ORDAN PETLEVSKI (24,08,1930-22,01,1997)
Ordan Petlevski was born on August 24, 1930 in Prilep, and is one of the key figures on the Macedonian and Croatian art scene. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb (1950-1955), where he chose Zagreb and Croatia as his permanent life and creative home. In painting, Petlevski actually finds his biggest and most essential homeland.
He stayed in Paris in 1959, where he participated in two group exhibitions (he won the International Painting Award at the First Biennial of Youth). In 1960 and 1968 he had solo exhibitions at the Lacloche Gallery, and in 1964 he participated in the May Salon.
He was one of the initiators for the establishment of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Skopje in 1963. The contextual frameworks of Petlevski's painting range from fiction and surrealism to informel and matter painting, typically with biomorphic shapes on a monochrome background. Although the middle part of Petlevski's work is associated with Informel, as the dominant direction in 20th century abstraction, Petlevski always speaks of a unique language and the predominance of Informel.
Solo exhibitions:
1961 - Paris, Lacloche Gallery
1962 - Zagreb, Gallery of Contemporary Art; Belgrade - Salon of Modern Art
1963 - Paris, Lacloche Gallery
1968 - Sarajevo, Art Gallery, Zagreb - Gallery of Contemporary Art
1969 - Belgrade, Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art
Awards:
1959 - International painting award at the 1st Biennial of youth in Paris
1960 - Prize of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts at the I Zagreb graphic exhibition in Zagreb
1961 - Audience award - silver medal at the IV "Swiss prize for abstract painting" in Lausanne; Painting award I triennial of fine arts in Belgrade; Painting award at the IV salon in Rijeka
1962 - Zagreb city painting award
1964 - Award of the Museum of Contemporary Art from Skopje at the II Triennial of Fine Arts in Belgrade
1965 - Gold medal at the II International Symposium on Plastic Arts in Zielona Gora (Poland)
1967 - Yugoslav young generation award for Fine Arts of a collection of songs in Belgrade
1969 - Matica Croatia award; Award at the II exhibition of Yugoslav drawing in Zagreb
1970 - Ransom prize at the VI Zagreb graphic exhibition in Zagreb;, Award at the Yugoslav exhibition "Blue Salon" in Rijeka; Award of the colony "Sicevo" in Nis
1971 – Ransom prize for drawing at the III exhibition of Yugoslav drawing in Zagreb