The Contra Group : Zorz Drausnik

The Contra Group – The Antithesis of Non-Painting

The Contra group was formed following the postmodernist currents of the 1980s and 1990s, when the anti-avant-garde return to the old (actually “new old” or “old in a new way”) enabled a more democratic coexistence with a more tolerant and multifaceted art scene. The group was founded in the late nineties by painters of similar age and artistic attitudes, five of whom were educated at the Academy of Fine Arts under the mentorship of Professor Vasilije Jordan. Under the influence of Jordan, who insisted on technical mastery and a responsibility for painting as a “metahistorical fact independent of the so-called great revolutions” and an “irreplaceable practice of a personal relationship with the rest of the world” (D. Radić), the group declared its adherence to classical procedures in painting and sculpture, thus adopting a more traditional stance towards art.

The founding members of the group were painters Vladimir Blažanović, Tihomir Lončar, Goran Petrač, Velimir Rački, and Davorin Radić, who were joined by Žorž Draušnik, an intermedia artist, double bass musician, set designer, and graphic designer. It was Draušnik who, through his friendship with the painters from Jordan’s class, gave the initial impulse to form the group and has remained its driving force ever since. The inaugural exhibition of the Contra group, held at the Museum of Arts and Crafts in 1998, which welcomed a guest appearance by their mentor, Professor Jordan, formally marked the beginning of Contra’s public presence. During twenty years of free collaboration, with only one common goal – to reaffirm traditional art techniques and modes of artistic expression – the Contra group has encountered an affirmative critical response and attracted new like-minded members. Thus, in 2000, the group was joined by the painter Vladimir Meglić, in 2001 by the sculptor Petar Ujević, and in 2009 by the painter Željko Mucko.

the very beginning, the Contra group was based on the principle of absolute freedom in choosing a stylistic or thematic direction. There were no programs or guiding imperatives on the artistic question either, apart from the basic postulates already mentioned. This fact enabled a group of very different artistic personalities, with various sensibilities, stylistic orientations, and thematic preoccupations, to gather and form the longest-lived art group in Croatia. Their art shows pronounced inclinations to figuration with frequent journeys into abstraction, surrealist connotations and metaphysical states, as well as striking coloristic and morphogenetic expressions of undeniably strong personal poetics. The basic strategy of the group’s members is aimed at defending the dignity of art itself and their gathering around a common artistic platform to reaffirm painting as the antithesis of non-painting (which negates traditional art media, techniques, and procedures) is actually a kind of rebellion. We can call it a rebellion of “instinct and reason” since it is motivated by an extremely responsible attitude towards artistic creation.

Ivanka Reberski
(From the preface to the exhibition catalogue The Contra Group – The Anthitesis of Non-Painting,
Šajer building, Čakovec, 2013)

In its decade of existence the Contra group has followed and promoted individual artistic qualities and the values of sincerity and technical mastery in art. The group acted not only at joint exhibition events, but also through frequent contacts and participation in collective, thematic, or generational projects. Since the group’s formation, its members have all added solo exhibitions and monographic publications to their portfolios. The entire art scene in contemporary Croatia knows who and what the members of Contra are, without them ever publishing any statute, codex, or manifesto. The artistic values of the group do not fade and even today continue to be promoted by the group’s editor and main enthusiast, Žorž Draušnik. It is true that it takes at least a decade to make any kind of informed artistic judgement, but art connoisseurs, the media, and gallery owners are increasingly showing that Contra’s creative, quiet perseverance is on the right path of true values. The future has begun...

Đuro Vanđura
(From the foreword to the exhibition catalogue published on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Contra group, Slavonski Brod, 2008)

It all started in 1998, when the art and music book Homage to Double Bass and the multimedia project Contra were presented to the public. At the instigation of musician Žorž Draušnik, painters, composers, and reproductive musicians formed a group which, in addition to manyotherpoints of contact, also shared an unusual aspiration for the Gesamtkunstwerk of image and sound. Painters Vladimir Blažanović, Tihomir Lončar, Goran Petrač, Velimir Rački, and Davorin Radić intended to update the approach to classical painting by taking a stand against the extinction of a wide range of painting genres. With nine musical miniatures composed for the Zagreb Double Bass Duo, composers Alan Bjelinski, Dubravko Detoni, Stanko Horvat, Zoran Juranić, Igor Kuljerić, Miroslav Miletić, Marko Ruždjak, Berislav Šipuš, and Mladen Tarbuk gave their contribution to contemporary Croatian and world music. The sound carrier attached to the art book is the first ever recording of original music composed for two double basses solo, and it was recorded and performed at exhibitions by the founders of the Zagreb Double Bass Duo, Mimi Marjanović Gonski and Žorž Draušnik. The primary goal was to promote contemporary painting and music in Croatia and this goal was successfully achieved: after Zagreb, the project Contra toured a number of Croatian cities, ending in 1999 with a closing exhibition and a concert in Zagreb’s greatest music temple – the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall. With this endeavour, the art group Contra firmly entered the domestic art scene, and since then it has constantly upheld the meaning and values of contemporary art based on traditional achievements.

Biserka Rauter Plančić
(From the preface to the book Fifteen Years of the Contra Group, Zagreb, 2012)

Not only does the musician Žorž Draušnik hold the same views on artistic creation as do the other members of the group – which raises the question of interdependence between tradition and individual expression – but he has established himself as a theatre set designer in his own right. His purified set designs, from which everything that has no structural necessity or symbolic potential has been removed, are reminiscent of set designs dating from the period between the two world wars.

Biserka Rauter Plančić
(From the preface to the book Fifteen Years of the Contra Group, Zagreb, 2012)

Nikola Albaneže
(From the foreword to the catalogue of the group exhibition at the Grand Gallery of the City of Zabok, Zabok, 2014)

ŽORŽ DRAUŠNIK is the most special member of Contra, its bonding agent and key member. Of the entire group, he is definitely the one most inclined toward organisation and friendly cooperation with the other group members. He has contributed to this community of artists not only by adding an element of classical and modern music performances to exhibitions but also by fostering awareness of the growing autonomy of art in regard to reality and social circumstances. It would be a disservice to Draušnik if he were reduced merely to the role of group leader since his visual works are an important part of Contra’s exhibitions. His set designs are not only aesthetically polished but also functional in space.

Tonko Maroević
(From the preface to the catalogue of the group’s exhibition titledGrouping, Opposition,Variation–The Contra Group Between Modernity and Timelessness, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the Contra group, Modern Gallery, Zagreb, 2019)