O autoru
About the Author:
Ivica Malčić rođen je 1964. u Zagrebu. Diplomirao je 1996. na Akademiji likovnih umjetnosti u Zagrebu u klasi profesora Šuteja. Do sada je izlagao na dvadeset samostalnih i više skupnih izložbi od kojih izdvajamo 3. bijenale slikarstva, 51. zagrebački salon, Ten Years After u Galeriji VN te je bio i finalist T-HT nagrade.
Ivica Malčić was born in Zagreb in 1964. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1996, in the class of prof Šutej. He has exhibited in twenty solo and numerous group exhibitions. His major exhibitions include 3. Biennale of Pinting, the 51st Zagreb Salon and Ten Years After u Galeriji VN also he was a T-HT Award finalist.
Hrvatsko društvo likovnih umjetnika | Croatian Association of Fine Artists Radno vrijeme: srijeda – petak 11 do 19h, subota – nedjelja 10 do 18h, ponedjeljkom i utorkom zatvoreno Working hours: Wednesday to Friday 11am – 7pm, Saturday to Sunday 10 – 6pm, Mondays, Tuesday - closed IMPRESUM | Nakladnik/Publisher: Hrvatsko društvo likovnih umjetnika/Croatian Association of Fine Artists, Trg žrtava fašizma 16, 10 000 Zagreb, hdlu@hdlu.hr, www.hdlu.hr | Za nakladnika/For the publisher: Josip Zanki | Upravni odbor HDLU/Executive board of HDLU: Josip Zanki (predsjednik/ president), Tomislav Buntak (zamjenik predsjednika/vicepresident), Fedor Vučemilović (zamjenik predsjednika/vicepresident), Ida Blažičko, Ivan Fijolić, Monika Meglić, Melinda Šefčić | Umjetnički savjet Galerije PM/Artistic board of PM Gallery: Tomislav Buntak, Suzana Marjanić, Koraljka Kovač Dugandžić, Branka Benčić, Ivan Fijolić, Josip Zanki, Ivica Župan | Ravnateljica/Director: Ivana Andabaka | Stručna suradnica/Associate: Martina Miholić | Predgovor/Preface: Vanja Babić | Grafičko oblikovanje kataloga/Catalogue Design: Duje Medić | Prijevod / Translation: Zana Šaškin | Tisak/ Printed by Cerovski | Naklada/Copies: 150 Izložba je realizirana uz financijsku potporu Ministarstva kulture Republike Hrvatske, Gradskog ureda za obrazovanje, kulturu i sport Grada Zagreba. The exhibition was financially supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, the City Office for Culture, Education and Sports Zagreb.
MALČIĆ U GALERIJI PM
Ivica Malčić osebujna je i prepoznatljiva osobnost na hrvatskoj likovnoj sceni, a vjerojatno i šire. Svi koji su bili u prilici pobliže ga upoznati dobro znaju i zbog čega. Ipak, za one manje upućene valja, makar u najosnovnijim crtama, još jednom ponoviti. On je, naime, slikar koji svoje slike proizvodi masovno, ali to nipošto ne rezultira njihovom devalvacijom. Upravo suprotno! Svaka nova slika – a to isto vrijedi i za kolaže, asamblaže ili crteže – novi je kamenčić u mozaiku umjetnikova života, još jedan trag na nečemu što već odavna nije „tabula rasa”. Neke Malčićeve uratke možemo proglašavati boljima ili zanimljivijima od drugih te u tom smislu iznositi i prividno smislene kritičarske odnosno kunsthistoričarske argumente, ali na razini koncepta oni su, zapravo, nužno podjednako vrijedni i značajni. Klasična formalna analiza u ovome je, dakle, slučaju ne samo nepotrebna, već i besmislena. Ali osim što masovno proizvodi, ovaj umjetnik kontinuirano od svojih najranijih početaka vodi i preciznu evidenciju o vlastitome opusu. Primjerice, svaka njegova slika uvijek će na poleđini nositi i vlastitu „osobnu kartu” s podacima o rednome broju, datumu i mjestu (ateljeu) nastanka. A za one što ih je prodao ili odlučio pokloniti uvijek će se pobrinuti da u poseban notes zabilježi ime novoga vlasnika. Svi spomenuti postupci nipošto nisu tek popratna pojava; oni doista predstavljaju integralan dio jedne snažno profilirane autorske poetike, baš kao i gotovo svakodnevni – čak pomalo ritualni – slikarevi odlasci u atelje „na posao”. U jednom ranijem tekstu o Ivici Malčiću osjetio sam potrebu posegnuti i za ovom usporedbom: „Obrazlažući Duchampovo odustajanje od slikarstva, umjetnik i galerist Bill Copley svojedobno je ustvrdio da je njegova umjetnost napustila slikarsko platno kako bi postala život, odnosno da je Duchampov život postao slikarskim platnom njegove umjetnosti. Za Malčića vrijedi suprotno: on je počeo slikati kako bi cijeli svoj život smjestio u slike.” I doista, Malčićeve slike potrebno je sagledavati kao dvodimenzionalne inačice njegova života. One nisu tek tragovi jedne egzistencije, već tvore njen neposredan odraz, čiju istinitost spoznajemo posredstvom slikareve intimno uvjetovane simbolike i subjektivne ikonografije. Osim slika izvedenih uglavnom na različitim starim daskama ili lesonit-pločama, Malčić redovito i također obilno proizvodi i radove na papiru. Individualni stil odnosno poetika ovih radova identični su kao i na slikama, ali vrijeme i mjesto nastajanja to nisu. Malčićeve slike, naime, bez iznimke nastaju „u radno vrijeme”, dakle tijekom njegova prijepodnevna odnosno ranoposlijepodnevna boravka u ateljeu. Za razliku od toga, sve ono što autor kolokvijalno naziva „papirima” svoje postojanje duguje njegovoj „kućnoj radinosti”. Iz ove, naoko posve banalne i nevažne činjenice, autor svojedobno osmišljava pomalo radikalnu zamisao. O čemu se radi? Odlasci u atelje, ma koliko redoviti bili, ipak ne mogu biti svakodnevni u punom smislu riječi, a i rad na slici, čak i u primjeru Malčićeve konceptualno tretirane masovne produkcije, nerijetko traje dulje od jednoga dana. S radovima na papiru to nije slučaj; oni bez problema mogu nastajati na dnevnoj bazi. Rezultat nije teško naslutiti; Malčić odlučuje čitavu jednu godinu pokriti svojim „papirima” po jednostavnom dnevničkom principu: koliko dana u godini toliko i radova. Prvi puta to će učiniti prije točno deset godina, u Galeriji PM. Kontinuirano kružni prostor ove galerije Malčić je, ritmički ujednačeno, ispunio s 365 crteža, kolaža, frotaža, asemblaža ili pak kombinacijama svih pobrojanih tehnika. Početni rad na vidljivu je mjestu bio datiran s 1.1.2006., a posljednji s 31.12. iste godine. Služeći se raznolikim vizualnim – katkada i vizualno-verbalnim – asocijacijama na različite događaje i njima uzrokovane osjećaje što ih je doživljavao tijekom 2006., autor će iz vlastite subjektivne pozicije detaljno popratiti, a samim time i nadasve dojmljivo „arhivirati”, spomenutu godinu. Dvije godine kasnije, u još jednom kružnom prostoru – radilo se o Galeriji Bačva smještenoj točno ispod Galerije PM – Malčić će ponoviti svoju koncepciju dnevničkog principa, ali s 366 rada jer je 2008., dakako, bila prijestupna.
MALČIĆ IN THE PM GALLERY
Od premijernog dnevnički koncipiranog Malčićeva nastupa u Galeriji PM proteklo je točno deset godina. Ovoga puta umjetnik u istom prostoru „arhivira” 2016., ali uz neke promjene. Ponajprije, svi radovi sada su izvedeni isključivo olovkom na papiru. Time autor intenzivira svoj kontakt s papirnatom podlogom, a neke izvorne artefakte koje bismo na prethodne dvije izložbe zacijelo promatrali u formi kolaža ili čak ready-madea sada možemo doživjeti isključivo posredstvom crteža. Postoji, međutim, još jedna – možda i važnija – promjena. Ukoliko bi, naime, u ateljeu dovršio sliku, Malčić je istoga dana (re)interpretira i u crtežu. Na taj način umjetnik duhovito izokreće i na određeni način ironizira uvriježeno postupanje po kojem crtež, u obliku svojevrsne skice, prethodi slici. A u dane kada ne dovrši sliku, on izrađuje crteže što se referiraju na doživljaje ili događaje povezane sa stvaranjem ili konzumiranjem umjetnosti, a po potrebi i šire od toga. U suvremenoj likovnoj praksi čimbenik protoka odnosno bilježenja vremena izuzetno je aktualan. Svojim specifičnim dnevničkim pristupom Ivica Malčić pruža zanimljiv prilog spomenutim tendencijama, pozicionirajući se pritom kao nadasve originalan slikar u čijim radovima možemo jasno osjetiti i naznake postkonceptualnih promišljanja. Vanja Babić
Ivica Malčić is a peculiar and recognizable personality on the Croatian art scene, and probably beyond. Everyone who has had the opportunity to meet him knows very well why. Still, for those less informed, the reasons should be repeated once again, at least in the most basic terms. He is a very prolific artist, but this large production by no means results in lower quality of his works. Quite the opposite! Each new painting – and the same goes for collages, assemblages or drawings – is a new stone in the mosaic of the artist’s life, another trace on what has not been a “tabula rasa” for quite some time. Some Malčić’s works can be seen as better or more interesting than the others, and we could, in that sense, give seemingly meaningful critiques or art historical arguments, but on a concept level they are, in fact, equally valuable and important. Thus, in this case, traditional formal analysis is not only unnecessary but also pointless. But apart from this mass-production of his works, the artist has also, since his earliest beginnings, continuously kept an accurate record of his own oeuvre. For example, each of his paintings always has its own “identity card” on the back, with the ordinal number and date and place (studio) of creation. And for the ones he sells or decides to give away as gifts, he always makes sure to record the name of a new owner in his special notebook. All these actions are by no means an accompanying phenomenon; they are truly an integral part of a strongly profiled authorial poetics, just like his almost daily – even slightly ritual – visits to his studio, his “work-
place”. In an earlier text on Ivica Malčić I also felt the need to use the following comparison: “By explaining Duchamp’s abandonment of the painting, the artist and gallerist Bill Copley once stated that his art had left the canvas in order to become life, or that Duchamp’s life had become a canvas for his art. The opposite is true for Malčić: he started painting in order to translate his whole life into images.” And indeed, Malčić’s paintings should be seen as two-dimensional versions of his life. They are not just traces of one’s existence, but its immediate reflection, the authenticity of which we understand through the painter’s intimately conditioned symbolism and subjective iconography. Besides paintings on various old wood or masonite boards, Malčić also regularly and abundantly creates works on paper. The individual style or poetics of these works is identical to the one on the paintings, but time and place of creation are different. In fact, Malčić’s paintings are created during the “working hours”, that is, during mornings or early afternoon in his studio, without exception. As opposed to this, everything the artist colloquially refers to as “papers” owes its existence to his “home production”. From this, seemingly completely trivial and irrelevant fact, the artist came up with a slightly radical idea. Which one? His visits to the studio, no matter how regular, still cannot take place literally every day, and his work on some painting, even in the example of Malčić’s conceptually treated mass production, often takes more than a day. This is not the case with works on paper; they can be created on a daily basis. The result is not hard to guess; Malčić decided to cover a whole year with his “papers” in line with a simple diary principle: the number of works corresponds to the number of days in a year. The first time he did it was exactly ten years ago in the PM Gallery. Malčić filled the continuous circular space of this gallery, in a rhythmically uniform way, with 365 drawings, collages, frottages, assemblages or the combinations of all these techniques. The first work was visibly dated January 1, 2006, and the last one December 31 of the same year. Using various visual – sometimes even visual-verbal – associations to different events and resulting feelings experienced during 2006, the artist covered the given year in detail and from his own subjective position, thus “archiving” it in an impressive way. Two years later, in another circular space – the Bačva Gallery located directly below the PM Gallery – Malčić repeated his diary-like concept, this time with 366 works because 2008 was, of course, a leap year. Exactly ten years have passed since Malčić’s premiere in the form of a diary exhibition in the PM Gallery. This time the artist “archives” the year 2016 within the same space, but with some changes. First of all, all the works are now created using pencil on paper. Thus the artist intensifies his contact with the paper surface, and some original artefacts that in the previous two exhibitions would be seen in the form of collage or even ready-made, can now be experienced exclusively through drawing. There is, however, one – maybe even more important – alteration. Namely, when he would finish a painting in his studio, Malčić would, the same day, (re)interpret it in a drawing as well. This way, the artist humorously reverses and in a way ironizes the established procedure by which, a drawing, in the form of a sketch, precedes a painting. And on days when he would not finish a painting, he would create drawings that refer to the experiences or events associated with the creation or consumption of art, and beyond that if necessary. In contemporary art practice the factor of flow, i.e. recording time, is extremely topical. With his specific diary approach Ivica Malčić gives an interesting addition to the given trends, positioning himself as an original painter above all, in whose works we can clearly see the signs of post-conceptual thinking. Vanja Babić