists’ Association Award (1996), Museum of Contemporary Art Award (1996).
His works are included in many prominent collections, museums and galleries across the country and abroad, such as the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, National University Library Collection of Prints, National Museum of Modern Art in Zagreb, as well as the Museum of Modern Art and Guggenheim Museum in New York City, Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris, Victoria & Albert Museum and Tate Gallery in London, Muzeum Narodowe in Warsaw etc.
In addition to painting, drawing, print and sculpture, he also focuses on graphic design. Apart from poster and set design, Šutej designed the iconic Kvisko, and in the early 1990s he made the visual for the coat of arms and flag of the Republic of Croatia, as well as all state emblems. He is one of the authors who designed the Croatian currency – kuna (1994) and he also conceptualised the basic visuals for the national football team’s jersey.
Many art historians wrote about him (W. Koschatzky, F. Eichenberg, W. Heinke, R. Castelman, I. Zidić, V. Horvat Pintarić, J. Denegri, M. Meštrović etc.), several monographic editions have been published (Zvonko Maković, Šutej / crteži, Zagreb: National University Library, 1981; Andrej Smrekar, Miroslav Šutej: Ikono/mašta: crteži, grafike, slike i objekti 1962./72., Zagreb: Skaner studio, 2005; Tonko Maroević, Šutej / Crteži iz obiteljskog dvorišta, Zagreb: Department of Prints and Drawings, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and Šutej Foundation, 2009; S. Marković, Z. Maković, Miroslav Šutej / Mobilne serigrafije, Zagreb: Department of Prints and Drawings, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 2015), several retrospective exhibitions hosted (Zvonko Maković, Miroslav Šutej / Retrospektiva grafike, Zagreb: Department of Prints and Drawings, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts 1996; Snježana Pintarić et al., Šutej: Retrospektiva, Zagreb: Museum of Contemporary Art, 2013) and a film was also made (Nenad Puhovski, U potrazi za Šutejem, 1981).
His debut came with the group exhibition I Youth Biennale in Rijeka, and he actively exhibited since 1962. Positive critical reception of his first solo exhibition at the Student Centre Gallery in Zagreb (1962), where he introduced himself with around thirty drawings which foretokened his future direction in arts, as well as the first awards, including the Award of the Council for Culture and Education of the People’s Republic of Slovenia at the 2nd Zagreb Exhibition of Yugoslav Prints organised by the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (Bombardment of the Optic Nerve, 1962, etching and aquatint), confirm that Šutej was acknowledged as a rising star of the national art scene of the time. Soon after national success, marked by unanimous praises and the first significant honours, international acknowledgment followed. In Paris, at the 3rd biennial of young artists in 1963, he won the Grand Prix for painting, which included a residency in the French capital (1964/65). The same year (1963), as an invited artist, for the first time he took part in the 2nd New Tendencies exhibition – Zagreb’s most significant artistic movement of the time, with a strong international exchange. As an exhibitor, he joined the movement’s exhibition project twice more, in 1969 and 1973. Šutej’s work was recognised and represented, together with Ivan Picelj’s works, at the group exhibition The Responsive Eye, curated by William Chapin Seitz at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1965, the exhibition which portended a new artistic phenomenon – Op art. Miroslav Šutej’s ultimate artistic acknowledgment came with the selection of Yugoslav contemporary art for the 34th Biennale Internazionale d’Arte Venezia in 1968, whose central event was the international exhibition Linee della ricerca contemporanea: dall’ informale alle nuove strutture curated by Guido Ballo. The young artist, as one of the three national representatives (together with Ivan Tabaković and Oto Logo) exhibited at the Venice Biennale his objects and his first ever mobile serigraphs.
Šutej continued to exhibit at local and global prominent group exhibition, especially those focusing on graphic arts and drawings, such as the biennial and triennial exhibitions in Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Krakow, Wroclaw, Bradford, Frechen, Vienna, Jyväskylä, as well as Zagreb, Rijeka, Ljubljana etc. He held around 160 solo exhibitions. Apart from Zagreb, his solo exhibitions took place in Ljubljana, Belgrade, Sarajevo, New York, Venice, Genoa, Pesaro, Bologna, Lausanne, Krakow, Berlin, Geneva, Bremen, Rotterdam, Haarlem, Cologne, Brussels, Frechen etc. His last solo exhibition, Covered Eyes, took place in 2004 at the Art Pavilion and presented the artist’s large-scale spatial and video installations.
From 1978 to his death, he taught at the Department of Graphic Arts, Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, and since 1996 at the Department of Graphic Arts of the newly founded Academy of Fine Arts in Široki Brijeg.
In 1997 he was appointed a full member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
His artistic work earned him over sixty national and international honours and prizes, including: Grand Prizes (1966, 1970, 1974) and other awards (1962, 1976, 1978) at the biennial Zagreb Exhibitions of Yugoslav Prints, awards at Zagreb Exhibitions of Yugoslav Prints (1971, 1983) and the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts Award at the 2nd Croatian Drawing Triennale (1999), Grand Prize at the 11th International Biennale in Sao Paolo (1971), Grand Prix at the 10th International Print Biennale in Ljubljana (1973), Grand Prize at the 11th International Print Biennale in Krakow (1986), Second Prize at the 4th International Print Biennale in Frehen (1976), award at the 6th International Print Biennale in Tokyo (1968, 1974), Grand Prize at the 3rd British International Print Biennale in Bradford (1972), as well as the Annual Vladimir Nazor Award for design for 1985 (1986), Annual Croatian Artists’ Association Award (1996), Museum of Contemporary Art Award (1996).
His works are included in many prominent collections, museums and galleries across the country and abroad, such as the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, National University Library Collection of Prints, National Museum of Modern Art in Zagreb, as well as the Museum of Modern Art and Guggenheim Museum in New York City, Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris, Victoria & Albert Museum and Tate Gallery in London, Muzeum Narodowe in Warsaw etc.
In addition to painting, drawing, print and sculpture, he also focuses on graphic design. Apart from poster and set design, Šutej designed the iconic Kvisko, and in the early 1990s he made the visual for the coat of arms and flag of the Republic of Croatia, as well as all state emblems. He is one of the authors who designed the Croatian currency – kuna (1994) and he also conceptualised the basic visuals for the national football team’s jersey.
Many art historians wrote about him (W. Koschatzky, F. Eichenberg, W. Heinke, R. Castelman, I. Zidić, V. Horvat Pintarić, J. Denegri, M. Meštrović etc.), several monographic editions have been published (Zvonko Maković, Šutej / crteži, Zagreb: National University Library, 1981; Andrej Smrekar, Miroslav Šutej: Ikono/mašta: crteži, grafike, slike i objekti 1962./72., Zagreb: Skaner studio, 2005; Tonko Maroević, Šutej / Crteži iz obiteljskog dvorišta, Zagreb: Department of Prints and Drawings, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and Šutej Foundation, 2009; S. Marković, Z. Maković, Miroslav Šutej / Mobilne serigrafije, Zagreb: Department of Prints and Drawings, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 2015), several retrospective exhibitions hosted (Zvonko Maković, Miroslav Šutej / Retrospektiva grafike, Zagreb: Department of Prints and Drawings, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts 1996; Snježana Pintarić et al., Šutej: Retrospektiva, Zagreb: Museum of Contemporary Art, 2013) and a film was also made (Nenad Puhovski, U potrazi za Šutejem, 1981).