Croatia

Artist: Linda Zupanovic

* 1973

1994 Studied Painting at the HDK Berlin

1998: Stipendium/Erasmus Barcelona

2002: Graduate of the HDK Berlin under Prof. Diehl

Currently Masters Studies under Prof. Diehl

Interpretation

Croatia is not only a Mediterranian country endowed with an enchanting, virtually paradisiacal island landscape, it is above all a country with a long history. This becomes evident through the significant, extremely rich and monumental heritage from the Roman and Greek culture, which also formed the basis of Croatian art, an art that is strongly influenced by the spirit of important European cutural movements and styles.

At the same time Croatia is a Central European country with cities, castles, palaces and cathedrals from all ages, ranging from medieval times over the Renaissance to the Baroque period. Its continental landscapes are no less attractive than its coast line, they impress the visitor through their variety.

An exceptional feature of Croatia's national and cultural identity lies in the fact that its territory of today used to be a borderline between cultures and civilisations for many centuries. And: for centuries, the Croatians used three different alphabets - the Latin, the Glagolitic and the Cyrillic one - and spoke three languages: Latin, Croatian and Old Slavic. The broad intellectual horizon introduced by these different languages was also a source of inspiration as can be seen in the creative work of Croatian authors.

My memories of my Croatian home country are strongly influenced by the power and elegant proportions in its masonry. The harshness of the karst landscapes, which is supplemented by the blue of the sea and the green of the gardens and fields, is symbolic of the diversity of the Croatian country and character.

Linda Zupanovic

Sponsor: Botschaft der Republik Kroatien