Grgur Akrap

Art Room

To celebrate the release of our summer issue, a contemplation on the blurry line between man and beast, See All This is pleased to introduce you to Grgur Akrap (Zagreb, 1988) and his rich, colourful paintings. Artworks, as seen in See All This #26, of falling angels, noble centaurs, and ambiguous scenes set in nature which vibrate with calculated combinations of colour and expose our deeply enmeshed relationship with the natural world.

text EMMA CLARKSON studio images LUKA RADEK

Grgur Akrap<br />

‘There is so much to be found in oil painting, a medium that hides many secrets’

‘I was born in Zagreb in 1988, just before the breakup of Yugoslavia. The first few years of my life were marked by air-raid sirens and occasional visits to a bomb shelter. The rest of my childhood was more colorful. I remember building a tree house with my friends, though we never finished it because, at night, somebody would tear down what we had built during the day. That’s the first instance of creativity I can recall. I come from a family that isn’t very artistic, so I discovered my true love relatively late in life. Before that, I wandered aimlessly and collected memories.’

Since his graduation from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 2013, Akrap’s work has been featured in many solo and group shows in Croatia and overseas.

Fig 6. The One Who Falls, 2020, oil on canvas, 153 x 130 cm

‘I usually spend the first hour in the studio observing and carefully listening to the silence. The only sound is the creaking of the old wooden floor as I pace back and forth in order to get a better look at a mute image. It all begins with a single color which pulls me into that invisible inner world. I build everything around it, trying to create the conditions in which the color will behave naturally. This is where I find my creative environment. I feel as if, at that moment, there isn’t much of a difference between composing and painting. I’m certain that colors can be translated into sound, in that sense my goal is to paint a melodious composition, which derives its harmony from the language in which it’s expressed – the language of painting.‘
‘The animals in my painting aren’t depictions of the animal world, but rather a distorted reflection of the human spirit. The human figures always function in relation to that symbolic depiction. In painting these scenes, I try to speak a universal language, without the need for some cultural or historical context. I don’t like drama in my private life, but I use it in my painting to construct a world of inner struggles and to create narrative tension.‘

‘Personally, I lean toward the work of artists whose visual style is diametrically opposed to mine. One such opposite is Luc Tuymans, who, in one sweep of infinite tones, manages to capture both a clear idea and reality. I rarely draw inspiration from famous and sharply defined visual styles. I often seek out works made with the eyes of a child.‘

Fig 7. Winged Centaur, 2020, oil on canvas, 153 x 130 cm

Fig 8. Jackson Pollock, oil on canvas, 190 x 110 cm

Fig 9. One of a kind, 2022, oil on canvas, 90 x 65 cm

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Grgur Akrap