JAGODA BUIC !LINK!

Jagoda BuiÄ: The Croatian Artist Who Revolutionized Textile Art

Jagoda BuiÄ was a Croatian visual artist who was best known for her monumental fiber art installations and tapestries, which won her critical acclaim in the latter half of the 20th century. She passed away on October 17, 2022, at the age of 92, leaving behind a legacy of innovation and creativity in the field of textile art.

BuiÄ was born in Split, Croatia, in 1930, into a family of intellectuals and political activists. She studied at the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts and Art History at the University of Zagreb before graduating in interior architecture and scenography, textiles and costume design at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 1953. She also studied film set design at the CinecittÃ studio in Rome and the history of costume design at the International Centre for Arts and Costume housed at Palazzo Grassi in Venice.

BuiÄ worked on more than 120 projects as a costume and stage designer in various opera, ballet, theatre and film productions at various theatres in Vienna, Zagreb, Osijek, Dubrovnik and Split. She also created two monumental tapestries for the presidential residence in Belgrade in 1961 and 1963. However, in 1959, she decided to dedicate herself to tapestry and become an independent artist.

In 1965, at the Lausanne Biennial of Textile Art, BuiÄ impressed contemporary art critics with her first textile installation which was immediately bought by the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. She continued to exhibit her monumental textile works at art shows and contemporary art museums around the world, becoming known for vast installations made out of textile cords, hemp and wool, and experiments with unusual surface textures and space. From the 1970s, BuiÄ, together with Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz, was credited with pioneering innovative textile forms in contemporary arts. In the 1980s she started using metals in her sculptures and installations, and in the 2000s she turned to using collages of assorted materials, such as paper, cardboard, wool, etc.

BuiÄ based her practice on the myth of Ariadne. She mixed woolen threads with empty spaces to give them structure. She relied on her Slavic roots and weaving techniques of her ancestors. She worked in rural areas with weavers and dyers, mostly in Sjenica on the PeÅter plateau. She wove natural fibers, such as wool and sisal. Her tapestries were sculptures, and her installations were a combination of theatrical scenography and tapestry.

BuiÄ won numerous awards for her work, including the Grand Prize at the SÃo Paulo Art Biennial, the Herder Prize (1976), and the Vladimir Nazor Award for Life Achievement (2014). She had studios in Paris, Washington D.C., Provence, Venice and Dubrovnik. She was buried at DanÄe cemetery in Dubrovnik on October 22, 2022.

Jagoda BuiÄ was a visionary artist who transformed textile art into a powerful medium of expression. Her works are not only beautiful but also meaningful. They reflect her personal journey as well as her cultural heritage. They challenge the boundaries between art forms and genres. They invite us to explore new dimensions of space and texture. They are a tribute to her talent and passion. aa16f39245