Julije Knifer
4.XI–26.XI 85 24.VI–3.VII.85
Artist
Julije Knifer
(1924, Osijek - 2004, Paris), Croatian
Original Title
4.XI–26.XI 85 24.VI–3.VII.85
Date1985
Mediumgraphite on paper
Dimensions 88 × 62,5 cm
Classifications
drawings
Credit LineKunsthalle Praha
DescriptionJulije Knifer was part of a wave of prominent Croatian neo-avantgarde artists whose work was influenced by their membership in the informal art group Gorgona, active from 1959 to 1966. In 1960, Knifer painted his first canvas with the motif of a meander, an infinite motif providing its author with strong internal continuity as well as a surprisingly inexhaustible space for projecting his own creative individuality. He emphasizes the creative process rather than the result, an approach linked to a broader engagement with processuality in conceptual art, where the contemplative act is prioritized over the resulting artwork. Knifer’s minimalist color palette is based on the contrast of black and white; the intensity of their interrelation is achieved through a repeated, concentrated layering of numerous thin, coalescent coats of paint. While in his early work Knifer used a base layer of white paint, from the early 1980s onward he turned to coating the initially white canvas with black paint. Knifer’s meanders offer various interpretations linked to the contemporary context they were created in. One such reading suggests an anti-painting negational approach linked to his engagement with the Gorgona collective. The initial conception of his work as anti-painting later developed into an idea of painting without identity, which leaves it open to varying interpretations and dialogues with various contemporary concepts in art. We might consider a certain internal dialogue with the modernist avantgarde—particularly Kazimir Malevič—whose choice of formal painterly devices represents nothing beyond itself. We can also draw connections to American minimalism and abstract painting, A particular affinity can be found with Ad Reinhardt’s black paintings from the 1950s and 1960s, where painting is preceded by a thorough concept and is defined by an obsessive repetition of forms and signs as well as an elimination of color which would emphasize the sensory and material dimensions of the canvas.
This vertically oriented drawing titled 4.XI–26.XI 85 24.VI–3.VII.85 dates from a period between 1961 and 1986, during which Knifer temporarily abandoned the medium of painting. The name itself references the processual dimension of the work, documenting the temporal sequences in which black graphite was applied to white paper. Knifer began to engage with drawing in 1976, and the medium holds a fully autonomous position within his oeuvre. After initial pencil-based works, he began to use graphite, with its characteristically rich texture allowing for a more intensely saturated black color. Graphite also gave his works a steely shine, its haptic material quality contrasting with his matte finish of his coalescent paintings. The prevalence of black color represents the theme of absence, which can be understood in the lineage of Kazimir Melvič and his famous Black Square painting.
Julije Knifer (1924, Osijek – 2004, Paris) never fully recovered from injuries received in battle during World War II. In the 1950s, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. Due to Yugoslavia’s neutral political position, he was able to attend international exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale and Documenta in Kassel, where he encountered contemporary artistic trends. The New Tendencies exhibitions in Zagreb, which he took part in during the 1960s, were also of a progressive nature. In the early 1960s, Knifer’s work was included in international exhibitions of geometric constructivist tendencies (Art Abstrait Constructif International, Denise René Gallery, Paris, 1961; Konstruktivisten, City Museum of Leverkusen, 1962); it was also presented within the context of contemporary tendencies in American post-painting abstraction and color field painting (Oltre l’informale, San Marino, 1963). However, the content of his art primarily stems from a conceptual dimension and an anti-painting attitude linked to his membership in the Gorgona group (1959–1956). In the 1970s, Knifer created works in public space defined by the motif of an endless meander. During the 1980s and 1990s, this spatial work led him to create monumental diptychs and triptychs as well as to place paintings in corners, thus incorporating spatiality. The devastating war in Croatia during the early 1990s saw him emigrate to France, where he initially worked at Villa Saint-Clair in Sete and Villa Arson in Nice before relocating to Paris. In 2001, he represented Croatia at the 49th Venice Biennale, covering the walls of the national pavilion with his meanders. Knifer died at the age of 80 in Paris in 2004. In 2014, an extensive retrospective of his work was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb. In Prague, his work was first presented in 1972 at the exhibition Contemporary Yugoslavian Painting at the National Gallery in Prague.
This vertically oriented drawing titled 4.XI–26.XI 85 24.VI–3.VII.85 dates from a period between 1961 and 1986, during which Knifer temporarily abandoned the medium of painting. The name itself references the processual dimension of the work, documenting the temporal sequences in which black graphite was applied to white paper. Knifer began to engage with drawing in 1976, and the medium holds a fully autonomous position within his oeuvre. After initial pencil-based works, he began to use graphite, with its characteristically rich texture allowing for a more intensely saturated black color. Graphite also gave his works a steely shine, its haptic material quality contrasting with his matte finish of his coalescent paintings. The prevalence of black color represents the theme of absence, which can be understood in the lineage of Kazimir Melvič and his famous Black Square painting.
Julije Knifer (1924, Osijek – 2004, Paris) never fully recovered from injuries received in battle during World War II. In the 1950s, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. Due to Yugoslavia’s neutral political position, he was able to attend international exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale and Documenta in Kassel, where he encountered contemporary artistic trends. The New Tendencies exhibitions in Zagreb, which he took part in during the 1960s, were also of a progressive nature. In the early 1960s, Knifer’s work was included in international exhibitions of geometric constructivist tendencies (Art Abstrait Constructif International, Denise René Gallery, Paris, 1961; Konstruktivisten, City Museum of Leverkusen, 1962); it was also presented within the context of contemporary tendencies in American post-painting abstraction and color field painting (Oltre l’informale, San Marino, 1963). However, the content of his art primarily stems from a conceptual dimension and an anti-painting attitude linked to his membership in the Gorgona group (1959–1956). In the 1970s, Knifer created works in public space defined by the motif of an endless meander. During the 1980s and 1990s, this spatial work led him to create monumental diptychs and triptychs as well as to place paintings in corners, thus incorporating spatiality. The devastating war in Croatia during the early 1990s saw him emigrate to France, where he initially worked at Villa Saint-Clair in Sete and Villa Arson in Nice before relocating to Paris. In 2001, he represented Croatia at the 49th Venice Biennale, covering the walls of the national pavilion with his meanders. Knifer died at the age of 80 in Paris in 2004. In 2014, an extensive retrospective of his work was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb. In Prague, his work was first presented in 1972 at the exhibition Contemporary Yugoslavian Painting at the National Gallery in Prague.
