The exhibition has been opened at the Gallery of the Trakošćan Castle and is a selection of Vugrek’s long-established work that classifies him as a representative of modern artistic expression in Croatia and Europe. For all tourists and art lovers, the exhibition will be opened until end of May 2019.
The Trakošćan Castle hosts this retrospective exhibition after its premiere at the Varaždin Gallery Center in 2018. From 17th to 19th century, when the castle was owned by Counts Drašković, it had a major cultural and artistic significance in this part of Croatia, and today is visited by a growing number of tourists.
The exhibition “A World of Metal Sculptures” by Siniša Vugrek shows selected works of this long-established artist, who has during his career took on the roles of musician, author, constructor, innovator and entrepreneur, using motifs from nature, music and industry for his metal sculptures.
The exhibition opens with the sculpture of „Minion“ created in his “workshop”, which he gave as a gift to his close family members. The exhibition also features sculptures of octopus, eagle, Jesus Christ, a woman’s silhouette, etc… All sculptures are gently constructed and shaped out of individual pieces of iron, steel and other metals.
The obvious joy and creativity that Vugrek took over from his business activity is visible in his works. By using found metal items and discarded materials, he initially created a miniature project Scrap Metal Art, which represents sculptures of animals and motifs from nature made for his family and friends and consists of 30 sculptures, including various miniature figures and animals.
At its best, Vugrek’s work disturbs our usual perception of woman by giving the sculpture of a woman’s silhouette an additional dimension of depth, which from every angle of view attracts attention, evokes positive emotions and stirs the imagination.
Any sense of inadequacy of the exhibition quickly fades when looking at the sculptures of a dragon, skull of Cyclops unicorn, horse, spider on the wall, metal tree, flower, desk and chair with burned motif of skull. Reverting to a deep sense of play felt throughout the exhibition, we design and create our own silhouettes out of metal; or create a sculpture from found or discarded metal items.
The exhibition closed with the same initial values. As Josip Grđan states in the charming catalogue accompanying the exhibition: “Vugrek is a versatile artist…” who encourages us to look at his sculptures with the same sense of silence, same attention, same joy invisible on the outside that we experience as children.
Witty, efficient, emotional and mobile sculptures refer to an artistic expression based on a career rich with numerous artistic works created in the last two decades.
What distinguishes Vugrek’s work from the general trends in metal sculptures, Scrap Metal art and similar authors who, like himself, are currently emerging as figures on the art scene, is the recognizable cohesion of content and form of construction design and emotion that he captures in several strips of bent metal, whose rich colours are achieved by burning and exposure to high temperatures.
Vugrek displayed a personal selection of sculptures, out of which it is definitely worth singling out a woman’s silhouette, whose artistic expression grabs audience’s attention. „This is not an ordinary silhouette – this is a living silhouette of a gentle woman, a lady who moves in space!“ This is how Vugrek’s sculpture was described at the opening of the impressive exhibition at the Gallery of the Trakošćan Castle.
The exhibition is an elegant testimony of life, breathing in a work of art, that marks Vugrek’s atypical trajectory in artistic expression.
The sculptures are entertaining and selected with care and a sense of playfulness, blending in perfectly with the spacious rooms of the Gallery of the Trakošćan Castle. After Trakošćan, the exhibition will move on to Opatija and Zagreb.
