Ivan Picelj (1924–2008 Zagreb, Croatia) was a pioneering Croatian artist and a central figure in post-war European avant-garde. He studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Zagreb between 1943 and 1946, leaving before completing his degree to pursue experimental research beyond the constraints of official art language.
In 1951, Picelj co-founded EXAT 51 (Experimental Atelier 1951) alongside architects and painters including Bernardo Bernardi, Vjenceslav Richter, Vlado Kristl, and Aleksandar Srnec. This was the first abstract art group in Yugoslavia, promoting the synthesis of all visual arts and drawing inspiration from Russian Constructivism and the Bauhaus. EXAT 51 played a crucial role in challenging the dominant socialist realism of the period.
In 1959, Picelj began exhibiting internationally, collaborating with galleries such as Denise René in Paris, Howard Wise in New York, Baruch Gallery in Chicago, and Galleria del Cavallino in Venice. In the early 1960s, he became a founding member of the New Tendencies movement, acting as editor of the international magazine BIT and contributing to numerous artists’ books and publications. In 1962, he authored the manifesto For Active Art, underscoring his avant-garde philosophy and engagement with kinetic and optical art.
Picelj’s work spans painting, relief, geometric abstraction, and artist books, reflecting his fascination with form, color, and systematic structures. His pieces are held in major international collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, and the Boymans Museum, Rotterdam. Since 2012, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb preserves an extensive collection of his works, archives, and library, gifted by Anja Picelj-Kosak.
Ivan Picelj passed away in 2008, leaving a lasting legacy in both Croatian and European post-war abstract art.
For information on available works by the artist, please contact the gallery.