Art at the hotel
The Hotel Adriatic is one of the few hotels in Croatia in which the artwork was created exclusively for the hotel, creating a compelling art collection. Over a hundred unique works of art are exhibited throughout the hotel and are often the topic of conversation over a glass of wine or an object of admiration of hotel visitors.
Abdelkader Benchamma
French artist Abdelkader Benchamma switches mediums using elegant pencil, charcoal and ink strokes on the walls of the rooms and suites to create imaginary worlds which seem tangible and dynamic, and strangely alive. His works are exhibited in the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the Boghossian Foundation in Brussels, the Luis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, and the Drawing Art Center in New York. He works with the Isabelle van den Eynde Gallery in Dubai, Spazio 22 in Milan, Galerie du jour agnès b. in Paris, the ADN gallery in Barcelona, and Galerie Chantiers Boîte Noire in Montpellier.
Jasmina Cibic
Inspired by the relationship between art and space, Jasmina Cibic, a London-based artist born in Slovenia, tries to stop time with her installation of flying taxidermic owls – a symbol of movement between the certain past and the unknown future. She is the winner of several prestigious awards, including England’s Catlin Commission Award, and she has had group and individual exhibitions at the Venice Biennale, in the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art in Budapest, in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Ljubljana, as well as the Musée d’Histoire et d’Art National in Luxembourg.
Igor Eškinja
This Croatian artist creates abstract shapes in cyan blue by experimenting with cyanotype. He rediscovers this hundred-year-old technique, which is achieved by a chemical reaction combining natural lighting and an emulsion. As one of the most prominent Croatian artists with an international reputation, Eškinja has had exhibitions in renowned institutions, such as Casino Luxembourg, MAC/VAL in Vitry-sur-Seine, and in Kunstforum Wien in Vienna. His work is also in the MAXXI collections in Rome and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka. He collaborates with Spazio 22 in Milan, the ADN gallery in Barcelona, the Galerie Alberta Pane in Paris, and the Scaramouche gallery in New York.
Chris Goennawein
Known for his experiments in which he mixes genres, this aspiring German artist remains loyal to his style with carefully conceptualised sculptures recalling different associations, such as lighting installations shaped like a nautical knot. His works are displayed in the Galerie Clemens Gunzer in Zurich, as well as in the J&A Dammers collection in Germany, the Rock Collection Vienna in Austria, the NK Collection and the UBS Collection in Switzerland, as well as the Hotel Widder’s collection in Zurich.
Kristina Lenard
Inspired by the concept of twisted reality, this Croatian artist reached for a painting tool of the late 18th century, a black mirror called a Claude glass, which enabled her to create symmetric photographs of artificially created landscapes carefully made out of miniature trees and moss. She has held exhibitions in prominent art institutions in Croatia, such as HDLU, HAZU Glyptotheque and Zagreb Lauba.
Federico Luger
This multitalented artist and owner of a gallery in Italy uses his minimalistic collage technique to present the diversity of contemporary popular culture, from comics to street art. His interests go beyond the artistic process itself, and he has gathered an art group which he promotes in his Milan gallery and through international projects. His renowned curator project The Immigrants was exhibited in Venice during the Biennale and in London during Pinta London.
Charles Munka
Charles Munka is a French artist living in China. An explorer, a nomad and a multitalented author, his work introduces a fresh touch of adventure on a cartographic background. The places the artist has travelled to are marked by abstract shapes, which represent an echo of his memories. His work has been exhibited at the Joyce Showroom in Hong Kong, HVW8 Gallery in Los Angeles and Opera Gallery in Singapore. He cooperates with the Galerie Clemens Gunzer in Zurich and Cat Street Gallery in Hong Kong.
Goran Petercol
Just a short walk away from the Adriatic Hotel is the place where one of the most prominent Croatian conceptual artists experienced things he has recorded in his works, which can be seen in the hallways and in the restaurant of the hotel – the photos of Rovinj he took as an aspiring artist and the drawings inspired by the encounter of the Italian avant-garde artist Piero Manzoni with Rovinj. Petercol’s works are exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in Zagreb, ZKM in Karlsruhe, and Sali Umberto Boccioni in Milan. His works are represented in the collections of institutions such as the Watermill Collection in New York, the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art in Budapest, the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana, and MUMOK in Vienna. He collaborates with the Gregor Podnar Gallery in Berlin.
Valentin Ruhry
The central place of the original hotel staircase is occupied by the lighting installation of the Austrian artist Valentin Ruhry. It combines the contemporary technological era with the spirit of the century of the old hotel, inspired by the ornamentation of the steel fence of the staircase. Ruhry has exhibited his works in MAK, the Quartier and Franz Jozefs Kai 3 Museums in Vienna, KM in Graz, the Lentons Art Museum in Linz and ZKM in Karlsruhe. He collaborates with the Galerie Clemens Gunzer in Zurich and the Christine König Galerie in Vienna.
SofijaSilvia
After cruising the wild spaces of the Rovinj archipelago shaded by ancient pine trees, the Croatian artist SofijaSilvia became an intimate witness of these surroundings, capturing them using the analogue photography exhibited in the restaurant. She graduated from London’s Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design, and her work is represented in exhibitions all over Europe, including the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka, the Art Pavilion in Zagreb, and Camera Austria in Graz.
Saša Šekoranja
Led by a designer’s instinct to fill up a space with details, the Croatian artist and designer Saša Šekoranja brings a dose of surprise to his abstract canvasses by painting theatre interiors which enable the visitor to get lost in the moment in an ornamented abundance of shapes inspired by Rovinj and its arboretum. Šekoranja has held group and individual exhibitions in Zagreb’s Museum of Arts and Crafts and Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as Le Loft in Paris, among others. He has designed sets for the Croatian National Theatre, the Zagreb Youth Theatre, and the Gavella Theatre in Zagreb.
Massimo Uberti
Through his elegant approach to subtle neon lines, Italian artist Massimo Uberti draws structures like the scenes within the spaces we live in, inspiring the observer to take a peek behind the door of light and discover a new space, a space of imagination. Uberti took part in exhibitions in important Italian institutions, such as MACRO in Rome and Università Bocconi in Milan. His light installation is the first art piece commissioned by Bentley Elements. He collaborates with Spazioborgogno in Milan and Brothers’ Art Gallery in Lugano.
Zlatan Vehabović
With the intention of examining the traditional oil-on-canvas technique and its storytelling potential, Croatian artist Zlatan Vehabović combines classical and contemporary values in his massive paintings, testing the technological advances of the 21st century. As a winner of the International Association of Art Critics Award, Vehabović has held group and individual exhibitions in the Essl Museum in Klosterneuburg, the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in New York, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb, and his work has also been presented in front of the European Parliament. He collaborates with the Marc Straus Gallery in New York.
Žižić/Kožul
By combining photography and sculpture in the rooms, suites and hallways of the hotel, Croatian tandem Žižić/Kožul create a series of motifs reminding us of the basic human desires which mark our everyday escapism into utopia and make the observer question what we really need in order to be happy. The works of this duo have been chosen for exhibitions in HDLU, Lauba and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb, as well as the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka. Their works are included in the Filip Trade collection and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb.
