Julije Knifer (23 April 1924 – 7 December 2004) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n abstract painter and a founding member of the 1960s Croatian art collective known as the Gorgona Group. The central motif of Knifer's art is the exploration of

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...

, a geometric form which he had been creating since 1960 in various painting techniques such as print, oil, acrylic paint, collage and mural. An example of which is the colossal meander created by Knifer on a 20 x 30 m canvas in a quarry in

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

(1975). He was also one of the founding members of the Gorgona Group, whose members from 1959 to 1966 were: Miljenko Horvat,

Ivan Kožarić Ivan Kožarić (10 June 1921, Petrinja – 15 November 2020, Zagreb) was a Croatian artist who worked primarily with sculpture but also in a wide variety of media, including: permanent and temporary sculptures, assemblages, proclamations, photograp ...

, Marijan Jevšovar,

Dimitrije Bašičević Mangelos (born Dimitrije Bašičević; 21 April 1921 – 18 December 1987) was a Yugoslavian artist, curator and art critic whose artistic production included handmade books, sculptures and paintings. His work and research contributed greatly to t ...

(who works under the name Mangelos), Matko Meštrović, Radoslav Putar, Đuro Seder and Josip Vaništa. In 1961 he participated at the first New Tendencies’ exhibition in Zagreb. He exhibited at many national and international shows including, The ''New Tendencies'' exhibitions (1961, 1963, 1969 and 1973), ''Art Abstrait Constructif International'' at the Denise René Gallery (Paris, 1961–1962), ''Konstruktivisten'' at the Städtisches Museum Leverkusen (

Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is on ...

, 1962), ''Oltre l’informale'' (San Marino, 1963), the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

(1976 and 2001), the São Paulo Art Biennale (1973 with Juraj Dobrović and

Vjenceslav Richter Vjenceslav Richter (; 8 April 1917 – 2 December 2002) was a Croatian architect. He was also known for his work in the fields of urbanism, sculpture, graphic arts, painting and stage design. Career In 1949, Richter graduated at the Department o ...

, 1979 and 1981). He collaborated with the Dany Keller Gallery in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, the Hoffmann Gallery in Friedberg, and nowadays his work is represented by Gregor Podnar in Vienna and Frank Elbaz Gallery in Paris. This increased the number of his works in private and museum collections which are now held in many prominent institutions across the world including the

Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

in Paris. In 1994 he moved to Paris, where he lived until his death. His first posthumous exhibition was organized by Arnauld Pierre at the Frank Elbaz Gallery in Paris (2010). In 2002 he was the recipient of the Vladimir Nazor Life Achievement Award. In 2016, Knifer's painting ''PLS 69'' (1969) was sold in an auction in Vienna for €137,000, which was at the time the highest price ever paid for a work of Croatian modern art.

Notes and references

Croatian contemporary artists 1924 births 2004 deaths People from Osijek Vladimir Nazor Award winners Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery 20th-century Croatian painters Croatian male painters 21st-century Croatian painters 21st-century male artists 20th-century Croatian male artists {{Croatia-painter-stub

Further reading

Notes and references