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I.
Nikola Vecenaj-Leportinov has had a rather difficult
life path, within the framework of a rural village childhood,
growing up on the Hungarian plough-fileds, his adult life spent as
an employee of a big foodstuffs industry Podravka, and his early
retirement. All this has influenced his painting and has set up
guiding principles of his style. The troubles and joys of life are
imprinted in the red shades of his paintings, and this undoubtly has
enriched the naive art realism with new values and new achievements.
Since his birth on 2nd of December, 1935 in a village
of Gotalovo, through green lowlands of northern parts of Balaton
lake, to suburban Koprivnica and the loneliness of the janitor's
booth as his work place, Nikola Vecenaj-Leportinov has been building
up a painting style of distinctive quality, divided into 3 basic art
subjects: everyday life, philosophy, religion and crucifixion. Of
course, life which is pastoral, native, of Podravina region, the one
that is gradually disappearing, life of today, and the one of
tomorrow. Life, if contemplated philosophically, can be seen in the
paintings of Nikola Vecenaj-Leportinov, who brought in important
elements of surrealism. Religion and crucifixion is omnipresent and
eternal issue of generation in transit from this, to another life.
Early, in elementary school days of his home village
of Gotalovo, young boy Nikola showed just a little of his supressed
and hidden talent for sketching and painting. This is when he began
to paint: he watched the landscape of Balaton lake and Munkaczy, and
his first tempera painting expressed what he saw and felt.
Unfortunately, this painting was lost somewhere along the way.
A farmer, a tractor driver, a painter ... Nikola
Vecenaj-Leportinov as a grown man with some life experience and
strengthened by marriage to Juliska, in 1964 has turned another page
in his life and set his permanent residence at Carda 43, Koprivnica.
His tractor driving skills brought him to the plough-fields of the
State farm Podravsko gospodarstvo that, in return, openheartedly
welcomed him throughout Panonia lowlands.
To his hardly earned bread Nikola gave a little
spiritual additive: since 1965 he has been painting on regular
basis. Spring, summer and autumn would have him behind tractor
steering wheel, and back to his paintings at home. Winter would find
him in a janitor's booth and back home to painting again, but due to
his injured back, in 1993 he is prematurely retired. Now he has a
lot of time to think, plenty of ideas too, and all this he is trying
to transfer into his painting in glass. His art studio at Carda 43,
Koprivnica becomes a distinctive world of various art works covering
pastoral life, philosophy and religion. Above all, pastoral life and
life in general.
His life path, set up back in 1965, has no
alternative. He says: It is quite like being enchanted by stage
life, or the scent and power of lead in a printing shop. You cannot
be driven away from painting even if they would try to pull you away
by a mighty Ferguson tractor.
II.
Nikola Vecenaj-Leportinov had the first public
display of his art in the place of Virje in 1966. His painting
called Dinner was on the display Naive Art Exhibition of Young
Artists and was shipped from Koprivnica to Virje by train. But the
first real contact with art gallery visitors and audience, the one
that Nikola remembers very well, happened at a group exhibition in
1967, on display at Podravka premises, as a part of Podravka 20th
anniversary festivities. Nikola's paintings on display were:
Pig-slaughter day, Fortune-telling woman, Pig slaughtering singe,
all of them in dark shades of colours.
The Vecenaj's early painting is characterized by his
battle with materials, and learning elementary rules of the painting
craft. This is dark, beginner's phase, bringing shaded gamma into
his paintings and allowing glimpses of figures and other shapes to
be seen. The painter himself says: Indeed, it is difficult to talk
about strict definition of my dark phase. In fact, there was no
deliberate intention of using dark shades in painting, it was simply
a beginner's lack of painting technique. I needed to learn a great
deal more, to paint a lot more, and to keep up doing it. However,
Nikola Vecenaj had courage to submit these paintings for a display
at Hlebine gallery, and be judged and assessed by public. The
painting Conversation was displayed at First Exhibition from gallery
Collection, on display from 10th August to 10th October, 1969.
Another display took place in Novigrad Podravski on 19th/20th of
April, 1969 as a group exhibition, presenting Nikola's paintings
Gipsies, Willows, A Child in Glass and Dinner. The same paintings
were also displayed at several other exhibitions, as well as at his
very first single-author exhibition, held in 1971 at Industry of
Podravka premises.
Obviously his persistence paid off, because the year
of 1971 brought him a broad recognition of his undeniable talent as
a painter. Events to follow were his 4 works displayed at the Second
Meeting of Artists-Amateurs, held in Karlovac (his stlyle changing
from dark phase into a phase of brighter colours), then he
participated in a group exhibition held in Zagreb. Another of his
exhibition was the two-authors joint exhibition with famous Ivan
Generalic. This gave Nikola Vecenaj-Leportinov the feeling of honour
and encouragement. This was held at Vara¾dinske Toplice in
celebration of the 400th anniversary of their school. And then came
his first individual exhibition in early November, 1971 with display
at Podravka, held in its traditional Exhibition Hallway. This was
sponsored by Nikola's firm he worked for, organized as one of the
events in celebration of Podravka pilot testing production of
Panonska pivovara Brewery. There Nikola displayed 27 paintings and
received recognition and affirmative reviews from his fellow-workers
and other art public and critics.
The paintings were grouped in Nikola's 3 favourite
art cycles: pastoral life, religion and crucifixion, and philosophy.
Some of the displayed paintings were: Rosary and Mother, My River
Drava, Father, deep in thought, Forget-me-nots, Wash Tub Repairmen
and others, which had strong influence on Vecenaj's painting at
large stage.
In early 1972 the painter dared to challenge the
capital - Zagreb, having his own single-author exhibition. It was
opened on the 6th of January, 1972 by the sculptor Lujo Lozica. The
very year brought him also solid recognition at several important
group exhibitions. At the same time, one of Nikola's paintings for
the first time went abroad - it got displayed at an exhibition in
Brussels, Belgium. In 1972 at Podravka, Nikola Vecenaj-Leportinov
had 8 paintings on display, which definitely announced his march to
win the Olymp of Hlebine Naive Art School. The paintings were: Wash
Tub Repairmen, Death on Leave, Dead Lumberman, Besides, We're Human,
Spinning-bee Festitivites, Bitter Mouthfull, Old Homeland, Still
Life.
Nikola Vecenaj-Leportinov is one of the founders of
the well-known Art Group Podravka 72, formed in 1972, that in later
years achieved enviable success.
III.
So our short summary has brought us to Nikola's
painting: Day-labourer on St. George's Day. This was a landmark for
the painter, for he was rewarded by an overall recognition. This
painting means a lot to him and represents a turning point in his
work: it definitely proved that Nikola Vecenaj-Leportinov reached
the heights of outstanding Hlebine Naive Art School. He would say:
There, by the painting glass I would spend my entire leave and all
days off. I want a painting to be good. This is where I, for the
first time, try to express each individual figure of each man in a
composition. And this is very difficult to achieve, you see, there
are so many of them in there. For 2 months I have been working hard
on this painting, and I still don't know when I will finish it. Many
times I am dissatisfied with it, and redo it over and over again.
For me, the process of painting is a great joy, not the quick money
to make. Some day people will get fed up with these paintings of
ours, unless we give out something creative and new, unless we stop
imitating each other. His painting Day-labourer on St. George's Day
was on display during Naive Art 1973 International Exhibition, held
in Zagreb, arousing special interest and admiration from experts and
audience. For many people this painting was a pleasant surprise,
quite a revelation, and the painter was rewarded with further
recognition and achievements. This is why this particular
exhibition, held in Zagreb from the 2nd of June until the 31st of
August, 1973 has had such a special importance in the painter's art
paths and progress.
The year of 1973 became a year of success for Nikola
Vecenaj, having his paintings on display at various exhibitions,
domestic and foreign. Some of them, to be remembered, are definitely
Croatian Museum of History exhibition called Peasants' Revolution in
the year of 1573, as mirrored in artworks of the Naive Art. This too
was held in Zagreb. Another is for sure Vecenaj's participation in
the exhibition called Hlebine fall of 1973.
This is where Nikola Vecenaj-Leportinov for the first
time made a more serious introduction to home audience, presenting
at Hlebine Art gallery 3 of his paintings of high quality:
Day-labourer on St. George's day, Oak Tree, and Ferry Across Drava
River.
The next year of 1974 brings Nikola and his art
abroad, having his 2 single-author exhibitions in Germany. Besides,
he is present at some 10 group exhibitions held in Croatia, Germany,
France, Italy and Belgium. One particular exhibition, held at Jungen
Theatre in Goettingen, university town of northern Germany, gave
Vecenaj an opportunity to show his 15 paintings, greatly admired by
German art critics and audience.
Domestic activities in 1974 also brought him several
successful appearances, two of them significant to him. One was a
presentation of himself as a painter, another as a poet. He also
kept on with his activities in Podravka's Art Civic Club. This group
managed to present successfully their art works in several Croatian
and Slovenian towns in late 1974 and early 1975. They were true
highlights of visual arts presentation in the towns of Maribor,
Ptuj, Slovenska Bistrica (Slovenia), and Vara¾din, Cakovec, Sisak
(Croatia) ... Some of them were held as part of activities within
traditional Meetings of Friendship between 7 municipalities of
Croatia and Slovenia. These exhibitions had numerous audience, but
major achievement was contributed by Nikola Vecenaj-Leportinov, as a
leading artist of Podravka's Art Civic Club. Here Vecenaj displayed
5 paintings: Day-labourer on St. George's Day, Oak Tree, Volcano of
Life, Seven Hungry Ones, Still Life.
Another success in 1974 Vecenaj achieved at
well known
Krapina Pop Music Festival, for his poem Snow Storm in 1573, or
rather, lyrics that won the first prize (music composed by Milan
Arko, song performed by Marija Rozman and Aleksandar Djokic). Music
critics welcomed and praised the song and the lyrics, emerged from
the painter's poetry of his many lonely hours, and Nikola's art was
recognized again.
Due to his exhibitions in Goettingen and Hannover, in 1975 Nikola
Vecenaj-Leportinov received another important recognition for his
art - his works were accepted within well-known art gallery &
interiour decoration system - Junior Galerie. They helped organize a
single-author exhibition for him, held from 30th of November until
15th December, 1975 in Goslar, the German town of great tradition.
Exhibition opening had several hundred guests and visitors, many of
them being most prominent people and celebrities of the town and
district of Braunschweig. It was a genuine festival of visual arts,
but of friendship as well. The critics gave excellent reviews and
praised the displayed paintings. Junior Galerie also organized a
well-accepted single-author exhibition of Nikola Vecenaj at their
principal gallery in Koeln in 1976.
IV.
Finally, as the highlight og his ten years of active
and successful painting and participating in various exhibitions, in
1977 Nikola had single-author exhibition in the heart of Croatia's
naive Art - in Hlebine. He says: To me, Hlebine gallery is the
symbol of our Croatian naive art, and moreover, of the world naive
art as well. To have an exhibition here, means a great deal to me,
and it is quite a recognition. This possibility to display his work
here, Vecenaj used to a maximum extent. His single-author exhibition
here in Hlebine indeed offered an outstanding contribution to
Croatian visual art of those days. Vecenaj had a lavishly edited
catalogue, with colourful reproductions of his paintings. A foreword
was written by the leading Croatian art critic, Vladimir Malekovic.
The next 2 years, 1978 and 1979, brought Nikola
Vecenaj to well-known art galleries in Germany - the towns of
Biberach, Darmstadt, Lahr and Ale. Later on, as a participant in
group exhibitions, his works are displayed in Austria, Russia,
Hungary, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and above all, in Croatia. His other
individual exhibitions mean a lot to him too - one in Donja Dubrava,
and three in Koprivnica - in the period from 1980 to 1989. Vecenaj
builds up his craftsmanship and art, searches for new paths, further
develops a topic in much detail. Up to a point, he also builds up
the technique and morphology of his paintings as well.
Although he hasn't had any single-author exhibitions
himself ever since 1989, Vecenaj is till present in the Naive art of
Podravina region, and in vusial art of Croatia in genaral. He does
it through his participation in numerous group exhibitions, and
various cultural events. However, the most important is that he
keeps on painting, he looks for afresh aproach to expression of
Naive art, especially in covering a certain theme, or topic. Being a
very subtle person, who turns his inside into a great poetry, Nikola
Vecenaj was struck and greatly moved by the war and tragic fate of
Croatian people. Much before all this, through his work, sacral,
religious motifs and through other symbols, Nikola had announced a
struggle for Croatian independence. During wartime years of 1991 and
1992, he created numerous paintings, and through symbols has spoken
of war tragedy and struggle for Croatian freedom. However, Nikola
Vecenaj tried to overcome this restlessness of his soul through a
new wave of optimistic paintings: bright, with more colours, and a
lot of flower petals. As if the author is giving out the message:
Croatia needs new future and optimism.
In 1995, when Vecenaj will be celebrating his 60th
birthday and 30th anniversary of his career as a painter, ner
individual exhibitions will mark another era and a mature phase for
Nikola Vecenaj-Leportinov. This is why the Naive art of Podravina
region, and entire visual arts of Croatia in general, rightfully
expect from this painter numerous artworks in the future. |
