About the artist:

Ivan Rabuzin was born in1920 in the small town of Kljuc Northeast of Zagreb and in the vicinity of the Hungarian border. He was the sixth of eleven children, whose father worked as a miner to support his family. After completing four years of primary school, the young Ivan started working the family’s small parcel of land with his older brothers. During the Second World War Rabuzin studied carpentry in Zagreb and applied his newly learnt skills in yet another town, Zenum. Later still, after he had started working and was again in Zagreb, he returned to the government trade school to advance his carpentry skills. There he learnt the more developed skills necessary for a Master Carpenter, and the skills associated with drafting furniture drawings. During the evenings Rabuzin followed a course which introduced him to drawing in an artistic sphere, and to other painters in the area. Rabuzin’s interest in painting was first piqued in 1944 and he continued to paint whenever he could find the time in his work schedule and increasingly demanding family life. He got married, moved once again to another town and professional position (this time in a furniture factory), and starting a family. In 1956 Rabuzin had his first solo exhibition which helped to establish his name as a noteworthy painter and further introduced him to his contemporary painters. By visiting galleries and reading literature on various artists Rabuzin expanded his knowledge of the artistic world, where he had little formal training. He described himself as ignorant about how to paint, however this naïveté did not stop him and he continued to develop. Rabuzin’s unique style crystallized in the late 1950s and early 1960s during which time his work was introduced to the world art market. He was given solo shows in Paris and even Sao Paolo. In 1962 Rabuzin began to paint as a professional and he has continued to do so, gaining acclaim over the years.