BIOGRAPHY AND INTERVIEWS
Josip Konta (May 18, 1946 - December 7, 2023) was a prominent Croatian sculptor and painter whose art enriched the cultural scene of Croatia and abroad. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1972 and continued his education through postgraduate studies as an associate in the master workshop of Professor Antun Augustinčić from 1972 to 1974.
During the period from 1974 to 1977, he served as the director of the Art Foundry at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. After that period, Josip Konta lived and worked as an independent artist in Zagreb, where he left a profound mark with his extraordinary talent and passion for art.
His works were exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions, both in Croatia and abroad, and they found their place not only among art collectors in Croatia but also in private collections worldwide. Josip Konta passed away on December 7, 2023, but his legacy in the world of art remains alive, and his artistic achievements will continue to inspire generations of future artists and art lovers.
INTERVIEWS
REVIEWS
INTERVIEWS
Interview for “On time” magazine, (summer 2023)
Sculptor and painter Josip Konta: “I would link my artistic signature to the Omega De Ville Tourbillon”
Contemporary Croatian visual artist, academic sculptor, and painter reflects on five decades of his own artistic creation.
Artists are said to never stop creating. If we look at Josip Konta, there is certainly truth in that statement. The contemporary Croatian visual artist, academic sculptor, and painter has recently entered his 77th year of life, yet traces of plaster can still be found between his fingers.
He is currently working on a larger-scale sculpture of a horse, approximately 120 centimeters in height.
Although he has created a broad opus of work over the last five decades, from sculptures to oil paintings, drawings, and prints, he continues to push the boundaries of his creativity. Specifically, he is exploring how the modeling elements of his horse sculpture will behave on a larger scale. He has even decided to experiment with a finishing technique for the surface, a method that is entirely new to him.
"For the first time, I applied abstract engraving as a final touch to achieve a dynamic surface texture, enriching the visual experience of the sculpture. I am completing the plaster model, and I plan for the final material to be bronze" he tells us, adding that creation never stops for him.
ART IS NOT A CAREER
We dared to ask if he intends to conclude his career with this sculpture, but he quickly corrected us: art is not a career, but a lifestyle. As he says, every piece he has made and will make contains a part of him, so he sees no end to his artistic journey.
"My art is woven into every aspect of my life, as well as into the lives of my wife and sons. Each work is like a part of a story that is continuously developing and evolving, during my lifetime and beyond. So, there isn't a single work with which I would like to end my career because there is no end to my art on this journey" Konta states.
Given that we live in a digital world where viewers' attention spans are shorter than a minute, we decided to talk to the man who has dedicated his life to classical art. His recent birthday was the perfect excuse to delve into the mind of one of Croatia's distinctive artists who loves nude figures and horse motifs.
We'll start from the beginning. In his case, that was in 1959, when he was only 13 years old, because that was when he decided to pursue art.
"The love for creating art, especially sculpture, has been smoldering within me as long as I can remember. I recall how Antun Augustincic's statue 'The Wounded Carrier,' which was erected in Livno in the early 1950s, inspired me to try my hand at making my own sculptures" Konta recalls.
He enrolled in the High School of Applied Arts in Sarajevo, after which he headed to Zagreb to the Academy of Fine Arts. Eventually, he became the first academic sculptor from the Livno region, which is quite prolific regarding esteemed visual artists, such as Jurkic, Marjanovic, Seremet, Sisko, Propadalo, Vlasic, Anic…
ARTISTIC UNIVERSE
Fate eventually brought him together with Augustincic, the very man whose statue inspired him to make his first sculpture. He completed his master workshop and collaborated with him on some projects, but they parted ways due to differing opinions. Their last joint work was "The Peasant Revolt and Matija Gubec Monument" on which Konta was engaged on the relief part, although he says he was not ultimately listed as a collaborator.
More than five decades have passed since those days, and his artistic opus has significantly enriched and expanded. His works are currently exhibited in his studio located in the heart of Zagreb, specifically at Dalmatinska Street 7. It is set in a refurbished industrial space over 100 years old, filled with various artistic works and details that leave no one indifferent. Some observers have called it his "artistic universe" but unlike the cosmos, there are no secrets in it. They, he says, are hidden only in his works.
"In my artworks, I have embedded all my inner states, feelings, and various crises, not revealing them to anyone except the family who lived with my art. Art has allowed me to share these states with others in a subtle and enigmatic way. So everything is quite transparent, but in the artistic world, sometimes the secret is just choosing the right angle of view" Konta speaks.
DESTRUCTION OF SCULPTURES
However, he admits, the journey to the studio was not the least bit easy. In his early artistic career, during the seventies, as a young and rebellious artist, he destroyed about a dozen of his sculptures. The main reason was the lack of space to store them. He kept only four sculptures from that early phase, only those for which he found space in his apartment. He also repainted a certain number of paintings. His wife often horrified by these decisions managed to save many works.
But he notes, in that early phase, he often did not have enough money to buy additional canvases, so sometimes he had to sacrifice a painting to make room for new inspiration.
"Today, looking back, I feel some regret about those decisions. However, those situations were also part of my artistic development and maturation and shaped the artist I am today" he emphasizes.
One motif that certainly dominates his entire artistic life is horses. Growing up in Livno, he was surrounded by these powerful animals that still roam freely in the Livno fields today. In his eyes, the horse symbolizes earthly strength and beauty, a symbol of man's perfect reflection - that desired, better inner projection of ourselves that is often difficult, and even impossible, to achieve in reality.
"The horse, with which I established a connection in early childhood, represents an excellent motif for exploring the human ideal reflection. Through my works, I explore themes of alienation, various states of the human spirit, man's position in society, our inner conflicts that accompany contemporary society" he explains, adding that for him, a powerful artistic work must carry its unique energy and message, leaving a profound impact on the observer to be considered special.
However, Konta supports the complete freedom of observers in interpreting his sculptures, accepting that every interpretation of the work is conditioned by the individual's personal experience and understanding of the world.
Art, he emphasizes, is indeed present in everything, even in watches where it manifests through aesthetics, creativity, and innovation in design, as well as through the precision, engineering skill, and knowledge required to create a functional and reliable mechanism. Moreover, he says, watches also carry a deeper philosophical dimension related to time and its impact on our lives, connecting us with universal questions about time and our role in the world.
ARTISTIC SIGNATURE
Thus, he recalled his first watch, the Raketa watchmaker, which he bought in the early 60s of the last century. He no longer remembers the model name, but says it was a Russian mechanical watch that has remained in his memory for its quality and reliability. However, if he had to link one watch with his artistic signature, he says it would undoubtedly be the Omega De Ville Tourbillon.
"That watch is one of the examples of how art and technology can intertwine and create something unique and inspiring. In that sense, my sculptural work strives to achieve just that - to create an artistic work that will inspire others" Konta says.
HIDDEN POETRY
The story about watches brought us back to the inevitable question of the passage of time. We asked him at the end by which work he would like to be remembered, but he could not single out one because, he says, each represents a part of him and his artistic journey. Instead, he wants to be remembered for his entire opus and contribution to the art world.
However, on the threshold of the eighth decade of his life, he revealed to us a previously hidden part of his artistic creation – poetry.
"I began writing poetry back in 1977, I remember, on a rainy day when I moved to Novi Zagreb. At that time, I wrote poetry primarily as a means of introspection - as a way to explore and understand my thoughts and feelings. Poetry provided me with the opportunity to express personal emotions that I didn't necessarily want to share with the wider audience. It was an intimate part of me that I wanted to keep to myself, but at the same time, it served as therapy. Today, when I look back at those poems, I see how important they were and how much they actually influenced my later works" Konta tells us, adding that he is aware that this poetry will one day, when the right time comes, surely be published.
A selection of Josip Konta's works can be viewed at the now-traditional exhibitions in the galleries of the top hotels Bellevue and Boutique Hotel Alhambra on the island of Losinj.
Text by: Mak Bucela
Interview for “On time” magazine, (summer 2023)
Sculptor and painter Josip Konta: “I would link my artistic signature to the Omega De Ville Tourbillon”
Contemporary Croatian visual artist, academic sculptor, and painter reflects on five decades of his own artistic creation.
Artists are said to never stop creating. If we look at Josip Konta, there is certainly truth in that statement. The contemporary Croatian visual artist, academic sculptor, and painter has recently entered his 77th year of life, yet traces of plaster can still be found between his fingers.
He is currently working on a larger-scale sculpture of a horse, approximately 120 centimeters in height.
Although he has created a broad opus of work over the last five decades, from sculptures to oil paintings, drawings, and prints, he continues to push the boundaries of his creativity. Specifically, he is exploring how the modeling elements of his horse sculpture will behave on a larger scale. He has even decided to experiment with a finishing technique for the surface, a method that is entirely new to him.
"For the first time, I applied abstract engraving as a final touch to achieve a dynamic surface texture, enriching the visual experience of the sculpture. I am completing the plaster model, and I plan for the final material to be bronze" he tells us, adding that creation never stops for him.
ART IS NOT A CAREER
We dared to ask if he intends to conclude his career with this sculpture, but he quickly corrected us: art is not a career, but a lifestyle. As he says, every piece he has made and will make contains a part of him, so he sees no end to his artistic journey.
"My art is woven into every aspect of my life, as well as into the lives of my wife and sons. Each work is like a part of a story that is continuously developing and evolving, during my lifetime and beyond. So, there isn't a single work with which I would like to end my career because there is no end to my art on this journey" Konta states.
Given that we live in a digital world where viewers' attention spans are shorter than a minute, we decided to talk to the man who has dedicated his life to classical art. His recent birthday was the perfect excuse to delve into the mind of one of Croatia's distinctive artists who loves nude figures and horse motifs.
We'll start from the beginning. In his case, that was in 1959, when he was only 13 years old, because that was when he decided to pursue art.
"The love for creating art, especially sculpture, has been smoldering within me as long as I can remember. I recall how Antun Augustincic's statue 'The Wounded Carrier,' which was erected in Livno in the early 1950s, inspired me to try my hand at making my own sculptures" Konta recalls.
He enrolled in the High School of Applied Arts in Sarajevo, after which he headed to Zagreb to the Academy of Fine Arts. Eventually, he became the first academic sculptor from the Livno region, which is quite prolific regarding esteemed visual artists, such as Jurkic, Marjanovic, Seremet, Sisko, Propadalo, Vlasic, Anic…
ARTISTIC UNIVERSE
Fate eventually brought him together with Augustincic, the very man whose statue inspired him to make his first sculpture. He completed his master workshop and collaborated with him on some projects, but they parted ways due to differing opinions. Their last joint work was "The Peasant Revolt and Matija Gubec Monument" on which Konta was engaged on the relief part, although he says he was not ultimately listed as a collaborator.
More than five decades have passed since those days, and his artistic opus has significantly enriched and expanded. His works are currently exhibited in his studio located in the heart of Zagreb, specifically at Dalmatinska Street 7. It is set in a refurbished industrial space over 100 years old, filled with various artistic works and details that leave no one indifferent. Some observers have called it his "artistic universe" but unlike the cosmos, there are no secrets in it. They, he says, are hidden only in his works.
"In my artworks, I have embedded all my inner states, feelings, and various crises, not revealing them to anyone except the family who lived with my art. Art has allowed me to share these states with others in a subtle and enigmatic way. So everything is quite transparent, but in the artistic world, sometimes the secret is just choosing the right angle of view" Konta speaks.
DESTRUCTION OF SCULPTURES
However, he admits, the journey to the studio was not the least bit easy. In his early artistic career, during the seventies, as a young and rebellious artist, he destroyed about a dozen of his sculptures. The main reason was the lack of space to store them. He kept only four sculptures from that early phase, only those for which he found space in his apartment. He also repainted a certain number of paintings. His wife often horrified by these decisions managed to save many works.
But he notes, in that early phase, he often did not have enough money to buy additional canvases, so sometimes he had to sacrifice a painting to make room for new inspiration.
"Today, looking back, I feel some regret about those decisions. However, those situations were also part of my artistic development and maturation and shaped the artist I am today" he emphasizes.
One motif that certainly dominates his entire artistic life is horses. Growing up in Livno, he was surrounded by these powerful animals that still roam freely in the Livno fields today. In his eyes, the horse symbolizes earthly strength and beauty, a symbol of man's perfect reflection - that desired, better inner projection of ourselves that is often difficult, and even impossible, to achieve in reality.
"The horse, with which I established a connection in early childhood, represents an excellent motif for exploring the human ideal reflection. Through my works, I explore themes of alienation, various states of the human spirit, man's position in society, our inner conflicts that accompany contemporary society" he explains, adding that for him, a powerful artistic work must carry its unique energy and message, leaving a profound impact on the observer to be considered special.
However, Konta supports the complete freedom of observers in interpreting his sculptures, accepting that every interpretation of the work is conditioned by the individual's personal experience and understanding of the world.
Art, he emphasizes, is indeed present in everything, even in watches where it manifests through aesthetics, creativity, and innovation in design, as well as through the precision, engineering skill, and knowledge required to create a functional and reliable mechanism. Moreover, he says, watches also carry a deeper philosophical dimension related to time and its impact on our lives, connecting us with universal questions about time and our role in the world.
ARTISTIC SIGNATURE
Thus, he recalled his first watch, the Raketa watchmaker, which he bought in the early 60s of the last century. He no longer remembers the model name, but says it was a Russian mechanical watch that has remained in his memory for its quality and reliability. However, if he had to link one watch with his artistic signature, he says it would undoubtedly be the Omega De Ville Tourbillon.
"That watch is one of the examples of how art and technology can intertwine and create something unique and inspiring. In that sense, my sculptural work strives to achieve just that - to create an artistic work that will inspire others" Konta says.
HIDDEN POETRY
The story about watches brought us back to the inevitable question of the passage of time. We asked him at the end by which work he would like to be remembered, but he could not single out one because, he says, each represents a part of him and his artistic journey. Instead, he wants to be remembered for his entire opus and contribution to the art world.
However, on the threshold of the eighth decade of his life, he revealed to us a previously hidden part of his artistic creation – poetry.
"I began writing poetry back in 1977, I remember, on a rainy day when I moved to Novi Zagreb. At that time, I wrote poetry primarily as a means of introspection - as a way to explore and understand my thoughts and feelings. Poetry provided me with the opportunity to express personal emotions that I didn't necessarily want to share with the wider audience. It was an intimate part of me that I wanted to keep to myself, but at the same time, it served as therapy. Today, when I look back at those poems, I see how important they were and how much they actually influenced my later works" Konta tells us, adding that he is aware that this poetry will one day, when the right time comes, surely be published.
A selection of Josip Konta's works can be viewed at the now-traditional exhibitions in the galleries of the top hotels Bellevue and Boutique Hotel Alhambra on the island of Losinj.
Text by: Mak Bucela
An interview on the occasion of… (2018)
Contemporary Croatian artist, academic sculptor and painter Josip Konta, is the name of the current artistic production, the author of a large and complex sculptural painting opus.
Mr. Konta, what's new in the studio? It is well known that you are staying in the workplace every day and working. We see here a series of new paintings in the studio, a series of oil dedicated to the sea, then a continuation of the research of a favorite motif, which is a group, with some acts.
My workspace is also my living space. Also, I'm preparing a retrospective exhibition of my sculpture opus and a lot of work ahead of me. As far as current painting is concerned, everything is modest, considering how much I worked before. I work slowly, think and watch. I must be in the right mood to work.
What does your experience say, what is the key to approach?
First, I must find content, it's a motive. If there is no content, then my idea is scarce. There must be a strong will. After that, the most important thing is the color relationship, then the relationship of light and shadow.
You paint an upset sea covered with gale.
Yes, blurred. These paintings have no strong contrasts. But still, the sea is disturbed, as before the storm and it has nothing to do with time, but the interior behind the scenes projected outward and warns us.
You are not interested in the motive of the calm sea?
I would love to paint a calm sea, but I do not feel it, I feel what I am painting, and sea is a medium. I intend to drive the viewer of the painting to think.
You continue to paint the motif of a group, a group of people.
That motive is very attractive today, I am making compositions with several figures, three women and one man, or a group of people with a horseman. The figures are mostly located in nature, outside of their habitat, exposed to the environment, at different times of day and in various situations, in conversation or in silence. I'm most interested in the composition because it produces a certain event which I want the observer to recognize or suppose it.
You continually paint the act.
I do not work intensively, but occasionally I come back to it. The acts are prone to awe-inspiring eroticism, I have always moved from the vulgarity.
What's new with sculptures?
I have an idea, but I need strength and space for sculpture. I'm getting ready. I'm currently casting my bronze sculptures for the upcoming sculpture retrospective exhibition.
Plans related to painting
I would like to finish an oil series of 70 x 50 or 80 x 60 cm, at least twenty, so we'll see what's next.
Interview led by: Miroslav Pelikan
Contemporary Croatian artist, academic sculptor and painter Josip Konta, is the name of the current artistic production, the author of a large and complex sculptural painting opus.
Mr. Konta, what's new in the studio? It is well known that you are staying in the workplace every day and working. We see here a series of new paintings in the studio, a series of oil dedicated to the sea, then a continuation of the research of a favorite motif, which is a group, with some acts.
My work space is also my living space. I'm trying to solve a suitable work space, a real studio where I could start sculpting again. Also, I'm preparing a retrospective exhibition of my sculpture opus and a lot of work ahead of me. As far as current painting is concerned, everything is modest, considering how much I worked before. I work slowly, think and watch. I must be in the right mood to work.
What does your experience say, what is the key to approach?
First, I must find content, it's a motive. If there is no content, then my idea is scarce. There must be a strong will. After that, the most important thing is the color relationship, then the relationship of light and shadow.
You paint an upset sea covered with gale.
Yes, blurred. These paintings have no strong contrasts. But still, the sea is disturbed, as before the storm and it has nothing to do with time, but the interior behind the scenes projected outward and warns us.
You are not interested in the motive of the calm sea?
I would love to paint a calm sea, but I do not feel it, I feel what I am painting, and sea is a medium. I intend to drive the viewer of the painting to think.
You continue to paint the motif of a group, a group of people.
That motive is very attractive today, I am making compositions with several figures, three women and one man, or a group of people with a horseman. The figures are mostly located in nature, outside of their habitat, exposed to the environment, at different times of day and in various situations, in conversation or in silence. I'm most interested in the composition because it produces a certain event which I want the observer to recognize or suppose it.
You continually paint the act.
I do not work intensively, but occasionally I come back to it. The acts are prone to awe-inspiring eroticism, I have always moved from the vulgarity.
What's new with sculptures?
I have an idea, but I need strength and space for sculpture. I'm getting ready. I'm currently casting my bronze sculptures for the upcoming sculpture retrospective exhibition.
Plans related to painting
I would like to finish an oil series of 70 x 50 or 80 x 60 cm, at least twenty, so we'll see what's next.
Interview led by: Miroslav Pelikan
Josip Konta prepares a retrospective exhibition
A contemporary Croatian artist, the academic painter Josip Konta (born in Livno, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts (ALU) in Zagreb in 1972, in 1974 he completed his postgraduate studies by attending the sculpting master class of A. Augustinčić, worked as Director of Artistic Foundry of ALU in Zagreb for a couple of years, has, up to now, worked as a solo artist, exhibited his works at many exhibitions throughout Croatia and abroad) has for the last couple of months been preparing himself for the oncoming retrospective exhibition.
Mr Konta, we have met in your studio at the time of your intensive preparations for a retrospective exhibition due next year. You have engaged in painting, sculpture and graphics in the past period. How do you envisage the presentation, choice of the best among your comprehensive opuses? How many works do you wish to exhibit?
You have noticed well; oils on canvas, sculptures and, recently, graphics. I would also mention drawings to which I devoted a lot of my time. Research and work with these media have been my preoccupation from the start, ever since I embraced art or, should I say, art embraced me. I was looking for my way of the artistic expression, permeated with my feelings, my reflections about the purpose of life and the experience of the world we live in, my experience of life and aesthetic subjects. As for the presentation, it poses no problem as such. Indeed, I have a lot of works that have not been exhibited yet, which is where my principal motive lies. Difficulties with preparation as such are of technical nature. Namely, I want to cast sculptures in bronze, which requires substantial financial means. I am not sure how many works I am going to exhibit, maybe some 25 sculptures, 25-30 oils on canvas and the same number of graphics. Although the number of hitherto non-exhibited works is by far greater.
In the early 1970s you graduated from ALU in Zagreb, you also attended the specialization with Augustinčić. What approach to art did you have then? How did you see your first real professional steps? To what extent die ALU enable your solo career?
To enroll in the ALU at the time was a great thing for me and a postgraduate study with Prof. Augustinčić was a finishing touch. The academy offers the opportunity of artistic maturation, whereas youth and zeal dictated my wish for success. However, every start is a start on the way to the unknown and real formation is to begin. The ALU can indeed prepare the artist for his solo activity. However, in the pursuit of that goal one must be brave, persevering and almost stubborn.
Painting in your studio has grown in parallel with sculpting. But is there anything special, hidden and characteristic of the relationship between you painting and sculpting?
What has remained hidden is only the poetry, which I wrote for my own sake. I have preserved some of it and keep it jealously for myself.
What is vital for understanding your paintings?
Those who love my art, common people, surprise me with their approach, interpretation and understanding of my works so that I myself am taken by surprise. Who am I to interfere with this magic?
You have been pointing out the importance of the painting cycle dedicated to the „Group“. What is so attractive and invaluable in that cycle?
The cycle „Groups“ attracted me because of the composition of events. There is always something happening in groups, people come and go. Some are static, some on the move. What is common for them is only the alienation. A subject that offers inexhaustible possibilities.
Of many sculpture subjects, you like horses.
Horses, an inexhaustible subject of many artists and of myself, too. I want a horse in the painting, as well as in sculpture, to carry my signature, to distinguish it from others. I think I have accomplished this.
Also interesting are your portraits, and rather peculiar.
I have made a limited number of portraits. But, when I make a portrait, I always want it to impart a gesture, a mystic look hidden behind thin mist.
Let us mention your dedication to drawing, especially dry pastel.
Pastel drawings have been in the focus of my interest lately. From a line, stroke up to the whole composition. They offer great possibilities in expression, which makes me happy. I have made an interesting opus of pastel drawings and I am contemplating their inclusion in my retrospective exhibition.
You have devoted a certain portion of your time to graphics with popular or so-to-say everyday motifs lately.
Graphics, in my opinion, must be acceptable, accessible and simple in its expression and motif. The important thing is that to me all these motifs are acceptable – sea, horses, nude figures, dancers, vedute of Zagreb ... We have accordingly opened a web site dedicated to my graphics – www.JosipKontaArt.com.
You have been active in Fine Arts for fifty years. How did you assess the general conditions in art fifty years ago and how do you assess them nowadays?
Looking back on the art over the last 50 years of my activity, I think that the visual art contents were better before. By far greater number of exhibitions by domestic artists, whether older or younger, took place, which had a fairly good turnout. I think that people had a slower paced lifestyle and were able to stop at the station of art more easily and more comfortably. There were cafés where we used to meet and discuss art, poetry, aesthetics. That was not the time for political commendations, but art was characterized by a slower rhythm. Today I hope to meet with assessments of a solo cultural creation on equal terms and I wish we all had more time to indulge in art and introspection.
Looking back on your artistic development, what do you feel? How did you put up with turbulent times and how with those utterly peaceful?
In the early years of my life I was more active. I worked sometimes 15 hours and even more, mostly at night. Besides my visual artistic work, I was in search of the market to provide for living and creation, which implied great effort and denials at the same time. However, I tried not to let compromise enter my art. There were also periodically endless periods of helplessness and disappointment with the society I lived in because not all artists and their work were treated on equal terms. Nevertheless, this might have made me stronger and in time I came to support myself more easily. Now I am living and creating in a peaceful period.
How important is the artist's attitude toward media, market and the public?
The relationship between media and the artist is of extreme importance. The media can promote an artist and support his artistic value. However, before entering such relationship, an opus needs to be created. To make a single fuss about something makes no sense. Work and creation must be the only constant in art.
Have you painted everything you wanted?
Naturally, I haven't. To make it would have required two lives of mine. But to dream about it does not cost anything.
How much one changes through artistic development, for example over the span of some fifty years?
One changes continuously over the time anyway. Life shapes you day after day and so do your wishes change. As for the artist, what remains is his work with which he records his reflections and life cycles. That is the heritage of the time he lived in, that is his way of living also after life. What can be more beautiful and sincere that that?
Interview with Josip Konta for a culture magazine, Croatian Letter, led by the poet and writer Mr. Miroslav Pelikan.
A contemporary Croatian artist, the academic painter Josip Konta (born in Livno, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts (ALU) in Zagreb in 1972, in 1974 he completed his postgraduate studies by attending the sculpting master class of A. Augustinčić, worked as Director of Artistic Foundry of ALU in Zagreb for a couple of years, has, up to now, worked as a solo artist, exhibited his works at many exhibitions throughout Croatia and abroad) has for the last couple of months been preparing himself for the oncoming retrospective exhibition.
Mr Konta, we have met in your studio at the time of your intensive preparations for a retrospective exhibition due next year. You have engaged in painting, sculpture and graphics in the past period. How do you envisage the presentation, choice of the best among your comprehensive opuses? How many works do you wish to exhibit?
You have noticed well; oils on canvas, sculptures and, recently, graphics. I would also mention drawings to which I devoted a lot of my time. Research and work with these media have been my preoccupation from the start, ever since I embraced art or, should I say, art embraced me. I was looking for my way of the artistic expression, permeated with my feelings, my reflections about the purpose of life and the experience of the world we live in, my experience of life and aesthetic subjects. As for the presentation, it poses no problem as such. Indeed, I have a lot of works that have not been exhibited yet, which is where my principal motive lies. Difficulties with preparation as such are of technical nature. Namely, I want to cast sculptures in bronze, which requires substantial financial means. I am not sure how many works I am going to exhibit, maybe some 25 sculptures, 25-30 oils on canvas and the same number of graphics. Although the number of hitherto non-exhibited works is by far greater.
In the early 1970s you graduated from ALU in Zagreb, you attended also the specialization with Augustinčić. What approach to art did you have then? How did you see your first real professional steps? To what extent die ALU enable your solo career?
To enrol in the ALU at the time was a great thing for me and a postgraduate study with Prof. Augustinčić was a finishing touch. The academy offers the opportunity of artistic maturation, whereas youth and zeal dictated my wish for success. However, every start is a start on the way to the unknown and real formation is to begin actually. The ALU can indeed prepare the artist for his solo activity. However, in the pursuit of that goal one must be brave, persevering and almost stubborn.
Painting in your studio has grown in parallel with sculpting. But, is there anything special, hidden and characteristic of the relationship between you painting and sculpting?
What has remained hidden is only the poetry, which I wrote for my own sake. I have preserved some of it and keep it jealously for myself.Y
What is vital for understanding your paintings?
Those who love my art, common people, surprise me with their approach, interpretation and understanding of my works so that I myself am taken by surprise. Who am I to interfere with this magic?
You have been pointing out the importance of the painting cycle dedicated to the „Group“. What is so attractive and invaluable in that cycle?
The cycle „Groups“ attracted me because of the composition of events. There is always something happening in groups, people come and go. Some are static, some on the move. What is common for them is only the alienation. A subject that offers inexhaustible possibilities.
Of many sculpture subjects, you like horses.
Horses, an inexhaustible subject of many artists and of myself, too. I want a horse in the painting, as well as in sculpture, to carry my signature, to distinguish it from others. I think I have accomplished this.
Also interesting are your portraits, and rather peculiar.
I have made a limited number of portraits. But, when I make a portrait, I always want it to impart a gesture, a mystic look hidden behind thin mist.
Let us mention your dedication to drawing, especially dry pastel.
Pastel drawings have been in the focus of my interest lately. From a line, stroke up to the whole composition. They offer great possibilities in expression, which makes me happy. I have made an interesting opus of pastel drawings and I am contemplating their inclusion in my retrospective exhibition.
You have devoted a certain portion of your time to graphics with popular or so-to-say everyday motifs lately.
Graphics, in my opinion, must be acceptable, accessible and simple in its expression and motif. The important thing is that to me all these motifs are acceptable – sea, horses, nude figures, dancers, vedute of Zagreb ... We have accordingly opened a web site dedicated to my graphics – www.JosipKontaArt.com.
You have been active in Fine Arts for fifty years. How did you assess the general conditions in art fifty years ago and how do you assess them nowadays?
Looking back on the art over the last 50 years of my activity, I think that the visual art contents were better before. By far greater number of exhibitions by domestic artists, whether older or younger, took place, which had a fairly good turnout. I think that people had a slower paced lifestyle and were able to stop at the station of art more easily and more comfortably. There were cafés where we used to meet and discuss art, poetry, aesthetics. That was not the time for political commendations, but art was characterized by a slower rhythm. Today I hope to meet with assessments of a solo cultural creation on equal terms and I wish we all had more time to indulge in art and introspection.
Looking back on you artistic development, what do you feel? How did you put up with turbulent times and how with those utterly peaceful?
n the early years of my life I was more active. I worked sometimes 15 hours and even more, mostly at night. Besides my visual artistic work, I was in search of the market to provide for living and creation, which implied great effort and denials at the same time. However, I tried not to let compromise enter my art. There were also periodically endless periods of helplessness and disappointment with the society I lived in because not all artists and their work were treated on equal terms. Nevertheless, this might have made me stronger and in time I came to support myself more easily. Now I am living and creating in a peaceful period.
How important is the artist's attitude toward media, market and the public?
The relationship between media and the artist is of extreme importance. The media can promote an artist and support his artistic value. However, before entering into such relationship, an opus needs to be created. To make a single fuss about something makes no sense. Work and creation must be the only constant in art. YY
Have you painted everything you wanted?
Naturally, I haven't. To make it would have required two lives of mine. But to dream about it does not cost anything.
How much one changes through artistic development, for example over the span of some fifty years?
One changes continuously over the time anyway. Life shapes you day after day and so do you wishes change. As for the artist, what remains is his work with which he records his reflections and life cycles. That is the heritage of the time he lived in, that is his way of living also after life. What can be more beautiful and sincere that that?
Interview with Josip Konta for a culture magazine, Croatian Letter, led by the poet and writer Mr. Miroslav Pelikan.
What is new in the studio?
Josip Konta, the academic painter (born in Livno, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts (ALU) in Zagreb in 1972, to spend next two years attending the sculpting master class of A. Augustinčić, has worked as a solo artist for years, realized a number of prominent cycles and exhibited at a number of solo exhibitions) has, in the last couple of months, gained momentum dedicating his time to a new cycle expressed in dry pastel technique.
What is new in the studio?
I have focused on pastel, dry pastel lately. My paintings range from diverse vedute of the city of Zagreb, through landscapes to horses, horses playing, which is a subject I am very much fond of.
What must a specific motif possess to attract you?
First of all, I must be in the mood for a specific motif. Then I work on it. I prefer working on a motif that I choose on the spur of the moment, horses, people, compositions.
Does the new cycle have a name?
For the time being, it doesn't. But speaking of it, I must point out that a part of pastels is transferred into screen prints. Thus, Zagreb will be presented in a series of some fifteen motifs. From the Cathedral, through Strossmayer's Promenade to the Theatre etc.
The pastel is often used as a preparation for the oil. But first of all, what has dry pastel brought to you?
Indeed, speed, which enables creativity in expression where there are various possibilities. Paper, already with its choice of color, offers peculiarity of the substrate, so that a drawing and a substrate can be nicely combined.
How many pastel paintings have you made till today?
A bit more than thirty I should say. I continue to be focused on pastel. However, when I get tired of it, I turn to oil. Thus, a couple of oil paintings were made in recent period. Not to forget, neither do I interrupt my work on the sculpture, the figure of a horse. A couple of them were made in recent periods as well. You know, my mind is always set on the sculpture, and I intend to revert to it as soon as I finish my pastel cycle.
You have practically been continuously preoccupied with pastel, oil paintings and sculpture?
That is right, I continuously work on everything I started a long time ago. I continue my work on figuration, and I enjoy working in the studio very much. I pay attention to the form; I love a dynamic move. The move is what I find particularly intriguing. When you put a rider on the horse, many possibilities arise.
Say something about oil paintings.
I am very fond of my „groups„ ... They are always there, in a space, during walk or search.
When shall we have the opportunity of seeing some of your new works at the exhibition?
I have long contemplated the idea of a stratified sculpture exhibition. But the work as such is more important than exhibiting, I should say. An artist must always be in contact with the material. I admit that sometimes a specific exhibition and displayed works take me by surprise. Namely, I start asking myself whether they belong there.
Do you sometimes have a dilemma? Exhibit only individual cycles or combine them into an exhibiting whole.
Yes, there is always a dilemma. The artist is constantly confronted with a temptation. You know, the essence of art is work. And when I eventually finish a painting, I ask myself whether I need it such as it is and whether it should have come out different after all. An artist must be critical. On the other hand, it is important that an artist takes a position and hold on to it. I will soon turn seventy and I sometimes ask myself whether I would have changed something in my work.
Interview with Josip Konta for a culture magazine, Croatian Letter, led by the poet and writer Mr. Miroslav Pelikan.
Josip Konta, the academic painter (born in Livno, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts (ALU) in Zagreb in 1972, to spend next two years attending the sculpting master class of A. Augustinčić, has worked as a solo artist for years, realized a number of prominent cycles and exhibited at a number of solo exhibitions) has, in the last couple of months, gained momentum dedicating his time to a new cycle expressed in dry pastel technique.
What is new in the studio?
I have focused on pastel, dry pastel lately. My paintings range from diverse vedute of the city of Zagreb, through landscapes to horses, horses playing, which is a subject I am very much fond of.
What must a specific motif possess to attract you?
First of all, I must be in the mood for a specific motif. Then I work on it. I prefer working on a motif that I choose on the spur of the moment, horses, people, compositions.
Does the new cycle have a name?
For the time being, it doesn't. But speaking of it, I must point out that a part of pastels is transferred into screen prints. Thus, Zagreb will be presented in a series of some fifteen motifs. From the Cathedral, through Strossmayer's Promenade to the Theatre etc.
The pastel is often used as a preparation for the oil. But first of all, what has dry pastel brought to you?
Indeed, speed, which enables creativity in expression where there are various possibilities. Paper, already with its choice of colour, offers peculiarity of the substrate, so that a drawing and a substrate can be nicely combined.
How many pastel paintings have you made till today?
A bit more than thirty I should say. I continue to be focused on pastel. However, when I get tired of it, I turn to oil. Thus, a couple of oil paintings were made in recent period. Not to forget, neither do I interrupt my work on the sculpture, the figure of a horse. A couple of them were made in recent periods as well. You know, my mind is always set on the sculpture and I intend to revert to it as soon as I finish my pastel cycle.
You have practically been continuously preoccupied with pastel, oil paintings and sculpture?
That is right, I continuously work on everything I started a long time ago. I continue my work on figuration, and I enjoy working in the studio very much. I pay attention to the form, I love a dynamic move. The move is what I find particularly intriguing. When you put a rider on the horse, many possibilities arise.
Say something about oil paintings.
I am very fond of my „ groups „ ... They are always there, in a space, during walk or search.
When shall we have the opportunity of seeing some of your new works at the exhibition?
I have long contemplated the idea of a stratified sculpture exhibition. But the work as such is more important than exhibiting, I should say. An artist must always be in contact with the material. I admit that sometimes a specific exhibition and displayed works take me by surprise. Namely, I start asking myself whether they belong there.
Do you sometimes have a dilemma? Exhibit only individual cycles or combine them into an exhibiting whole.
Yes, there is always a dilemma. The artist is constantly confronted with a temptation. You know, the essence of art is work. And when I eventually finish a painting, I ask myself whether I need it such as it is and whether it should have come out different after all. An artist must be critical. On the other hand, it is important that an artist takes a position and hold on to it. I will soon turn seventy and I sometimes ask myself whether I would have changed something in my work.
Interview with Josip Konta for a culture magazine, Croatian Letter, led by the poet and writer Mr. Miroslav Pelikan.
We had a conversation with Mr. Josip Konta, academic sculptor and painter, in his art studio where there are many sculptures and oil paintings. On the walls there is no more space even for the hanging of a smaller painting. Along the walls there are many sculptures from different cycles of creativity of this artist. Our curiosity was kept under control by wary and nervous terrier, guarding works of art for which he is in charge.
Thank you for your time. Tell us, how your long artistic path started?
I was born in Livno. As a child in the primary school, I felt the need for artistic expression. And that gave me the will, not only to draw, but to explore color in watercolor technique, even in oil. Later I started doing sculptures in clay and plaster, so I finally decided to go to the High School of Applied Arts in Sarajevo. After graduating from the High School of Applied Arts in Sarajevo, which was then a five-year school, I enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, which I finished within the period, and then I started post-graduate studies with professor Antun Augustinčić and became his assistant. I've been working for some time on a monument of Matija Gubec erected near Oršić castle in Gornja Stubica. After completing two years of postgraduate studies, I came to work in the Art Foundry of ALU, where I was three years head of casting bronze monuments.
Let's go back to the beginning. How a small community accepted your affinity for the artistic expression?
On such a question a man can only give a subjective response. Some from the immediate surroundings have been accepted it some were surprised, some did not believe. If I do something good, they thought someone else made it, and that I purchased it somewhere. Somewhere at the end of primary school, there was an exhibition where they were finally convinced that it was still my work, and they were in the great wonderment.
How has family accepted your selection?
There were five of us, brothers and sisters. I was the youngest and the only one with the affinity for the fine arts. My parents supported me.
How did they comment your artistic affinity?
They did not say anything special. They only wondered how I would live if I just deal with art.
You said five-year Secondary School of Applied Arts in Sarajevo. What was it like, how old were you when you left your home?
I went to this school because it was the best school of applied arts in the former state, I was thirteen. In Sarajevo, there were no academy and education in that school was very similar to the way education at the academy. Morning was the practical work, drawing and modeling, theory was during the afternoon and in the evening there was drawing of the evening act.
Where did you live in Sarajevo?
I was a boarder, I lived in a rented, financially affordable rooms. I liked to be alone because I love to create in peace, and I managed to partially finance myself with my work.
How did you finance the secondary education? Parents or...?
At first, I was fully financed by parents. After a while I got a scholarship, and then I, as I mastered the technology of casting and processing of plaster, worked with older, more-established artists as an assistant. For example, for famous sculptor Marijan Kocković I poured casts of his sculptures in plaster. And with Professor Hižar, who was teaching technology of plaster, I went into the business of making replicas of old amphorae that we exhibited and sold in Hotel Esplanade. People could not tell the difference between our replica and the real ancient Roman amphorae. These are jobs that helped me to finance my education.
What happened after high school?
After I graduated high school, I went to Dubrovnik where I poured and carved in stone for the famous sculptor Marijan Kocković. I was in Dubrovnik for four months, and then I went to Zagreb to enroll the academy, where I was the only one in my generation who immediately enrolled.
At that time there were only three academies in this region - in Ljubljana, Zagreb and Belgrade. How was that part of your life?
Nothing special. Work every day, coming to class, just exercise and work. In the morning we had a practice, in the afternoon we had a theory, and in the evening, we had a drawing of the evening act. We changed classes of more professors, with one we studied only portraits, with another we studied only act, study of the body, then the study of the body and body composition, etc. With such teaching rhythm, in my free time I was looking for my way of expression, I investigated new material. I worked in wood, terracotta. Art Foundry was next to the Academy, and I often went there to work as an assistant at chasing sculptures. With the education at the Academy, I also learned the whole technological process of casting art in bronze.
What happened after the academy? You have completed post-graduate studies, and then?
After that I worked in the Art Foundry of ALU, I was chief of the foundry for about three years. At that time our biggest project was Kršnić’s Tesla, which we finished in almost impossible short term and delivered it to the customer, and which is set in the United States, Niagara Falls. However, I decided for direction of freelance artist and in that profession, I exist over 33 years. Work in the art foundry, although I have achieved significant results, denied my need for artistic expression. In that period, in the sense of my own creativity, due to my large engagement in the foundry of art, I was fallen almost to the level of hobbyists, where I was able to create only during weekends. Although I knew that being a free artist is quite difficult in terms of securing existence, I have decided and I was able to withstand all these years, sometimes experiencing tough times, but more often happy periods until the recent retirement. Of course, I could not do only what was in my taste, I also worked under orders for collectors, according to some of their ideas. I did not refuse such jobs.
Tell us about the exhibitions. During the certain period of time, you have been active, and then you were gone?
Regarding exhibitions, I made seven, eight solo exhibitions and a fair number of group exhibitions. That was financially quite exhausting. But I was not stopped by finances, I stopped at the time in which conceptual art was actual, which has dominated the market, and I did not have touch points with conceptual art. Then, there were less and less visitors to the exhibitions. People come to the opening and after there is no one else. This situation in our society, in my opinion, runs over 20 years. However, I continue to create. Now I make more oil paintings and pastels draw, I make sculptures a little less because of lack of space, space for storage.
We presented your art prints on the Internet to the lovers of art, now the dominant medium. What are your thoughts on this subject?
In the recent period, I decided to produce art prints. This is my copyright work that is multiplied in a defined small editions, the price is appropriate and acceptable for someone who likes art, but cannot separate substantial money for the fine arts. Uniques or originals always have their price and for many people they are expensive. Especially in an economic crisis such as we have today.
Regarding art prints, there are themes - people, horses, dancers, riders, nudes, sea? However, there is also the motive of Zagreb. Why Zagreb?
My themes are still present. However, sometimes I jump into topics such as Zagreb. I want to offer something for those people for which Zagreb, as well as for me, plays a major role in the life and define him.
What the city of Zagreb means to you?
Zagreb is the environment in which I work, I create. Zagreb inspires me. I live several decades in Zagreb. Everything that I have achieved, I have achieved in Zagreb. Not only that I graduated here from the Academy, here I further perfected in the arts, here I got married, devised and raised my family. Here are my children, grandchildren. Zagreb is everything to me. That is why, occasionally ... Before I also drew motives of Zagreb, but by order ... But then it was not my theme in a constant expression. I was preoccupied with figures of riders, walkers, dancers, and horses ... Sometimes the landscape or act.
They say that in your paintings sculptural approach can be recognized. Is there any truth in that?
That constantly follows me. They say that I'm in the sculpturing as a painter and that in painting I am a sculptor. It is a matter of those who see me like that, experience. I perceive that differently. I consider that a single handwriting that is networked between my sculptures, paintings and drawings. I want that it is mine and recognizable. I do not want to escape from that, nor can I. This is just my way of expressing my handwriting.
It seems that you do not complicate your experience with art, you do not theorize a lot in this regard?
No, once I have an idea, I try it to set as soon as possible. Sometimes I work on the artwork for a long time, depending on the situation, mood, theme. Sometimes I can finish the work in really short time; however, I never desist from my views. I have tried to go into abstraction, but it is not my way of expression.
In your artworks is there something poetical, we know that you wrote poetry? Are there any links?
Of course it has a link. Poetry is a short inspiration of high intensity, as well as fine art.
When you create, do you have a plan?
When I create artwork, I am trying to be poetical. But how much the artwork will be expressionistic, more impressionistic, more figurative or less figuratively ... I do not know until I get closer to the end of creating artwork. But it remains recognizable in its content, in its form, its color, in its composition. And, of course, recognizable in its message.
Do you have any message to art lovers?
My personal messages are not anything special. The messages are hidden in my creativity. My favorite one is that one who sees my artwork, call it by name as he pleases.
You do not function as a merchant with your artworks? Is money important to you?
No, I'm not a trader... I do not have additional power for that. While I create paintings or statues, the creation, the art occurs. When I paint a painting, it's over for me. Now, whether someone likes it or not ... Even I am sometimes skeptical... Maybe I could do something different ... That haunts me constantly; I cannot get rid of it. Again, the assessment is on others, to make their own judgments. And mine is to stay who I am.
All these years you are living as a freelance artist, without marketing support, without the support of any system, or state structures?
I did not ask for the funds because of my personal attitudes, and sometimes I did not have the support of politics because of my open expressing of my opinion, and one binds another. I was not able to fit in those passed times, and I'm not successful in integrating in this last, modern times. Everything I did, I financed by my resources and my work, and that makes me proud. But it's easy when money does not mean too much.
We had a conversation with Mr. Josip Konta, academic sculptor and painter, in his apartment, actually art studio where there are hundreds of sculptures and oil paintings. On the walls there is no more space even for the hanging of a smaller painting. Along the walls there are numerous sculptures from different cycles of creativity of this artist. Our curiosity was kept under control by wary and nervous terrier, guarding works of art for which he is in charge.
Thank you for your time. Tell us, how your long artistic path started?
I was born in Livno. As a child in the primary school, I felt the need for artistic expression. And that gave me the will, not only to draw, but to explore color in watercolor technique, even in oil. Later I started doing sculptures in clay and plaster, so I finally decided to go to the High School of Applied Arts in Sarajevo. After graduating from the High School of Applied Arts in Sarajevo, which was then a five-year school, I enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, which I finished within the period, and then I started post-graduate studies with professor Antun Augustinčić and became his assistant. I've been working for some time on a monument of Matija Gubec erected near Oršić castle in Gornja Stubica. After completing two years of postgraduate studies, I came to work in the Art Foundry of ALU, where I was three years head of casting bronze monuments.
Let's go back to the beginning. How a small community accepted your affinity for the artistic expression?
On such a question a man can only give a subjective response. Some from the immediate surroundings have been accepted it some were surprised, some did not believe. If I do something good, they thought someone else made it , and that I purchased it somewhere. Somewhere at the end of primary school, there was an exhibition where they were finally convinced that it was still my work, and they were in the great wonderment.
How has family accepted your selection?
There were five of us, brothers and sisters. I was the youngest and the only one with the affinity for the fine arts. My parents supported me.
How did they comment your artistic affinity?
They did not say anything special. They only wondered how I would live if I just deal with art.
You said five-year Secondary School of Applied Arts in Sarajevo. What was it like, how old were you when you left your home?
I went to this school because it was the best school of applied arts in the former state, I was thirteen. In Sarajevo, there were no academy and education in that school was very similar to the way education at the academy. Morning was the practical work, drawing and modeling, theory was during the afternoon and in the evening there was drawing of the evening act.
Where did you live in Sarajevo?
I was a boarder, I lived in a rented, financially affordable rooms. I liked to be alone because I love to create in peace, and I managed to partially finance myself with my work .
How did you finance the secondary education? Parents or...?
At first I was fully financed by parents. After a while I got a scholarship, and then I, as I mastered the technology of casting and processing of plaster, worked with older, more-established artists as an assistant. For example, for famous sculptor Marijan Kocković I poured casts of his sculptures in plaster. And with Professor Hižar, who was teaching technology of plaster, I went into the business of making replicas of old amphorae that we exhibited and sold in Hotel Esplanade. People could not tell the difference between our replica and the real ancient Roman amphorae. These are jobs that helped me to finance my education.
What happened after high school?
After I graduated high school, I went to Dubrovnik where I poured and carved in stone for the famous sculptor Marijan Kocković. I was in Dubrovnik for four months, and then I went to Zagreb to enroll the academy , where I was the only one in my generation who immediately enrolled.
At that time there were only three academies in this region - in Ljubljana, Zagreb and Belgrade. How was that part of your life?
Nothing special. Work every day, coming to class, just exercise and work. In the morning we had a practice, in the afternoon we had a theory, and in the evening we had a drawing of the evening act. We changed classes of more professors, with one we studied only portraits, with another we studied only act, study of the body, then the study of the body and body composition, etc. With such teaching rhythm, in my free time I was looking for my way of expression, I investigated new material. I worked in wood, terracotta. Art Foundry was next to the Academy, and I often went there to work as an assistant at chasing sculptures. With the education at the Academy I also learned the whole technological process of casting art in bronze.
What happened after the academy? You have completed post-graduate studies, and then?
After that I worked in the Art Foundry of ALU, I was chief of the foundry for about three years. At that time our biggest project was Kršnić’s Tesla, which we finished in almost impossible short term and delivered it to the customer and which is set in the United States, Niagara Falls. However, I decided for direction of freelance artist and in that profession I exist over 33 years. Work in the art foundry, although I have achieved significant results, denied my need for artistic expression. In that period, in the sense of my own creativity, due to my large engagement in the foundry of art, I was fallen almost to the level of hobbyists, where I was able to create only during weekends. Although I knew that being a free artist is quite difficult in terms of securing existence, I have decided and I was able to withstand all these years, sometimes experiencing tough times, but more often happy periods until the recent retirement. Of course, I could not do only what was in my taste, I also worked under orders for collectors, according to some of their ideas. I did not refuse such jobs.
Tell us about the exhibitions. During the certain period of time you have been active, and then you were gone?
Regarding exhibitions, I made seven, eight solo exhibitions and a fair number of group exhibitions. That was financially quite exhausting. But I was not stopped by finances, I stopped at the time in which conceptual art was actual, which has dominated the market, and I did not have touch points with conceptual art. Then, there were less and less visitors to the exhibitions . People come to the opening and after there is no one else. This situation in our society, in my opinion, runs over 20 years. However, I still continue to create. Now I make more oil paintings and pastels draw, I make sculptures a little less because of lack of space, space for storage.
We presented your art prints on the Internet to the lovers of art, now the dominant medium. What are your thoughts on this subject?
In the recent period, I decided to produce art prints. This is my copyright work that is multiplied in a defined small editions, the price is appropriate and acceptable for someone who likes art, but cannot separate substantial money for the fine arts. Uniques or originals always have their price and for many people they are expensive. Especially in an economic crisis such as we have today.
Regarding art prints, there are themes - people, horses, dancers, riders, nudes, sea? However, there is also the motive of Zagreb. Why Zagreb?
My themes are still present. However, sometimes I jump into topics such as Zagreb. I want to offer something for those people for which Zagreb, as well as for me, plays a major role in the life and define him.
What the city of Zagreb means to you?
Zagreb is the environment in which I work, I create. Zagreb inspires me. I live several decades in Zagreb. Everything that I have achieved, I have achieved in Zagreb. Not only that I graduated here from the Academy, here I further perfected in the arts, here I got married, devised and raised my family. Here are my children, grandchildren. Zagreb is everything to me. That is why, occasionally ... Before I also drew motives of Zagreb, but by order ... But then it was not my theme in a constant expression. I was preoccupied with figures of riders, walkers, dancers, and horses ... Sometimes the landscape or act.
They say that in your paintings sculptural approach can be recognized. Is there any truth in that?
That constantly follows me. They say that I'm in the sculpturing as a painter and that in painting I am a sculptor. It is a matter of those who see me like that, experience. I perceive that differently. I consider that a single handwriting that is networked between my sculptures, paintings and drawings. I want that it is mine and recognizable. I do not want to escape from that, nor can I. This is just my way of expressing my handwriting.
It seems that you do not complicate your experience with art, you do not theorize a lot in this regard?
No, once I have an idea, I try it to set as soon as possible. Sometimes I work on the artwork for a long time, depending on the situation, mood, theme. Sometimes I can finish the work in really short time; however, I never desist from my views. I have tried to go into abstraction, but it is not my way of expression.
In your artworks is there something poetical, we know that you wrote poetry? Are there any links?
Of course it has a link. Poetry is a short inspiration of high intensity, as well as fine art.
When you create, do you have a plan?
When I create artwork, I am trying to be poetical. But how much the artwork will be expressionistic, more impressionistic, more figurative or less figuratively ... I do not know until I get closer to the end of creating artwork. But it remains recognizable in its content, in its form, its color, in its composition. And, of course, recognizable in its message.
Do you have any message to art lovers?
My personal messages are not anything special. The messages are hidden in my creativity. My favorite one is that one who sees my artwork, call it by name as he pleases.
You do not function as a merchant with your artworks? Is money important to you?
No, I'm not a trader.. ... I do not have additional power for that. While I create paintings or statues, the creation, the art occurs. When I paint a painting, it's over for me. Now, whether someone likes it or not ... Even I am sometimes skeptical... Maybe I could do something different ... That haunts me constantly; I cannot get rid of it. Again, the assessment is on others, to make their own judgments. And mine is to stay who I am.
All these years you are living as a freelance artist, without marketing support, without the support of any system, or state structures?
I did not ask for the funds because of my personal attitudes, and sometimes I did not have the support of politics because of my open expressing of my opinion, and one binds another. I was not able to fit in those passed times, and I'm not successful in integrating in this last, modern times. Everything I did, I financed by my resources and my work, and that makes me proud. But it's easy when money does not mean too much.
REVIEWS
Academic sculptor and painter Josip Konta (1946) has long been continuously present in Croatian art and as a very self-confident sculptor and an inspirational painter, creating work in the past few decades (and still very devoted today) with a very specific manuscript, work interwoven very deeply, we would say that the painter Konta is mostly influenced by Konta sculptor and vice versa, a work that makes several powerful cycles of impressive figures (individuals and groups) immersed in contemplation, but in a very elegant movement, gesture, with painting part, motifs of the group, the sea , acts…
A very interesting part of the opus is the cycle of nudes that the painter Konta has nurtured since the very beginning of his active artistic activity, mostly performed in oil, on canvas and cardboard in very acceptable medium formats (both for gallery exhibiting and home furnishing).
Konta is inclined to expressionist access to the creation of nudes, his color is highly measured, attentive, brilliantly supports the atmosphere of volume with a relaxed, feminine body, oblong, somewhat twisting, pale, in anticipation, boredom, lust, dilemma or fear, love and sorrow, in all those ordinary but uncommon situations of the spirit with the only active gesture of hands in different positions. These hands truly testify to the lifestyle, the life of the model, the flow of life that flows.
I perceive that the painter preferably paints dancers, nude ballet dancers who perform the imaginary choreography once again, rehearsing the smooth movements, seducing, sneering slowly and irreversibly.
Their slim bodies act out of time, or all the time, once again opening up questions, which are on the pedestal of the absolute feminine beauty or beauty of a woman. Their face is just indicated or is invisible, it simply does not have it, the gesture of the body instead of face and face. The young body is rarely partially covered with a piece of fabric, accidentally transferred over the body.
Konta paints two types of act, one is exalted, imaginative, silent act, long arms and legs, narrow bodies, small breasts, hair bent, intentionally controlled peace, because in the body everything is boiling, emotional eruption is about to happen for which no one knows what it will be and what it will cause. These are mysterious models of gentle bodies, hearts and souls filled.
Konta also occasionally depicts a very realistic act, usually a fuller model, that gives the impression of the ultimate reality, the uniformity of life, and the unusual relationship with one's own body. These are models of pronounced anatomy attributes, primed and reconciled with their lives, aware of the immutability of the situation in which they are and not expecting a miracle, unlike the slim beauties that belong to a miraculous environment (or a miraculous environment).
In both parts of the act cycle, the sexuality of nude models, women, girls is quite dull, slightly curved, except for the oils that Konta has devoted to dancers, with the impressive presence of eroticism.
Konta has accomplished in his highly complex opus an extremely impressive cycle of oil acts, exploring the eternal motive of reaching unachievable feminine beauty, or generally through the human history of the mysteriousness of a beautiful emerged by women, revealed, or concealed, elevated or rejected, happiness or curse.
Konta’s act opus is a complete author cycle, defined and appealing, not just to the eye but also to the spirit. Since he exists, he records, paints, remembers women's beauty, resembles her and is constantly wondering what is in the center of the enigma. 
Miroslav Pelikan, journalist and writer
January 23rd, 2018
Acts by Josip Konta (2018)
Academic sculptor and painter Josip Konta (1946) has long been continuously present in Croatian art and as a very self-confident sculptor and an inspirational painter, creating work in the past few decades (and still very devoted today) with a very specific manuscript, work interwoven very deeply, we would say that the painter Konta is mostly influenced by Konta sculptor and vice versa, a work that makes several powerful cycles of impressive figures (individuals and groups) immersed in contemplation, but in a very elegant movement, gesture, with painting part, motifs of the group, the sea , acts…
A very interesting part of the opus is the cycle of nudes that the painter Konta has nurtured since the very beginning of his active artistic activity, mostly performed in oil, on canvas and cardboard in very acceptable medium formats (both for gallery exhibiting and home furnishing).
Konta is inclined to expressionist access to the creation of nudes, his color is highly measured, attentive, brilliantly supports the atmosphere of volume with a relaxed, feminine body, oblong, somewhat twisting, pale, in anticipation, boredom, lust, dilemma or fear, love and sorrow, in all those ordinary but uncommon situations of the spirit with the only active gesture of hands in different positions. These hands truly testify to the lifestyle, the life of the model, the flow of life that flows.
I perceive that the painter preferably paints dancers, nude ballet dancers who perform the imaginary choreography once again, rehearsing the smooth movements, seducing, sneering slowly and irreversibly.
Their slim bodies act out of time, or all the time, once again opening up questions, which are on the pedestal of the absolute feminine beauty or beauty of a woman. Their face is just indicated or is invisible, it simply does not have it, the gesture of the body instead of face and face. The young body is rarely partially covered with a piece of fabric, accidentally transferred over the body.
Konta paints two types of act, one is exalted, imaginative, silent act, long arms and legs, narrow bodies, small breasts, hair bent, intentionally controlled peace, because in the body everything is boiling, emotional eruption is about to happen for which no one knows what it will be and what it will cause. These are mysterious models of gentle bodies, hearts and souls filled.
Konta also occasionally depicts a very realistic act, usually a fuller model, that gives the impression of the ultimate reality, the uniformity of life, and the unusual relationship with one's own body. These are models of pronounced anatomy attributes, primed and reconciled with their lives, aware of the immutability of the situation in which they are and not expecting a miracle, unlike the slim beauties that belong to a miraculous environment (or a miraculous environment).
In both parts of the act cycle, the sexuality of nude models, women, girls is quite dull, slightly curved, except for the oils that Konta has devoted to dancers, with the impressive presence of eroticism.
Konta has accomplished in his highly complex opus an extremely impressive cycle of oil acts, exploring the eternal motive of reaching unachievable feminine beauty, or generally through the human history of the mysteriousness of a beautiful emerged by women, revealed, or concealed, elevated or rejected, happiness or curse.
Konta’s act opus is a complete author cycle, defined and appealing, not just to the eye but also to the spirit. Since he exists, he records, paints, remembers women's beauty, resembles her and is constantly wondering what is in the center of the enigma. Miroslav Pelikan, journalist and writer
January 23rd, 2018
Konta portrays the sea most favorably in medium format, in oil on canvas, with the sun in the very center of the painting, often barely visible, dimmed by the silence of waves and clouds.
Josip Konta, an academic sculptor, is a prominent contemporary Croatian artist, the author of a very important and very specific sculpture and painting opus in current production and has exhibited at numerous solo exhibitions both at home and abroad.
Along with well-known, powerful and rounded cycles, from the Group of People, Walkers, Dancers, Horses, Horsemen and Acts, the painter continued to deal with another motif, with the motif of the sea, remaining faithful to the constant exploration of the many and varied looks and experiences of the sea, clouds, sun ...
Konta portrays the sea most favorably in medium format, in oil on canvas, with the sun in the very center of the painting, often barely visible, dimmed by the silence of waves and clouds, or it is quite calm and with its rays slide over the soaked surface and touches us, lightly gripping us with its light.
Sometimes the sea is quiet, sometimes wild and angry, often clashing with the clouds, striking the sky, forming an opaque curtain, behind which something unforeseeable is hidden, dangerously dull.
There are paintings where the clouds with their translucent bodies play, play with the sea, with the light, over and over again, creating all the new and fragile oval transparent beings who dare without fear to be overwhelmed and troubled by upset and shaky sea.
Our view, our eyes reflect the sight of violence and power, seen so many times by sailors and helmsmen, adventurers and heroes, through which they must pass, pass through hurricane and reach distant, unseen safe shores, shores that mean salvation.
I'm thinking about Jazon, about fifty who sailed with Argus in search of the Golden Run, to Kolhide and I see the same scenes, the same sun that blurts the hidden sea beneath the ship, which, tirelessly, tugs, but sails straight to the far-off light through fog and moisture, peace and restlessness of water, which is beautiful in a moment and in a moment lurid in its diversity.
Konta extraordinary paints a truly unreal sea, part of which is the real sea and partly a myth, the South Sea, over which the persistent sailor successfully and bravely sailed in an obsessive search for the Royale Queen.
When we truly meet with the motif of the sea by Josip Konta, we cannot just pass by his oil, the sea, the clouds, that dark light keeps us and we look at it, try to penetrate the glimpse into that delicate haze and try to figure out what is hidden there, in the light, who is there and how to go through all these troubles and to float up to these mysterious coasts and cut it with the bow.
With his natural talents and perseverance, Konta created a highly precise, clear and powerful cycle dedicated to the sea (or perhaps dedicated to clouds or distant sunlight?) that can stand entirely alongside his most famous achievements, both in sculpture and painting.
Josip Konta's painting is based on a classic approach to motive and the same realization, in techniques that require concentration and power of performance.
The cycle dedicated to the sea motifs of the academic sculptor and painter Josip Konta is a highly artistic achievement, a beautifully rounded sensational paintings cycle made of oil on canvas.
The interest of man for the sea exists from the very beginning of mankind and does not die now, the sea is still a precious motive, a source of life, for each of us, as well as for the artist Josip Konta, the author of the extraordinary cycle on the sea theme.
Miroslav Pelikan, journalist and writer
December 30th, 2017
The sea motive in Josip Konta’s opus (2017)
Konta portrays the sea most favorably in medium format, in oil on canvas, with the sun in the very center of the painting, often barely visible, dimmed by the silence of waves and clouds.
Josip Konta, an academic sculptor, is a prominent contemporary Croatian artist, the author of a very important and very specific sculpture and painting opus in current production and has exhibited at numerous solo exhibitions both at home and abroad.
Along with well-known, powerful and rounded cycles, from the Group of People, Walkers, Dancers, Horses, Horsemen and Acts, the painter continued to deal with another motif, with the motif of the sea, remaining faithful to the constant exploration of the many and varied looks and experiences of the sea, clouds, sun ...
Konta portrays the sea most favorably in medium format, in oil on canvas, with the sun in the very center of the painting, often barely visible, dimmed by the silence of waves and clouds, or it is quite calm and with its rays slide over the soaked surface and touches us, lightly gripping us with its light.
Sometimes the sea is quiet, sometimes wild and angry, often clashing with the clouds, striking the sky, forming an opaque curtain, behind which something unforeseeable is hidden, dangerously dull.
There are paintings where the clouds with their translucent bodies play, play with the sea, with the light, over and over again, creating all the new and fragile oval transparent beings who dare without fear to be overwhelmed and troubled by upset and shaky sea.
Our view, our eyes reflect the sight of violence and power, seen so many times by sailors and helmsmen, adventurers and heroes, through which they must pass, pass through hurricane and reach distant, unseen safe shores, shores that mean salvation.
I'm thinking about Jazon, about fifty who sailed with Argus in search of the Golden Run, to Kolhide and I see the same scenes, the same sun that blurts the hidden sea beneath the ship, which, tirelessly, tugs, but sails straight to the far-off light through fog and moisture, peace and restlessness of water, which is beautiful in a moment and in a moment lurid in its diversity.
Konta extraordinary paints a truly unreal sea, part of which is the real sea and partly a myth, the South Sea, over which the persistent sailor successfully and bravely sailed in an obsessive search for the Royale Queen.
When we truly meet with the motif of the sea by Josip Konta, we cannot just pass by his oil, the sea, the clouds, that dark light keeps us and we look at it, try to penetrate the glimpse into that delicate haze and try to figure out what is hidden there, in the light, who is there and how to go through all these troubles and to float up to these mysterious coasts and cut it with the bow.
With his natural talents and perseverance, Konta created a highly precise, clear and powerful cycle dedicated to the sea (or perhaps dedicated to clouds or distant sunlight?) that can stand entirely alongside his most famous achievements, both in sculpture and painting.
Josip Konta's painting is based on a classic approach to motive and the same realization, in techniques that require concentration and power of performance.
The cycle dedicated to the sea motifs of the academic sculptor and painter Josip Konta is a highly artistic achievement, a beautifully rounded sensational paintings cycle made of oil on canvas.
The interest of man for the sea exists from the very beginning of mankind and does not die now, the sea is still a precious motive, a source of life, for each of us, as well as for the artist Josip Konta, the author of the extraordinary cycle on the sea theme.
Miroslav Pelikan, journalist and writer
December 30th, 2017
Sculptures of Josip Konta (2017)
Academic sculptor Josip Konta (Livno, 1946, after Sarajevo School of Applied Arts, graduated from the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts in 1972; in 1974 he finished a two-year special course at A. Augustinčić; He is the author of a series of monuments and several extraordinary authoring cycles; He exhibited at numerous solo and group exhibitions) is one of the most prominent names of the contemporary Croatian art scene, always slightly withdrawn when it comes to media offset, exceptionally loves peace and quiet of his atelier, which, though not quite adequate, still intensively works today, continuing research both in painting and sculpture cycles.
Certainly, the basic features of sculpture work and engagement by Josip Konta are his numerous sculptures of individual figures (man and woman) up to his favorite cavalry figures and, of course, the most complex part of the cycle, the group.
His numerous, slim, slender figures, seemingly almost complete, preserved corps, but when looking more closely, we first observe the position of the body, which is almost calm, static, stopped in motion, on the move, in a forgotten second, in receiving bad news and when everything is quiet and the mind of a man feverishly works, thinking about what and how. The figure is maybe not racked by a bad news of mourning for losing, perhaps he simply stayed alone in the world, and when he knows, he alone is alone.
It is interesting to note that some standing, upright figures have their faces, only in the indications, others are more profiled, but the gesture of their bodies is a dominant element.
Then again, we observe the unusual, unnatural incompleteness of the bodies of Konta’s figures. Are these gaps in the body signs and the recognition of exceptional human vulnerability and weakness, but also the potential disability and the inability to lift up the head and oppose the upcoming disadvantages?
Did the body recoil after the lack of mind, struggling with the typical existentialist questions, who I am and what I am looking for, what I miss, what is it and where is my second me?
As a possible solution, Konta builds very sophisticated, very symbolic cavalry figures with powerful, rearing horses, whose strength can help a man and bring him back into nature, into naturalness, into the desired reality.
Konta’s horsemen flutter with a flag of optimism, tomorrow, courage and belief in themselves and their power, their common, combined power, gives incredible power to both man and animal.
Can horse rumps lead a vulnerable man to a more natural, happier world or can they just direct a man towards the path to naturalness, genuineness, purity?
The horse, this incredible noble animal, which may have decided more than a man on the fate of humankind in many battles, is here a kind of alter ego, almost inaccessible, oblivious, probably sometimes incomprehensible.
Yet the key is the movement, the will, the desire for movement, which is recognizable in Konta’s sculpture series; namely movement or move connect the horse and the rider, the body and the mind of the lonely figure, which only just did not appear and happen.
Though the bodies are still, the next movement is carefully concealed and clenched, a movement that shall not distract the upright and immobile figure, but take it away, as well as the magnificent horses, which shall quickly rush to an unknown and mysterious. The group, a group of affiliated individuals or a homogeneous body, intertwined with limbs, with lust, fear, scream and twitch, or wholly soothed in the circle of voiceless bodies, appears as a remarkable motive in the work of Josip Konta with a new element, feeling a calming atmosphere (or goals are achieved or one just got over there where there is no exit and all is futile) driven by futility and exhaustion.
The sculptural opus of academic sculptor Josip Konta is comprehensive and significant, remarkably important in the current artistic production and certainly worth to seriously contemplate and consider in the great retrospective exhibition, which would undoubtedly enable us to have a deeper perspective and understanding of simply cleaner and stronger experience, a unique insight into the work, a precise observation of the rhythm of the inner structure of the artist's spirit and his work. Miroslav Pelikan, journalist and writer
Written for AkademijaArt on May 02nd, 2017
Academic sculptor Josip Konta (Livno, 1946, after Sarajevo School of Applied Arts, graduated from the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts in 1972; in 1974 he finished a two-year special course at A. Augustinčić; He is the author of a series of monuments and several extraordinary authoring cycles; He exhibited at numerous solo and group exhibitions) is one of the most prominent names of the contemporary Croatian art scene, always slightly withdrawn when it comes to media offset, exceptionally loves peace and quiet of his atelier, which, though not quite adequate, still intensively works today, continuing research both in painting and sculpture cycles.
Certainly, the basic features of sculpture work and engagement by Josip Konta are his numerous sculptures of individual figures (man and woman) up to his favorite cavalry figures and, of course, the most complex part of the cycle, the group.
His numerous, slim, slender figures, seemingly almost complete, preserved corps, but when looking more closely, we first observe the position of the body, which is almost calm, static, stopped in motion, on the move, in a forgotten second, in receiving bad news and when everything is quiet and the mind of a man feverishly works, thinking about what and how. The figure is maybe not racked by a bad news of mourning for losing, perhaps he simply stayed alone in the world, and when he knows, he alone is alone.
It is interesting to note that some standing, upright figures have their faces, only in the indications, others are more profiled, but the gesture of their bodies is a dominant element.
Then again, we observe the unusual, unnatural incompleteness of the bodies of Konta’s figures. Are these gaps in the body signs and the recognition of exceptional human vulnerability and weakness, but also the potential disability and the inability to lift up the head and oppose the upcoming disadvantages?
Did the body recoil after the lack of mind, struggling with the typical existentialist questions, who I am and what I am looking for, what I miss, what is it and where is my second me?
As a possible solution, Konta builds very sophisticated, very symbolic cavalry figures with powerful, rearing horses, whose strength can help a man and bring him back into nature, into naturalness, into the desired reality.
Konta’s horsemen flutter with a flag of optimism, tomorrow, courage and belief in themselves and their power, their common, combined power, gives incredible power to both man and animal.
Can horse rumps lead a vulnerable man to a more natural, happier world or can they just direct a man towards the path to naturalness, genuineness, purity?
The horse, this incredible noble animal, which may have decided more than a man on the fate of humankind in many battles, is here a kind of alter ego, almost inaccessible, oblivious, probably sometimes incomprehensible.
Yet the key is the movement, the will, the desire for movement, which is recognizable in Konta’s sculpture series; namely movement or move connect the horse and the rider, the body and the mind of the lonely figure, which only just did not appear and happen.
Though the bodies are still, the next movement is carefully concealed and clenched, a movement that shall not distract the upright and immobile figure, but take it away, as well as the magnificent horses, which shall quickly rush to an unknown and mysterious. The group, a group of affiliated individuals or a homogeneous body, intertwined with li
mbs, with lust, fear, scream and twitch, or wholly soothed in the circle of voiceless bodies, appears as a remarkable motive in the work of Josip Konta with a new element, feeling a calming atmosphere (or goals are achieved or one just got over there where there is no exit and all is futile) driven by futility and exhaustion.
The sculptural opus of academic sculptor Josip Konta is comprehensive and significant, remarkably important in the current artistic production and certainly worth to seriously contemplate and consider in the great retrospective exhibition, which would undoubtedly enable us to have a deeper perspective and understanding of simply cleaner and stronger experience, a unique insight into the work, a precise observation of the rhythm of the inner structure of the artist's spirit and his work. Miroslav Pelikan, journalist and writer
Written for AkademijaArt on May 02nd, 2017
Ecce Homo (1983)
Visual art is linked to a figure ever since its conception until today, when semiotics requires and presupposes the existence of a figure as a vital condition for the distinctiveness and flagrancy of a symbol. The symbolism thus remains a test for the viewer. And that symbol is a geometric space.
Josip Konta signed his name in the topology and typology of the Croatian contemporary sculpture with his distinct handwriting of pure form already with his first exhibition in the Zagreb Youth Showroom. He was a student of recently deceased Valo Michielli, he evaluated his craft as an assistant to Antun Augustincic and confirmed his skills while working as a head of the ALU Sculpture Foundry for several years.
During a decade of his public appearance he organized four own exhibitions and acquired a confidence of a professional. His signature always remained the same: human body, standing man. Under this banner the sculptor fought, rose and fell under the burden of times that bring the inevitable feeling of depression and falling into the deep abyss of infinity, but also help find an almost desperate strength to rise into new dimensions of elation and fantasy. Because only in front of the gates of hell does a walking man find a way to the brightness of true inspiration, and his life restores the lost plentitude and completeness.
These primarily artistic views are reflected with almost the same amount of suggestion in the recent period (since the last exhibition five years ago) in his paintings. They, too, bring a variation of the same subject of a Man and a Woman, alone, in a group, in clusters and crowds, still or in a masterfully captured motion. These are the works of art that, in finding the way to a viewer, enrich us by sharing the nobility of suffering and pain, beauty and fantasy, found in a rapture of a Poet and at the bottom of our Pit. This is what it is: There is the “Family of a Man“ to rephrase the title of the famous UNESCO exhibition.
Konta has endured during these 10-15 years, alone under a millstone of his martyrdom, on a night watch, defending his and our world, refusing to be mislead by the charming sounds of fashion trends.
That is why we believe him. 
Boro Pavlović (*1922 - †2001),
poet, essayist, art and literary critic and librettist
Visual art is linked to a figure ever since its conception until today, when semiotics requires and presupposes the existence of a figure as a vital condition for the distinctiveness and flagrancy of a symbol. The symbolism thus remains a test for the viewer. And that symbol is a geometric space.
Josip Konta signed his name in the topology and typology of the Croatian contemporary sculpture with his distinct handwriting of pure form already with his first exhibition in the Zagreb Youth Showroom. He was a student of recently deceased Valo Michielli, he tested his craft as an assistant to Antun Augustincic and confirmed his skills while working as a head of the ALU Sculpture Foundry for several years.
During a decade of his public appearance he organized four own exhibitions and acquired a confidence of a professional. His signature always remained the same: human body, standing man. Under this banner the sculptor fought, rose and fell under the burden of times that bring the inevitable feeling of depression and falling into the deep abyss of infinity, but also help find an almost desperate strength to rise into new dimensions of elation and fantasy. Because only in front of the gates of hell does a walking man find a way to the brightness of true inspiration, and his life restores the lost plentitude and completeness.
These primarily artistic views are reflected with almost the same amount of suggestion in the recent period (since the last exhibition five years ago) in his paintings. They, too, bring a variation of the same subject of a Man and a Woman, alone, in a group, in clusters and crowds, still or in a masterfully captured motion. These are the works of art that, in finding the way to a viewer, enrich us by sharing the nobility of suffering and pain, beauty and fantasy, found in a rapture of a Poet and at the bottom of our Pit. This is what it is: There is the “Family of a Man“ to rephrase the title of the famous UNESCO exhibition.
Konta has endured during these 10-15 years, alone under a millstone of his martyrdom, on a night watch, defending his and our world, refusing to be mislead by the charming sounds of fashion trends.
That is why we believe him. Boro Pavlović (*1922 - †2001),
poet, essayist, art and literary critic and librettist
Playful motions (1978)
The new phase of the three-dimensional experience presented by Josip Konta is characterized by playful motions. The bodies which the sculptor observes are caught in moments of spontaneous gesture and communicate their firm connection with the imaginary environment. In such an atmosphere of real and fictitious occurrences a fable emerges in the eyes of an observer, as a result of suggestive movements and natural postures.
Josip Konta belongs to a generation of young sculptors that earned recognition at the beginning of the eighties, determined in their efforts to reevaluate the figurative expression. He developed the roots and influences from the Academy of Fine Arts in the workshop of August Augustincic and continued to gradually shape them into his individual artistic expression. Fascinated by human beings, he observes a man in a reality of everyday problems that tear him/her apart. He transforms his emotional compassion into matter, forming his characters using strong, thick and irregular clumps. Identity is of no importance to him, hence all his characters remain deprived of their individuality, but the emphasis on the principal problematic idea grows. This situation develops the desire to affix a title to the concept of totality.
The process is accompanied by author's tendency to stretch figures and create a notion of physical suffering, to accentuate a contour as a specific interpreter of a spiritual condition and to open his figures to the surrounding space, demonstrating a continuous contact with the everyday life. Guided by these endeavors, the sculptor is not searching for beauty or ugliness in a human body - but the mere truth. It reveals itself in the movements of his figures, whether they reflect a spasm of the fight for existence or tenderness of a love embrace.
His cycle of figures, groups and bas-reliefs featuring essential human preoccupations expressed through realistic motions offers vast opportunities to sculptor Josip Konta for exploration in the domain of defining physical and psychological connection between the truths of life and artistic visions.
Juraj Baldani (*1922 - †2010),
journalist, art critic and writer
The new phase of the three-dimensional experience presented by Josip Konta is characterized by playful motions. The bodies which the sculptor observes are caught in moments of spontaneous gesture and communicate their firm connection with the imaginary environment. In such an atmosphere of real and fictitious occurrences a fable emerges in the eyes of an observer, as a result of suggestive movements and natural postures.
Josip Konta belongs to a generation of young sculptors that earned recognition at the beginning of the eighties, determined in their efforts to revaluate the figurative expression. He developed the roots and influences from the Academy of Fine Arts in the workshop of August Augustincic and continued to gradually shape them into his individual artistic expression. Fascinated by human beings, he observes a man in a reality of everyday problems that tear him/her apart. He transforms his emotional compassion into matter, forming his characters using strong, thick and irregular clumps. Identity is of no importance to him, hence all his characters remain deprived of their individuality, but the emphasis on the principal problematic idea grows. This situation develops the desire to affix a title to the concept of totality.
The process is accompanied by author's tendency to stretch figures and create a notion of physical suffering, to accentuate a contour as a specific interpreter of a spiritual condition and to open his figures to the surrounding space, demonstrating a continuous contact with the everyday life. Guided by these endeavors, the sculptor is not searching for beauty or ugliness in a human body - but the mere truth. It reveals itself in the movements of his figures, whether they reflect a spasm of the fight for existence or tenderness of a love embrace.
His cycle of figures, groups and bas-reliefs featuring essential human preoccupations expressed through realistic motions offers vast opportunities to sculptor Josip Konta for exploration in the domain of defining physical and psychological connection between the truths of life and artistic visions.
Juraj Baldani (*1922 - †2010),
journalist, art critic and writer
INTERVIEWS FOR TV SHOWS (VIDEO)
Josip Konta, Interview for TV show "Club 7," Croatian Radiotelevision (2022)
Josip Konta, Interview for TV show "Culture Tour," Network TV (2019)
Josip Konta, Interview for TV show "Home by the Square," Network TV (2016)
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