Biography

Surveying the art of Boris Mardešić is an exhilarating and aesthetically rewarding

experience. Writing about it, on the other hand, poses one major problem: how does one congest four decades of a brilliant artistic career into one “brief profile” ? No matter how hard one tries, one is always left with an uncomfortable feeling that not enough has been said about the life andwork of one of the most impressive painters out of Europe in years.

Boris Mardešić was born in 1922 in Komiža, a picturesque little town on the Adriatic

island of Vis, Croatia. Washed in bright sunlight all year round, Vis’s intense colors and contrasts became the defining elements of Boris’s authentic visual language from the beginning. At the beginning of his career, Boris decided to trade the security of permanent home for a life on the move-constantly following his projects and exhibitions, from Rome and Milan to Brussels and Paris, from Madrid and Vienna to Washington D.C., and New York, to mention some of the most significant stations on this life-long journey.

As fate would have it, energy and motion, the dominant subjects in the work of Boris-the-artist, also defined Boris-the-man.

AIthough a citizen of the world, Boris holds a special place for Milan, Italy where he achieved true fame and secured himself a permanent place among Europe’s elite, in the late 1960’s. Since 1987, Boris has been a resident of New York. In his first paintings, Boris was very much steeped in the traditional figurative canon.

Critics who have studied his opus regard this early period as merely a prologue to the “true-career” which began with the discovery of an authentic, inimitable, style and a fascination with “the fundamentals” of material existence – matter, motion, light, energy…

Launched in 1962, the career path of Boris Mardešić can be divided into three distinct phases:

The First Phase (1962-1975): The canvasses from this period reflect Boris’s interest in the cosmic visions of the Earth’s surface, especially his preoccupation with the intersecting realms of water and terra firma.

The Second Phase (1975-1982) – Boris shifted his analytical focus toward the subterranean world. Accordingly, the iconography of the planet’s surface is replaced here with the dark and mysterious domain of tectonic plates and inner core.

The Third Phase (1982-present) is marked by yet another shift in subject-matter and perspective. No longer preoccupied with primordial matter in its manifold forms, Boris turns his attention to the realm of Energy as the common denominator behind macro and micro forms andcosmic and nuclear sensations.

Although each phase is characterized by its distinct set of thematic concerns,it is not difficult to identify several constants in the entire opus of Boris Mardešić. Interestingly enough, these are the same perennial themes that can be found in the fundamental queries of Science and Philosophy. For example, what is matter and how does it transform itself? What is the meaning ofthe eternal cycle of creation and decay,life and death? These are the themes that Boris has successfully explored in a wide array of techniques including oil, pastel, gouache, mosaic, aquaforte, al fresco, tapestry and even sculpture. Behind him are 86 one-man and 58 group exhibitions and over 20 international awards and honors;his life and art have been the subject of no less than six impressive art monographs and one documentary film for television (Milan, Italy)…

His art is permanently exhibited in the museums and private collections in Australia, Belgium, France, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Serbia, Switzerland and the U.S.A. Since 1987, Boris Mardešić has been living in New York City. Most recently, he has been

engaged in the production of his entirely original multi-media work-a moving picture that is exactly that-a single canvass in constant circular motion.

List of Collectors and Clients 1

1) Mr. NATHAN L.SEROTA, (Collector)
895-Park Avenue,New York,NY.-10021.
1991-Sold 4 pictures / Sum-total: 124,000 $
2) Mr. LAWRENCE S.EAGLEBURGER, (Former, Secretary of State)
WASHINGTON D.C.
1992-Sold 2 pictures, Sum-total: 9,000 $
3) Mrs. BETTY C.DAVIS, (Collector)
7018-Longwood Drive
BETHESTA I.D-20817
1992-Sold-1 big picture Sum-total: 29.000 $
4) Mr. J.PEREZ DE CUELLAR, (Former Secretary General of the UN.)
(Department of publie information New York.)
1993-Sold l.picture.Sum-total: 7,500 $
5) Mr. ALEARDO G..BUZZI, (Former,President and C.B.O.Philip Morris International) New York.
(Collector&Sponsor)1989-1995,Sold 18 pictures, Sum-total: 241,000 $
6) Mrs. BARBARA J.GLENNIS, (Collector)
30 Waterside Plaza(Suite 17)
Rew York,N.Y.-10010
1993-1997, Sold 8 pictures., Sum-Total: 84.000$
7) Mr. I. DELIGAN, (Collector)
INTERBORO PRESS INC.
210 Port Collier Road,WINCHESTER,VIRGINIA-22603
1989-1996, Sold 6 pictures and big ceiling, Sum-Total: 78.000$
8) Mr. NAHAUAN, Ambasador To The U.E.A, (Collector)
WASHINGTON,D.C.
1992-Sold 2-pictures, Sum Total 25.000 $

List of Collectors and Clients 2

9) Mrs.IEA MENIN (Collector)

620-Gold Star Hiway

Groton,CT.06340

1990-1995- Sold 8 pictures, Sum-Total : 57.000$

10) Mr.CORNELIS STOKMAN (Collector)

301-East-47th.Street New York,N.Y.10017

1993-1997, Sold 5 pictures, Sum-Total: 64.000$

11) Mr.JOHN W.YOUNG M.D. (Collector)

4601-West.88th.Street

Prairie vilage,KANSAS-66207.

1994 – Sold 2 pictures, Sum-Total: 17,000$

12) Mr.GERRARD CVITANOVICH M.D. (Collector-Sponsor)

321.N.Diamond Street.

NEW ORLEANS,LA.70130.

1994-1997,Solld.14-pictures, Sum-Total: 184.000$

13) Mrs.DONYA SCHIMANSKY (Collector)

2025-Broadway Street

New York,N.Y.10023

1995 sold 4 pictures, Sum Total: 28.000$

14) Mrs.LOUISE BIRT (Collector)

4651-State Line RD.

Kansas City,MO.,64112

1997.Sold-4 Pictures, Siza Total: 39.000$
15) Mr.ALAN MALTBY (Collector)

36 Stockton

MARLBORO,N.J.-07746

1997-sold-3 -pictures, Sum total: 28.000 $

16) Mrs.MARISA PEZZULICH MD. (Collector)

84-44,Penelope Avenue

Queens,N.Y.11397

1997 Sold-3 Pictures, Sum Total: 31.000$

17) Mrs.CELINE PALATSKY (Collector)

39-65,52th,Street(Suite 10-D)

WOODSIDE,N,Y.-11377

1997-Sold-2 pictures Sum Total: 21.000$

List of collectors and Clients 3

18) Mr CHRISTOPHER A.TERAS (Collector)

1575 i.Street,N.W.(Suite 360)

Washington,D.C.20005

1994 Sold 4.pictures, Sum Total: 47.000 $

19) Mr.LAWRENCE ABRAMS (Collector)

20-W.86 Street.

New York,N.Y.

1997 Sold.4 pictures,Sum Total: 37.000$

20) GALLERY-GUSTON STUDIO

610-Broad Avenue

Ridgefield,N.J.-07657.

1997-Sold-8 Pictures,Sum Total: 54.000$

21) Mr.M.Z.MARDESICH.D.D.S. (Collector & Sponsor)

1919 Pacific Avenue

Sa,Pedro-California-90731.

1989-1997-Sold 16 pictures & Big Ceiling,

Sum Total: 278.000$.
22) Mr.MICHAEL MILKOVICH (Collector)

30-Gulf Blvd.

St.Petersburg,Florida-14950

1997.Sold 4 Pictures Sum-Total: 38.000.$

Boris Mardešić - Aurora Cosmic

Donation of paintings to the Astronomical Centre Rijeka

Excerpt from a news article regarding the donation of paintings to the Astronomical Centre Rijeka, Croatia: “Under the starlight in the Astronomical Centre Rijeka Boris Mardešić donated 3 paintings from the “Cosmic cycle” series….” Read the full article: https://www.rijekasport.hr/hr/node/579

Boris Mardešić Museum, Komiža, Vis, Croatia

A retrospective exhibition of Boris Mardešić (a painter from Komiža), organized in 1981 and later made a permanent feature of the Boris Mardešić Gallery — housed in the Memorial House in Komiža — was opened in May 1984. The 80 paintings were donated by the artist to his native city. Through this exhibition the Gallery hopes to establish itself as one of the centres of cultural and social life. Link to a PDF Excerpt.