CV

Davor Vuković comes from Poljice (Krilo Jesenice) near Split. He was born on the 24th of October, 1951 in Herceg Novi, where his father was temporarily positioned. He attended primary school and secondaryschool Ćiro Gamulin in Split between 1957 and 1969. After moving to Zagreb he studied at the faculty of Economics from 1970 until1975. He became absorbed with Zagreb’s cultural climate of the time and the literary, musical, theatrical and fine arts events. He met Emil Cosetto, who introduced him to ‘Joža Vlahović’ choir, where Vuković was an active member for a short period of time. He wrote poetry full of existentialistic forms, concerning the essence of life, dreams, God and eternal faith in goodness, with which he tried to fill both space and time. 

He became strongly attracted to painting, so from 1980 until 1982 he attended Fine Arts Education Centre at Roko’s Perivoj in Zagreb, where he committed to and with discipline studied drawing, composition, painting techniques, as well as discovered the magical power of colour, which was set to influence the forming of his painting expression quite strongly. At XVI Ratković Poetry Evenings, a competition for young artists in Bijelo Polje, Montenegro, he won the third place, and in 1985 he was awarded Plaketa grada Zagreba for his painting achievements. These recognition for poetry and painting were exceptionally motivating for his further research into the world of fine arts. He got to know Ferdinand Kulmer, a brilliant painter, professor and pedagogic, who guided him into revealing the gestural, expressionistic, non conventional painting in which his dreams became landscapes full of vibrating colours. Furthermore, he became acquainted with Mladen Veža, who thought highly of his work and from whom he received further education. While socialising with Tonko Maroević, professor and art critic, he realised a highly praised solo exhibition in 1989 at ‘Miroslav Kraljević’ gallery, which for Vuković opened the doors to the world of painting and he officially became a contemporary painter. The exhibitions that followed took plac at‘Shira’ gallery in Zagreb in 1992 and he also made painting donations as a part of Kiwanis club stands at Mladost, Masarykova Street, Zagreb, during the Croatian War of Independence. In 1995 Vuković left his job as an economist and started earning his living as a painter, supported by his friends artists and art critics. Since that year he has been a member of the Croatian Association of Artists and Likum. 

He has had more than 60 solo exhibitions and 50 group ones, as well as international, conceptual and triennial exhibitions in Croatia and the world, always presenting new cycles, graphic albums, literary and poetry readings. Critical writings an essays which accompanied his growth, which has until this very day been indisputable and mature, have been written by renowned fine arts critics and theorists, such as poet Josip Palada, academic Tonko Maroević, Josip Depolo, Tomislav Lalin, Branka Hlevnjak, Stanko Špoljarić, Mirjana Repanić- Braun, all the way to a special acknowledgement from Vjesnik’s fine atrs critic Marina Tenžera, ‘Finally – painting’, who elevated his most recent cycles to ‘leading places on the Croatian painting scene’. A critical essay by the recently departed Darko Glavan in the monograph edited by Tonko Maroević, published in 2010, presented a systematic analysis of Vuković’s entire opus, which is in its painting ingenuity an essential part of contemporary Croatian art. Besides his intensive activity at exhibitions, Vuković published poetry collections Gatara (Fortune-teller) and Oslanjam se na tišinu (I Rely on Silence), and he exhibited and made graphic albums in dedication to national parks Paklenica, Risnjak and Plitvice Lakes. As a part of HRT and HGK project in 2003, he had solo exhibitions in Kongesshaus in Zürich. Moreover, from 2007 until 2009, he took part in international fine arts colonies by Akademija art. He exhibited solo in London, Tarare near Lyon, and in 2009 he was invited to exhibit in New York for the first time, where he took part in a group exhibition Collide, Tribeca, New York, where he was in May chosen the artist of the month. In June 2010 he again took part in a group exhibition of Croatian artists at MC Gallery, Manhattan, and in July of the same year at Ico Gallery, Chelsea, New York, which was a group exhibition titled ‘Heat’.

In early 2011 he exhibit with Elisabeth Ochsenfeld from Heidelberger Akademie at Art Museum in Timsoara, Romania and in Warmia and Mazury Music Hall in Olsztyn, Poland. with most famous and greatest artists from the whole world.

In 2011 he exhibit at the international exhibitions at Sigvardson Gallery, Rødby, Denmark and  Artists at Home & Abroad at the Broadway Gallery, Broadway New York.

Davor had his first one man exhibition in New York at Broadway Gallery in October 2012.

In 2013 he exhibited at Armory Art Week and Pool Art Fair in New York. In 2013, International Contemporary Artists Publishing, New York, selected his artworks for art book volume VI.

He had his second one man exhibition in New York at Broadway Gallery in October 2013.

Davor Vuković is a member of Croatian Association of visual artists, and Croatian  Composers Society.

Davor passed away in February 2015.