Vert Nature Green, 1993
Joze Ciuha

In her books on "The Art of the Post-War School of Paris (1945-1999)" published by Michelango Publications, Paris since 2020, Lise Cormery writes the biography of the artist of her gallery since 1990: "Jože CIUHA (1924 Ex Yugoslavia Slovenia 2015), was born in Yugoslavia, with the war tearing the country apart, his country becomes Slovenia. International artist he lives between Paris, Slovenia, Croatia, the Netherlands. He is considered the major artist of Slovenia, his works are in the collection of the National Museum of Lubjana and in other world museums. The Joze Ciuha museum will be inaugurated in Bled in 1996.

Ciuha uses several techniques: fixed under glass or plexiglass, which allows no remission and forces the artist to work upside down; watercolor, painting on paper; engraving and mosaic. The dimensions can be modest or monumental.

He exhibits in many galleries, biennials and international museums and is part of many collections, including but not limited to, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Morsboich Museum in Leverkusen, Germany. Kunsthalle in Nuremberg, Germany. Tate Gallery, London, United Kingdom. Walker Hill Art Center Seoul, South Korea. Atteneo San Basso, Venice, Italy. Harbison Foundation Columbia, South Carolina. Kissick Museum Columbia, South Carolina, Art Institute Kalamazoo, Michigan. He has won numerous medals. Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, Ministry of Culture France, Member of the Russian Academy of Arts Grand Prize of the International Graphic Biennial of Seoul. First Prize of the Mediterranean Biennial, Alexandria. Prize of the Krakow Biennial, Poland, Prize of the Ljubljana Engraving Biennial (Slovenia). Gold Medal for the promotion of art by the President of the Republic of Austria.

Joze studied Buddhism at the University of Rangoon, Burma, now Mianmar in 1959-1961, which will have a great influence on his spiritual art. This is how he will paint "Icons", "The Crucifixion", and the series of "Pieta", including a painting signed in the middle right by Joze Ciuha which is a work from the year 2000. Some of his works are painted upside down, behind the plexiglass and no longer behind the glass, or fixed under glass, because the plexiglass allowed Ciuha to travel them without damaging them for his international exhibitions. However, with this difficult technique the artist has no repentance, as is the case for oil on canvas, on which one can modify at will.

This subject of "La Pieta" is generally part of the disastrous period of the Yugoslav war, he paints a work on paper, premonitory, "The war", in total rupture with his previous work called "The Byzantine period", all in search of harmony. This subject, "La Pieta", will be treated many times denouncing this infamous conflict. But once Slovenia became autonomous and free, the dark and wounded Pietas of Ciuha before and during the war give way to the works of the year 2000, as presented here, La "Pieta", with the yellow of the sun, with the colors of hope and rebirth to life.

In 1991 and 1992 Ciuha was part of the delegation of the former Yugoslavia for the OLYMPIADES DES ARTS in PARIS, during the international events under the aegis of President Mitterrand and the Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac, and the President of the IOC Juan Antonio Samaranch. CIUHA was thus selected to represent the former Yugoslavia, during the Olympiades des Arts organized by the Galerie Lise Cormery, for the CNOSF, French National Olympic and Sports Committee, on the occasion of the 1992 Olympic Games in France. This international event followed the Olympiades des Arts in Seoul where the city founded for this competition a Museum of international paintings and the SOMA, an open-air museum of monumental sculptures of invited artists from all over the world to exhibit and represent the art of the 20th century.

His art critics are Pierre Restany, Patrick-Gilles Persin, Lise Cormery, etc.

Since 1990, he has exhibited at the Galerie Lise Cormery, Paris. All the works presented here have been exhibited at the Galerie Lise Cormery since 1990 and at the FIAC SAGA.

In 2007, Doctor Lise Cormery published his portrait in one of her essays: “Free Artists, Good for Nothing or Living Treasures?” Collection art @rt, University of Paris Cité Diderot, France.

On the Galerie Lise Cormery channel on YouTube you can listen to Joze CIUHA talking with Lise Cormery about her work, her vision of the world and art.

End of the extract from the biography of Ciuha by Lise Cormery.

NB For security reasons and to respect the integrity of the work and in order to reduce transport costs and avoid very frequent damage during delivery, this work can be delivered framed or unframed for the collector depending on the delivery destination.