An exhibition entitled Two Homelands (Dos patrias) featuring the work of this young Chilean of Croatian roots was organised during the St Blaise (Sveti Vlaho) festivities in the city and opened by CHF director Marin Knezović. She has been in Croatia since early last year studying on a Croatian language scholarship at the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
An exhibition entitled Two Homelands (Dos patrias) featuring the work of Katarina Abović Oyarzun opened on 1 February at the Dubrovnik branch office of the Croatian Heritage Foundation. The exhibition was organised during the St Blaise (Sveti Vlaho) festivities in the city and opened by CHF director Marin Knezović. The exhibited paintings included those created during the artist’s time in Croatia portraying everyday life in Croatia and paintings created five years ago in Chile during her studies of the visual arts and for her thesis at the local Catholic University as mementos of Chile.
Katarina Abović was born in Santiago in 1988. She went on to complete her studies in the visual arts there at the Catholic University before moving on to the Gabriela Mistral University for her postgraduate studies in art pedagogy. She has exhibited at group exhibitions in Antofagasta and Santiago, and has been in Croatia since early last year studying on a Croatian language scholarship at the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
In the exhibition catalogue Ljerka Galic notes: “In the paintings created five years ago (five group portraits) during her studies of the visual arts and for her thesis (four landscapes) at the Catholic University, the artists presents her memories of Chile, while this year’s twelve paintings, created during her springtime sojourn in Croatia, are a diary of sorts in which a now skilled hand brings to life everyday life in (for the most part) Zagreb as seen through the lens of a photo camera, highlighting the fascinating details of seemingly incidental situations: women waiting for the tram to come, dog owners on a stroll through Zagreb’s parks, foreign tourists touring the points of interest in the city, couples meeting under the clock on the main city square, young people enjoying leisurely moments on the benches and lawns and in spirited discussion at the cafés of the old upper town… In Croatia her strokes are gentler, even the canvases painted in acrylic colours are imbued with a ‘flowing aquarelle’ quality.” (Dubrovački vjesnik/Dubrovniknet)
Learn more about painter Katarina Abović