Bojan Šumonja (1960, Pula) graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia in Italy. His work as a painter has developed within the realm of neoexpressionist aesthetics, exploring the transformation of traditional figures and landscapes, along with references to mythology and history painting, and the influence of the poetics of comics and film. His works form part of the permanent exhibitions and collections of the National Museum of Modern Art in Zagreb, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Istria in Pula, the Rovinj City Museum, the Piran Coastal Galleries, and numerous other public and private collections.

He has exhibited at over two hundred group exhibitions and some one hundred solo exhibitions. Highlights from among his solo exhibitions include: Postojanost slikanja (2015), a retrospective held at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Istria in Pula, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka, the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery in Zagreb, and the Waldinger Gallery in Osijek; Omnibus – skupna izložba jednog umjetnika (2019–2021), held at the Art Pavilion in Zagreb, the Gallery of St. Chrysogonus in Šibenik, and the gallery of the Croatian Association of Visual Artists of Istria in Pula; La tela volante (2018) at the Holy Heart Museum Gallery in Pula; Border Crossing (2017) at the Galerie im Schloss Porcia, Spittal/Drau, Austria; One Dollar Bill – Aqua Alta (2021) with Marko Jakše and Pierre Tol at Lauba in Zagreb; Kako sjebati zmiju (2023) at the Forum Gallery in Zagreb; and There Is Nothing Higher Than Offering Yourself to the Infinite (2024) with Rajko Radovanović at the Staple Goods Gallery in New Orleans, USA. His works have been exhibited at group exhibitions at the National Academy of Art – Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi, India; Palazzo Costanzi in Trieste, Italy; Galleri Infra in Stockholm, Sweden; Museum Chiang Mai, Thailand; and the Muzeum Chełmskie w Chełmie in Chełm, Poland, among others.

He has received a range of awards for his artistic work, including the Grand Prix at the Croatian Association of Artists’ 7^th Biennial of Painting in Zagreb. A monograph about his work, written by Igor Zidić, was published in 2007 by the Croatian Association of Artists of Istria. He is a co-founder and artistic director of the Poola Gallery in Pula, and a member of the informal art group One Dollar Bill, with Marko Jakše and Pierre Tol. He lives and works in Pula.

 

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2024 There Is Nothing Higher Than Offering Yourself to the Infinite (with Rajko Radovanović), Staple Goods Gallery, New Orleans, USA
2024 The Great Observer, Borovany Monastery, Borovany, Czech Republic
2023 Kako sjebati zmiju, Forum Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia
2022 Sumnja, City Gallery, Pula, Croatia
2022 Dunavski dijalozi, Mali likovni salon, Novi Sad, Serbia
2022 Non sappiamo dove stiamo andando, però sappiamo dove andremo, Galleria Civica, Coseano, Italy
2021 One Dollar Bill – Aqua Alta, Lauba, Zagreb / Labin City Gallery / Zuccato Gallery Poreč, Croatia
2019 Omnibus – group exhibition by one autor, Art Pavilion, Zagreb, Croatia
2018 La Tela Volante, Holy Heart Museum Gallery, Pula, Croatia
2017 There Is Nothing Higher Than Offering Yourself to the Infinite, MMC Kibla, Maribor, Slovenia
2017 Border Crossing, Galerie im Schloss Porcia, Spittal/Drau, Austria
2015 Prevara, Accademia Moderna, Zagreb, Croatia
2015 Postojanost slikanja, Museum of Contemporary Art of Istria, Pula, Croatia
2015 Postojanost slikanja, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
2015 Postojanost slikanja, Klovićevi Dvori Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia
2015 Postojanost slikanja, Waldinger Gallery, Osijek, Croatia
2014 Gallery Salon Freiheit, Klagenfurt, Austria
2014 New Paintings, Alpine Gallery, Heiligenblut, Austria
2013 Paintings, Jean Monet Building, Luxembourg
2013 Paintings, Berlaymont Piazza, Brussels, Belgium
2012 Superheroes, Galerija Kula, Split, Croatia
2012 Paintings, Kirsten Kjær’s Museum, Felsdrup, Denmark
2012 What Has Our Fight Given Us, Galerija Vladimir Bužančić, Zagreb / Kunst galerija, Rijeka / Zuccatto Gallery, Poreč, Croatia
2011 Galerija Collegium Artisticum, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Hercegovina
2011 Paintings by Bojan Šumonja, Byrdies Gallery, New Orleans, USA
2010 Šikuti Machine, Savičenta, Croatia
2010 Galerija Marisall, Zagreb, Croatia
2010 Trip, Dea Orh Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
2010 What Has Our Fight Given Us, Zavičajni muzej grada Rovinja, Galerija Sv. Toma, Rovinj, Croatia / MC Gallery, New York, USA
2009 Galerija Loža, Obalne galerije, Kopar, Slovenia
2009 Galerija Sv. Krševan, Šibenik, Croatia
2009 Galerija Kresija, Ljubljana, Slovenia

 

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024 7th Biennial of Painting, Croatian Association of Artists, Meštrović Pavilion, Zagreb, Croatia
2019 Vizije grada, National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb, Croatia
2012 The Same Rain the Same Wind, Museum Chiang Mai, Thailand
2009 Nel segno di Zotti, Palazzo Costanzi, Trieste, Italy
2009 The Flag, Good Children Gallery, New Orleans, USA
2007 Contemporary Croatian Art, Lalit Kala Akademi-National Academy of Art, New Delhi, India
2004 Blue d’Istria, Muzeum Chełmskie w Chełmie, Chełm, Poland
2003 Bienale i maleri, Art Vasby, Galleri Infra, Stockholm, Sweden
1993 Nova hrvatska umjetnost, National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb, Croatia

@bojansumonja