Igor Ruf and Marko Tadić in conversation with Tena Starčević
Join artists Igor Ruf and Marko Tadić in conversation with curator Tena Starčević on Wednesday, March 5, at 7 PM, as they explore their work and themes from the current exhibition Nirgendwo.
Although Mila Panić was previously announced, unfortunately, she won’t be able to attend the event due to unexpected circumstances.
Trotoar Talks is a series of discussions with artists, curators, and their guests related to exhibitions from the Trotoar program. Recordings of previous talks are available for listening on our SoundCloud channel.
ABOUT THE PANELISTS
Igor Ruf (b. 1984, Virovitica, Croatia) studied Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, graduating in 2010. Since then, he has been actively participating in the art scene, presenting his works at numerous exhibitions. He has received several awards for his work, including the Vlastimir Kusik Award at the 29th Slavonian Biennale in 2024, the Radoslav Putar Award in 2014, the Grand Prize at the Croatian Sculpture Triennale in 2012, and the Award at the 31st Salon of Young Artists in 2012. In addition to his work as an artist, he is involved in theatre scenography and teaching. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Sculpture Department at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. His works can be found in the Virovitica City Museum, the Antun Augustinčić Collection in Klanjec, and in private collections.
Through his objects, sculptures, installations, and performances, Igor Ruf explores how space, atmosphere, and events can be shaped and interpreted, focusing on both the material and immaterial aspects of everyday life. His work examines the everyday, where surreal motifs and common objects often coexist, creating new and unexpected connections that invite reflection and interpretation. In his recent projects, he focuses on a self-reflective analysis of artistic production, questioning its meaning, context, and role in society and culture.
Recent solo exhibitions: Soft Matter, Studio 21, Split (2023);, Tikolo mikuze, MKC Amphitheater of the Youth Center, Split (2022); Acoustic Turbo Sonic Momentum, Gallery 90–60–90, Pogon Jedinstvo, Zagreb (2022); Pavić, Čabraja, Ruf, Kazamat Gallery, Osijek (2019); It Feels Good to Be Here, Art Workshop Lazareti, Dubrovnik (2019); It Feels Good to Be Here, Salon Galić, Split (2018); It Feels Good to Be Here, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb (2018),; Kondor, que pasa?, Greta Gallery, Zagreb (2018),; Hairdresser’s Salon for a Hill, Institute for Contemporary Art, Zagreb (2016).
Recent group exhibitions: I’m Laughing… LMHO, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia (2022); the 28th Slavonian Biennale, Cultural Center, Osijek, Croatia (2022); 57th Zagreb Salon: We Appeared as a Strategy of Eternity, Croatian Association of Artists (HDLU), Meštrović Pavilion, Zagreb, Croatia (2022); Ateliers Žitnjak in BiH, Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, BiH (2021); Kondor, que pasa?, Performance Art Festival, Knifer Gallery, Osijek, Croatia (2020); T-HT Award@MSU, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia (2019).
Marko Tadić (b. 1979, Sisak) studied philosophy and sociology at the Faculty of Croatian Studies in Zagreb, and painting at the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Florence, Italy, graduating in 2006. He is a visual artist working in the fields of drawing, collage, animation, and installation. His ideas are rooted in post-war utopian architecture and modernist urbanism, while the materials for his scenographic compositions come from old photographs found at flea markets, drawings of unbuilt cities, and spaces that once existed and now exist again only in his works. He incorporates science fiction into somewhat forgotten (or vanished) spaces, creating surreal scenes with narratives that could easily be real.
With the project Horizon of Expectations, in collaboration with artist Tina Gverović, he represented Croatia at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017.
Recent solo exhibitions: The Kitchen, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia (2024); Heliopolis, Parco Arte Vivente, Turin, Italy (2024); Playing a Role, Gallery Kula, Split, Croatia (2024); The Aim, Filodrammatica, Rijeka, Croatia (2023); Temporary Form, Blok, Zagreb, Croatia (2022); Complicity in the Making (with Petra Feriancová); Jan Koniarek Gallery, Trnava, Slovakia (2021); Imagine a Pattern, Public Open University Zagreb (POUZ); Croatia (2020); The World as a Pavilion (with Vjenceslav Richter); Bozar, Brussels, Belgium (2019); The Speculative View (with Philip Corner, FLUXUS); Striegl Gallery, Sisak, Croatia (2019); Duty to Document, AK Gallery, Koprivnica, Croatia (2019), Hušman Huzjan Tadić, French Pavilion, Student Center, Zagreb, Croatia (2018); The Shifting Meaning, Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Croatia (2018); Duty to Document, Spot Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia (2017); Drawings on the Margin: Constructions and Fractions, Krsto Hegedušić Gallery, Petrinja, Croatia (2017); Man Standing in a Museum Looking at Something, Richter Collection, Zagreb, Croatia (2017).
Selected group exhibitions:, Horror Patriae, steirischer herbst, Neue Galerie, Graz, Austria (2024); Planet, People, Care—It Spells Degrowth!, HDLU, Zagreb, Croatia (2023); Don’t Dream Dreams, A Selection from the Art Collection Telekom and Two Commissioned Works, Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana, Slovenia (2023); Urban Text, Institut des Cultures d’Islam, Paris, France (2022); Draw, Gallery of Fine Arts, Split, Croatia (2022); EKO 8, International Triennial of Art and Environment / A Letter to the Future (2021); From Imagination to Animation: Six Decades of Zagreb Film, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia (2020); 2nd Industrial Art Biennale: On the Backs of Fallen Giants, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Rijeka, Croatia (2018); Proposals, Dreams, and Utopias from Zagreb (with Tomislav Gotovac, Pero Dabac, David Maljković, Vlado Martek, Ivan Picelj, Marko Pogačnik, Zvonimir Radić, Vjenceslav Richter, Aleksandar Srnec; 2018); the 1st Anren Biennale, China (2017).
Tadić received the Vladimir Nazor Award for the best exhibition of the year (2015), the Third Prize at THT@MSU, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb (2010), and the Radoslav Putar Award for the best young artist of the year (2008). He has participated in numerous residencies and study programs in Helsinki, Vienna, New York, Los Angeles, and Frankfurt.
In addition to his independent artistic practice, he is also engaged in teaching work. He has led numerous art workshops and, since 2015, has been a guest lecturer at NABA (Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti) in Milan, teaching various courses related to the theoretical and practical aspects of exhibition design. Since 2016, he has been teaching at the Painting Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb.
His works are part of various collections, such as the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka, the AGI Verona collection, PAV Torino, the Hilger collection, Collezione Taurisano, and private collections. Other projects include collaboration with BADco. and the realization of a public sculpture in the Arte Vivente park in Turin.
Tena Starčević (Zagreb, 1993) is an art historian and curator employed at the Office for Photography association as a program coordinator and coordinator of the Kvartovski objektiv project. She also works as a professional associate at the Operacija grad association, where she coordinates the European project Operation Nova: Re-imagining Cultural Spaces in a New European Context, which focuses on researching cultural infrastructure.
She completed a degree in art history at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. Her primary interests revolve around exploring the potential of abandoned industrial heritage and art in public spaces. She regularly curates exhibitions at Galerija Spot, writes exhibition forewords, and contributes articles to the Vizkultura and Contemporary Croatian Photography portals, as well as art critiques for the radio show Triptih.
She is a member of the artistic collective Arbajt Kolektiv, where she explores the relationship between art and labor in both historical and contemporary contexts.