(1924–2010)
Croatian visual artist, painter, sculptor, and creator of objects and installations, Srnec is considered a pioneer of Kinetic Art in ex-Yugoslavia, mainly known for his avant-garde designs, kinetic, and lumino kinetic art. Srnec made abstract art based on the use of geometric shapes. Some of his colorful geometric reliefs were equipped with small engines that set one or more elements into motion. The artist’s experiments weren’t subordinate to any specific program, which is why his creative legacy is expressed through such a uniquely diverse collection.
Print edition 67/70, 36.5 x 30 in, 1957
Srnec was one of the founding members of the EXAT 51 (the abbreviation of Experimental Studio), a group of painters and architects active in Zagreb from 1950 to 1956. EXAT 51 advocated abstract art, contemporary visual communication, and the synthesis of all disciplines of artistic creativity contemporarily termed “total design”. During the post-war period, when socialist realism represented official art, members of EXAT51 took a brave and dangerous stance against it. The group and its activities benefited from Yugoslavia’s break with the Soviet Union and the rejection of the Informbiro resolution by Tito.
Srnec, Lumino kinetic
Photo: Markus Wörgötter © Marinko Sudac Collection, Zagreb