Ivan Picelj

Ivan Picelj (Okučani, 1924 – Zagreb, 2011) was a Croatian painter, sculptor and graphic designer, and a leading figure of geometric abstraction in his country. His work, built on primary colours and shapes reduced to geometric elements, became one of the most recognisable Croatian contributions to the constructive art of the second half of the twentieth century.

He was one of the founders of the group EXAT 51, active between 1950 and 1956 alongside architects and painters such as Vlado Kristl and Aleksandar Srnec, and he took part in founding the New Tendencies movement, whose exhibitions in Zagreb ran from 1961 to 1967. He spent much of his time in Paris, where he worked with the Denise René Gallery. His signature method was to multiply a basic plastic unit within a regular grid, a procedure he applied to his wooden and metal sculptures and reliefs as well.

From the mid-1960s he also worked in graphic design, producing posters and books, and he published several portfolios of serigraphs. He began exhibiting solo in 1952 and showed at the Venice Biennale in 1969 and 1972. His works are held in collections including the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He received the Vladimir Nazor Award for lifetime achievement in 1994, and his legacy endures as a reference point for Croatian constructivism.