Exhibition ‘Joso Bužan: from the collections of the National Museum of Modern Art and the Ethnographic Museum’

Joso Bužan, a painter of everyday folk life, country idylls and hidden expressionism

Thematically and motivically, Joso Bužan’s work can be divided into depictions of peasant life in the setting of a village and its surrounding landscape, and a significant segment of civic portraits, among which are a considerable number of prominent public figures from the period marking the transition from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. Themes from village life, however, were Bužan’s favourite subject matter.

Painted in a light palette, mostly in a pseudo-plein-air style, these paintings depict scenes from the everyday life of Croatia, with a particular focus on those from the Zagreb area (Šestine, Turopolje) and Posavina, as well as scenes from Roma life. Bužan often approaches these subjects with a blend of an embellished academic realism in his depiction of rural idylls, or through a pronounced prism of anecdote, humour and narrative.

The end result is a painting of an unusual blend of characteristics that reveal the character of an intelligent, curious, witty and seemingly unburdened observer of everyday life and surroundings, with occasional hints of expressionistic and symbolistic angst hidden beneath layers of cheerful lightness.

The exhibition is open from 4 September to 18 October 2026.

IMPRESSUM:

Exhibition organisers:
National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb (NMMU)
Ethnographic Museum, Zagreb (EMZ)

Conceptual designers of the exhibition and authors of the texts:
Zvjezdana Antoš, PhD, museum advisor and director (EMZ)
Ivana Rončević Elezović, PhD, museum advisor (NNMU)

Collaborator:
Matija Dronjić, senior curator (EMZ)

Exhibition layout and graphic design:
Ana Zubić

Photographs and film:
Photo-documentation records of the Ethnographic museum, Zagreb

Restoration of artwork:
Petra Kursar, M.A., senior conservator-restorer, Head of the Department of Conservation and Restoration (NMMU)
Ana Dumbović, M.A., senior conservator-restorer (NMMU)
Sonja Pavin, conservator-restorer (NMMU)
Kristina Matković, M.A., conservator-restorer (EMZ)

Exhibition setup:
Davor Filipčić, Head of the Conservation and Restoration Department (EMZ)
Ivana Prodan, M.A., conservator-restorer (EMZ)
Darijen Paša (EMZ)
Jurica Jazbec, Damir Maričić, Aleksandar Radivojević (NMMU)

Proofreading:
Silvija Brkić Midžić

Translation into English:
Robertina Tomić

Photography:
Goran Vranić

Public Relations and Marketing:
Ivana Lušić, PhD, Head of Marketing and Public Relations (EMZ)
Lana Šetka, Head of Marketing and Public Relations (NMMU)

Educational programmes:
Ana Kolonić, curator
Silvia Vrsalović, senior museum educator

The exhibition was made possible by the City of Zagreb – City office for Culture and Civil Society and the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia