Alma Orlić - Lica kulture - izložba portreta

Razorni potresi koji su zadesili Zagreb u ožujku i prosincu 2020. godine ostavili su trajne ožiljke na arhitekturi grada, ali jednako tako i na njegovoj kulturi. Kultura se odvija u za to namijenjenim prostorima koji u Zagrebu imaju vrlo dugu tradiciju i koji su zaslužni za epitet kulturne metropole kojom se grad dičio i zahvaljujući kojoj je bio prepoznat i cijenjen u širem okruženju. Neke od najvažnijih ustanova u kojima se stvarala zagrebačka, a time i hrvatska kultura, radi oštećenja zgrada do daljnjega su zatvorene. Osim Muzeja Mimara, to su Muzej za umjetnost i obrt, Umjetnički paviljon, Strossmayerova galerija starih majstora HAZU, Hrvatski povijesni muzej, Atelijer Meštrović, Hrvatski školski muzej… Potreba i navika dolaženja na mjesta kulture te sudjelovanje u kulturnim sadržajima nezamjenjivo su bogatstvo svih građana. Kreiranje kulture dužnost je i privilegija odabranih zahvaljujući kojima se izgrađuje kulturni identitet grada kao njegova jedinstvena i trajna vrijednost. Zagrebačku kulturu desetljećima stvaraju i obogaćuju iznimni pojedinci iz svijeta likovne i glazbene, kazališne i književne umjetnosti. Njima je posvećena ova izložba kao podsjetnik na osobe koje smo susretali na otvorenjima izložba, koncertima, kazališnim predstavama, predavanjima i promocijama. Nerijetko baš u Muzeju Mimara koji je objedinio sve kulturne sadržaje koji su se izmjenjivali u učestalom ritmu i koji je bio mjesto susreta kako stvaralaca, tako i konzumenata kulture.

Vrata Muzeja Mimara zatvorena su već gotovo pune dvije godine, a ponovno otvaranje u potpunosti je neizvjesno. Virtualne izložbe tek su malen nadomjestak žive kulturne scene, pa je tako i izložba koja je prije potresa planirana biti postavljena u galerijskom prostoru Muzeja, u konačnici prešla u nadomjesni svijet novog medija.

Iz bogatog opusa akademske slikarice Alme Orlić, odabrano je dvadeset osam portreta osoba koje su obilježile zagrebačku kulturu, a svojim su radom i djelima ostale zapamćene u široj hrvatskoj kulturnoj javnosti.

Pred štafelaj Alme Orlić sjela su brojna poznata nam lica koja su svoj odraz i ogled dobila na slikarskom platnu u njenom atelijeru u zagrebačkim Šestinama. Neopterećeno i u ugodnom razgovoru prolazila bi seansa portretiranja iziskujući tek ponešto strpljenja od portretirane osobe koju bi slikarica namjestila u udobnu fotelju i podesila kut prirodnog osvjetljenja koje dolazi s prozora. Vještim potezima kista najprije bi iscrtala konturu lika, a potom se posvetila pomnom studiranju detalja.

„Ljudi su me oduvijek zanimali kao najživlji dio stvarnosti. Portretiranje mi je predstavljalo fantastičnu komunikaciju kojom sam ostvarujući lik portretiranog ujedno ostvarivala sebe, uvijek uzbuđena hoću li uspjeti, uvijek fascinirana posebnošću i ljepotom prisutnog iz kojeg je trebalo odabrati i zaustaviti samo ono zaista bitno.“ (Alma Orlić)

Umjetničin izuzetan dar zapažanja i zanimanje za ljude s kojima dolazi u doticaj, prijateljski susreti i ugodna komunikacija, rezultirali su nizom portreta suvremenika, na kojima je zabilježila svoj dojam i doživljaj portretirane osobe. Portreti osoba s kojima slikaricu vežu kolegijalne i prijateljske spone, ujedno su i osobe njena najbližeg radnog okruženja u Muzeju za umjetnost i obrt u kojem je provela većinu svog radnog vijeka kao voditeljica restauratorskog odjela.

U portretima osobitu pažnju poklanja traženju adekvatnih tonskih vrijednosti koje veže uz pojedine osobe kako bi jasnije istaknula njihovu osobnost. Raspon odabranih portreta seže s početka 1980-ih godina do novijeg doba. Portretirane osobe najčešće su prikazane u sjedećoj pozi s rukama položenim u krilu, pogleda usmjerena prema slikarici, s kojom vode kontinuirani dijalog. Putem ove izložbe taj se dijalog nastavlja s publikom koja će se podsjetiti na rado viđena lica umrežena u trajnom spomenu na osobe različitih generacija, koje su svojim djelima zadužile zagrebačku i hrvatsku kulturu, te na brojne susrete u nekim od ključnih ustanova u kojima je donedavna pulsirala živa umjetnička scena.

The devastating earthquakes that hit Zagreb in March and December 2020 left permanent scars on the architecture as well as the culture of the city. The city of Zagreb has had a long tradition of cultural spaces, which won it the epithet of a cultural metropolis, which the city was proud of and thanks to which it was recognized and appreciated in the wider environment. Some of the most important institutions where Zagreb's and therefore Croatian culture was created have been closed until further notice due to damage suffered by the buildings. In addition to the Mimara Museum, this destiny has been shared by the Museum of Arts and Crafts, the Art Pavilion, the Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters, the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Croatian History Museum, the Meštrović Atelier, the Croatian School Museum, etc. Our citizens’ need and habit of visiting the spaces of culture and participating in cultural events is their irreplaceable wealth. Creating culture is the duty and privilege of a selected few thanks to which the unique and permanent value of the cultural identity of the city is built.

For decades Zagreb's culture has been created and enriched by exceptional individuals from the world of fine arts and music, theatre and literary arts. Dedicated to them, this exhibition serves as a reminder of the people we used to meet at exhibition openings, concerts, theatre performances, lectures and promotions. Quite often in the Mimara Museum as well, where different cultural contents were brought together in a frequent rhythm and where a meeting point was established for creators and consumers of culture alike.

The doors of the Mimara Museum have now been closed for almost two years, and their reopening is entirely uncertain. Virtual exhibitions are only a substitute for the live cultural scene, so the exhibition that was planned to be set up in the gallery space of the Museum before the earthquake ended up in the alternate world of the new media.

From the rich oeuvre of the academic painter Alma Orlić, twenty-eight portraits of people who marked Zagreb's culture, and whose activity and works were remembered by the wider Croatian cultural public, were selected.

In front of Alma Orlić's easel sat a number of familiar faces whose reflection was caught on the painting canvas in her studio in Šestine, Zagreb. The portrait sessions would pass in a pleasant and relaxed conversation, requiring only a little patience from the person being portrayed, whom the painter would place in a comfortable armchair and adjust the angle of the natural lighting coming from the window. With skilful strokes of the brush, she would first draw the contours of the person, and then devote herself to a careful study of the details.

„I have always found people to be the most alive part of reality and I have been fascinated by them. Portraiture represented to me a fantastic means of communication through which I realized the character of the person being portrayed and realized myself at the same time, always excited to see if I would succeed, always fascinated by the uniqueness and beauty of what was present, from which only the truly essential had to be selected and captured." (Alma Orlić)

The artist's exceptional gift of observation and interest in the people she comes in contact with, friendly encounters and pleasant communication, resulted in a series of portraits of her contemporaries, in which she recorded her impressions and experience of the portrayed person. The portraits of people with whom the painter has collegial and friendly ties are also the people of her closest working environment in the Museum of Arts and Crafts, where she spent most of her working life as head of the restoration department.

In the portraits, she pays particular attention to the search for adequate tonal values associated with individual people in order to highlight their personality more clearly. The range of selected portraits spans from the beginning of the 1980s to recent times. Persons portrayed are most often shown sitting with their hands resting in their laps, eyes directed towards the painter, with whom they are in an ongoing dialogue. Through this exhibition, that dialogue opens to the audience who will be reminded of the familiar faces weaving a permanent memory of people of different generations, whose work has contributed to Zagreb’s and Croatian culture, and of numerous encounters in some of the key institutions where until recently a vibrant art scene pulsated.

Alma Orlić rođena je u Zagrebu 1937. godine. Akademiju likovnih umjetnosti u Zagrebu završila je 1961. godine u klasi prof. Marina Tartaglie. Aktivna je članica Hrvatskog društva likovnih umjetnika od 1961. do danas. Uz profesionalni slikarski rad, ostvarila je značajnu karijeru u restauratorskoj struci. Vodila je restauratorski odjel Muzeja za umjetnost i obrt u Zagrebu, te djelovala kao muzejska savjetnica u brojnim stručnim komisijama.
Redovito je sudjelovala na brojnim likovnim kolonijama i odazivala se na humanitarne akcije doniranjem svojih slika. Bavi se ilustracijom knjiga.
Sudjelovala je na 260 skupnih izložbi i ostvarila 65 samostalnih izložbi u Hrvatskoj i inozemstvu.
Godine 2012. objavljena je monografija “Alma Orlić”, autorice Irene Kraševac, u izdanju Matice hrvatske u povodu 50-godišnjice slikarična stvaralaštva.
Nagrade i priznanja
1961. Nagrada rektora Akademije likovnih umjetnosti u Zagrebu
1969. Srebrna plaketa grada Pariza
1970. Nagrada Lotrščak Zagreb
1986. Nagrada likovne kolonije Krynice, Poljska
1991. Plaketa kolonije Primošten
2010. Nagrada za životno djelo “Pavao Riter Vitezović” Hrvatskog muzejskog društva
Niz diploma i otkupa.

Alma Orlić was born in Zagreb in 1937. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1961 in the class of professor Marino Tartaglia. She has been an active member of the Croatian Association of Fine Artists from 1961 until today. In addition to her professional work as a painter, she achieved a significant career in the restoration profession as well. She was the head of the restoration department of the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb, and acted as a museum advisor in numerous expert commissions.
She regularly participated in art colonies and responded to humanitarian actions by donating her paintings. She is also active as a book illustrator.
She participated in 260 group exhibitions and held 65 solo exhibitions in Croatia and abroad.
In 2012, the monograph "Alma Orlić", authored by Irena Kraševac, was published by Matica Hrvatska on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the painter’s work.
Prizes and awards
1961 Prize of the Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb
1969 Silver plaque of the city of Paris
1970 Lotrščak Award Zagreb
1986 Krynice Art Colony Award, Poland
1991 Plaque of the Primošten colony
2010 "Pavao Riter Vitezović" Lifetime Achievement Award of the Croatian Museum Society
A series of diplomas and purchases.