The retrospective exhibition of Josip Botteri Dini will be held from April 18 to June 2, 2024, on the second floor of the Klovićevi dvori Gallery. The authors of the exhibition and the texts in the catalog are the art historian Stanko Špoljarić and the curators of Klovićevi dvori Gallery Koraljka Jurčec Kos and Anamarija Komesarović.
The exhibition will present the oeuvre of the famous Croatian painter through more than 150 works from all his artistic phases, in a thematic and chronological sequence: works from his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb to the most recent works. In addition to the dominantly religious painting, Botteri had worked on various thematic cycles, from veduta to hommage. With a versatile thematic approach, he is also a master in the use of different stylistic approaches: from academic works to action painting and constructivism.
Josip Botteri Dini was born in Zagreb on June 3, 1943, after which his family moved to Split, where he still lives today. He began studying painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1964, where he was taught by famous professors such as Ljubo Ivančić, Ferdinand Kulmer, Vjekoslav Parać, Krsto Hegedušić, Ivo Režek, and others. He graduated in 1968 (mentored by Miljenko Stančić). His artistic formation was strongly influenced by the works of Ivan Meštrović, Marijan Trepše, Emanuel Vidović, Jozo Kljaković and Ivo Dulčić.
He lives and works as an artist in Split and Bol, but also in his native Zagreb, often traveling around the world. He created numerous works known to the public today, of which we will single out his Stations of the Cross in the Dominican church in Split.
More than 100 public works by Josip Botteri Dini can be seen all over Croatia and the world, such as the stained-glass windows in the Church of the Holy Cross in Siget in Zagreb or the monumental frieze History of Split in Hotel Zagreb in Split. Monumental stained-glass windows and mosaics adorn the Church of St Leopold Bogdan Mandić in Melbourne, Australia, as do the stained glass, mosaic, and paintings in the Church of Christ the King in Porto D’Ascoli, Italy.
Contemplating the spirit of the times, he created a unique oeuvre within contemporary art, especially in the field of religious art, with recognizable and distinctive artistic interpretations of biblical content. It is precisely in this area that Josip Botteri Dini has a prominent place within domestic and international art.
Author: gkd.hr/en
