Mladen
Veža - biography
Mladen Veža was born on 7th February, 1916 in Brist.
He began to paint (and have never stopped) at the age of
four or five. In 1927 when he was eleven-year old he made
his first sculpture from an olive vein.
In 1928 he was admitted in a distinguished State-owned Crafts
School which he finished in 1932 at the age of sixteen.
In the year of 1933 before his 17th birthday he enrolled
in the Art Academy in Zagreb (today Academy of Fine Arts)
where he was studying painting. From the beginning of his
studies he got in touch with with famous Vladimir Becić,
then the only one alive from the Munchen group of three
artists Račić, Kraljević, Becić. Mladen Veža graduated in
1937 in professor Vladimir Becić's class.
In 1938 he prepared his first independent exhibition together
with Slavko Kopač in the reputable Zagreb Gallery, at the
famous salon of Ulrich in the center of Zagreb.
At the end of 1938 twenty two year old Veža was included
at the historical exhibition (important for many things)
of the Croatian fine arts - Half a century of the Croatian
Arts from 1878 to 1938.
With in the period from 1939 to 1945 Mladen Veža prepared
only one independent exhibition which was set in Zagreb
in 1940 at the Ulrich salon. At that time Mladen Veža was
painting and occasionally teaching at schools in Zagreb,
Mostar and Karlovac and after 1941 also in the two Zagreb
state owned secondary schools till 1944 when he was dismissed.
Mladen Veža was being invited, primarily by Ivo Šrepel,
director of Gallery of Modern Art in Zagreb, to the representative
exhibitions, starting from the exhibition of Half a Century
of the Croatian Art in 1938 to the 4th Exhibition of the
Croatian Artists in 1944.
Arranged by Gallery of Modern Art, Veža exhibited together
with the most representative Croatian living artists.
The year of 1946 marked the beginning of ULUH (Association
of the Croatian Fine Artists) exhibitions. The first exhibition
took place in the Art Pavilion in Zagreb. Veža is one of
the founder of the Association, successfully engaged in
development of the vital and artistic possibilities of the
fine arts and his merits were exceptional but of course,
not without any dispute. In any case, time has brought the
judgement. Mladen Veža is one of the initiator of LIKUM
(Society of the Croatian Fine Artists) and its member with
fewer interruptions up to now.
In 1950 Veža lived and created in Paris where he prepared
his Parisian cycle or Cycle of Parisian motives which made
him famous and recognized. In 1951 Veža prepared his first
independent postwar exhibition and the fourth one in his
career in Zagreb at the ULUH salon in which the Parisian
motives were exhibited.
From 1932 up to the present he has been also active in illustration
of books and picture-books. The Artist was consistently
painting the cycle of Impressions from Childhood. Since
1968 he has been cooperating with Radost paper.
The period from 1973 to 1997 was the time of distinctive
artistic and human recognitions, rewards and very merited
medals In 1981 Mladen Veža retired from his post as a professor
at Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, but kept on creating
tirelessly. His loyalty to his homeland was richly exhibited
at his retrospective exhibition taken place in 1997 at the
gallery of the House of Croatian Artists.
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