Josip Rubes
I am Croatian painter and retired doctor, born in 1942 in the village of Pavlovcani near Jastrebarsko. 1970. I graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Zagreb and in 2012. graduated in painting from Arthouse College of Visual Arts in Ljubljana, Slovenia. I paint the landscape from my youth and since 2006. I have been painting with an abstract style. From 2016. I mostly paint geometric abstraction. I had about 80 solo exhibitions and in many group. I have received more international awards for abstract painting.
Josip, your artistic journey reflects a rare duality—a life dedicated both to the healing of the human body and the exploration of human emotion through art. How do you perceive the role of an artist in "healing" society, particularly in times of global unrest or cultural fragmentation? Has your experience as a physician given you a unique lens on the social responsibility of art?
As a specialist doctor for diabetes for 40 years, I have invested a lot of work and knowledge in the treatment of patients with diabetes in an effort to achieve better health. I gave patients psychological support. For many years, I have exhibited my art paintings at the hospital gallery where I worked so that patients in the hospital would be more comfortable because art refines people by faith and optimism. Today, humanity is exposed to various tragic events that art has no significant influence on. Art expresses ideas, feelings, and experiences in an aesthetic way through various media.
Transitioning from the tactile landscapes of Zagorje to the liberated gestures of abstract expressionism and, later, the structured world of geometric abstraction suggests an evolution not only in style but in philosophical outlook. What internal or external forces do you believe drive an artist to shift so radically between modes of expression, and how has this evolution mirrored your personal growth?
From my youth, I painted the landscapes that I exhibited at numerous solo and group exhibitions. 2006 was a turning point in my painting. Then I found a text about American painter Jackson Pollock in a Croatian magazine with a description of the way of painting called "Action painting." It was a challenge for me, and I started painting in that technique. I gradually changed that style and combined it with geometric abstraction. For the last 6 years, I have predominantly painted geometric abstraction. Painting provides great opportunities for exploration of new techniques and styles. Throughout the history of painting, many painters have contributed to the development of painting, such as Pollock, who accidentally came up with the idea of action painting as he worked on the mural when his paint was dripped on the floor.
Your fascination with Jackson Pollock sparked a dramatic transformation in your artistic practice. Given your deep study of both Pollock and Edo Murtić, how do you interpret the dialogue between American action painting and Croatian post-war abstraction? Do you see your own work as a continuation, a divergence, or a critique of these artistic legacies?
This style of painting, which was something new in painting, gradually expanded to Europe. In 1951, Croatian painter Edo Murtić stayed in the USA for a short time. In New York, he visited the gallery in which Jackson Pollock's works were exhibited. Murtić was delighted with the pictures and the new technique called Action painting. With his return to Croatia, Murtić gradually became more and more a painter of abstract expressionism for the rest of his life. Information about abstract expressionism and action painting came to Europe from the USA, mostly from New York. Murtić is the most prominent post-war painter in Croatia and has become a role model to many younger abstraction painters. My painting is a continuation of abstraction in Croatia.
The landscapes of Zagorje, with their serene beauty and pastoral charm, remain central to your inspiration even as your style abstracts further from recognizable forms. How do you negotiate the tension between the visceral pull of your homeland's imagery and the conceptual freedom of abstraction? Is there a hidden Zagorje in every geometric work you create?
Zagorje is very picturesque and attractive to landscape painters, so for me, it is a source of ideas for the creation of pictures. Through Zagorje landscapes, I became recognizable in Croatia and received great art criticism. Zagorje inspires me with its idyllic beauty for abstract painting. By observing the nature of Zagorje, I often see multicolored fields and meadows bounded by lines with rectangular shapes as well as groups of houses' roofs. The difference is in painting landscapes and abstraction. There are certain laws in the painting of landscapes, while we paint abstract work with much freedom in the application of color and technique.
Having produced over a thousand works and exhibited internationally, how do you sustain a sense of freshness and authenticity in your creative process? Are there particular rituals, moments, or sources of wonder that anchor you amid the prolific output and the inevitable demands of the market?
In my many years of painting work with a variety of motifs and vibrant colors, I try to be recognized by art critics and cause positive emotions in viewers. For each of my exhibitions, I have always exhibited more new landscapes or abstractions. By creating a new abstract picture, I want it to differentiate from previous content, color, and form. The image must be challenging, provocative, surprising, and attractive. I am not thinking about the market and doing pictures for market needs. I paint for myself and my pleasure.
You have openly embraced criticism as a tool for growth. Can you share a moment when a critique profoundly altered your trajectory, perhaps even challenging your core beliefs about your art and how that moment shaped the works that followed?
I have collaborated with more art critics who wrote texts for my exhibition catalogs and opened the exhibitions for me. In these contacts, I received mostly praise for my abstract works. Sometimes I got tips on my future painting that I accepted with respect.
Geometric abstraction often demands precision, control, and a cerebral approach, while action painting is spontaneous and emotionally driven. How do you reconcile these seemingly opposing forces within your practice? Do you view them as conflicting tendencies or complementary energies within a broader artistic vision?
These two abstract styles of painting differ, but I think there is no antagonism among them. In my works, I often combine these two styles and get interesting results. Otherwise, many painters combine various techniques and styles.
As a lifelong learner who entered formal art education later in life, what insights would you offer to emerging artists about the value of academic study versus self-guided exploration? Did institutional learning ever threaten your intuitive approach, or did it serve as a catalyst for deeper experimentation?
In my childhood, I showed an interest in painting and wanted to be a painter when I grew up, but life led me to medicine. In 1970, I graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Zagreb. My childhood wish came true in 2012, when I graduated in painting from the Arthouse College of Visual Arts in Ljubljana. I find that academic education is necessary in painting, not only for the sake of learning painting skills but also for better social status.
Despite widespread acclaim, you have faced practical limitations in bringing your work to global audiences—a reality for many artists outside major art centers. How do you see the role of digital platforms, virtual exhibitions, and global connectivity in redefining the artist's reach today, especially for voices coming from smaller communities like Krapinske Toplice?
Zagreb, the Croatian capital and cultural center, does not have enough galleries for exhibitions of many painters, especially those who live outside Zagreb. In addition, exhibitions can be an unacceptable expense. Great progress for painting is the possibility of presenting paintings through digital platforms, virtual exhibitions, social networks, and magazines, which does not require significant cash expenditures. I have been posting my works for about ten years on social networks like Instagram and Facebook. In this way, painting through the internet has become global in spreading art culture.
Looking ahead, as you continue to create with both passion and discipline, is there a particular question or unresolved idea that you feel your art is still seeking to answer? If the next phase of your work were a conversation with the world, what do you hope it would say or ask of those who encounter it?
With a lot of work and enthusiasm, I paint abstract expressionism and geometric abstraction in an effort to be happy and satisfied when the work is done but also to get a positive opinion from art critics as well as viewers. I show the works on social networks (Instagram, Facebook), so I am surprised that viewers give more likes for my landscapes. Abstract painting is not understandable to a wider circle of viewers because it does not show anything known. However, the number of fans of abstract painting increases, and I believe in the future of that form of painting. I will still paint in an abstract style.