January 29, 2011
the old country
Being born in Croatia, and having spent most of life in Australia, I sometimes miss a little bit of the old world I experienced as a child. It's not the same as living here. So this sentimental nostalgia brought up a bit of art from the old country. Ivan Rabuzin's work really does feel like Croatia. It's how I remember it, and that makes me very happy!
He was born in the village Kjuc, near Novi Marof, Croatia in 1921. Rabuzin's father was a miner, and Ivan was the sixth of his eleven children. Ivan worked as a carpenter for many years, and did not begin painting until 1956, when he was thirty-five years old. He had little formal training as an artist, but his first exhibition of paintings proved successful and he changed careers, becoming a professional painter in 1962. More information can be found via the links below. Sadly Ivan passed away in 2008.