Page 66 - Art-Addiction

sLaVKo GrCKo

1934 born in rijeka, croatia
lives and works in rijeka, croatia

slavko grcko has always been intrigued by the most commonplace of human symbols and nuances: a
hand; a cigarette butt; signs of man; civilization; and beliefs in god or Coca Cola! For grcko, the hand is a sign,
symbol, icon, or insignia. Flat hands with spread out fingers remained a preoccupation of his for years. In the
artwork of this long time full professor in the Visual Arts department, Faculty of Pedagogy in rijeka, 1964 to
1997, one can sense the graphic designer’s hand whenever he paints or produces an object. He develops
‘cyclical’ rounded series of works, which, in recent years, he calls esthetic Terrorism, Universal debris and
depository of Urban rubbish. His artistic proximity to Pop Art visualization is obvious, as is his predilection for
the ‘trivial’ in culture and for the ‘leftovers’ of modern civilization, things that his tidy nature does not expe-
rience as rubbish but rather as systematic and orderly sightings. In recent years slavko grcko has patiently
been pressing, assembling, and illustrating the varicolored and bright tins of Coca Cola, Heineken Beer, sprite,
and Tonic Water. He makes pictures, graphic designs, and other art objects using these items in a challenging,
expressive, and fresh manner. For grck it is as clear as day that at some point things have to look “natural” and
“proper” and that the toughest part is to creatively harmonize the initial intent to the extent that it serve that
purpose. (erVIn dUBrOVIC, TrAnsLATed FrOM CrOATIAn InTO engLIsH BY sLOBOdAn drenOVAC)

EsTHETIC TErrOrIsM 1, 2002 Acrylic on cAnvAs And cArdBoArd, tin, Foil 170 x 96,5 cM. / 67 x 38 in. 
 UNIVErsal dEBrIs, 2000 Acrylic on cAnvAs, tin, cArdBoArd, Foil, PhotogrAPhy 170 x 96,5 cM. / 67 x 38 in.
 dEprEssIVE rUBBIsH, 2002 indiAn inK, Felt Pen, Acrylic, tin 150 x 91 cM. / 59 x 36 in.
 VarICOlOrEd sCrap, 2002 indiAn inK, Felt Pen, Acrylic 120 x 70 cM. / 47¼ x 27½ in.

62 ARTaddiction