21. 8. 2026–24. 9. 2026 Oton Polak / Drawings, Prints, Paintings
Oton Polak / Drawings, Prints, Paintings
UGM Kabinet, Strossmayerjeva ulica 6
21 August – 24 September 2026
opening: Friday, 21 August 2026, 19:00
Curator: Andreja Borin
In 2024 and 2025, the Maribor Art Gallery (UGM) acquired a significant number of works on paper by Oton Polak, generously donated by the artist’s widow, Mrs. Marja Polak. The extensive donation (around 600 works) was carefully catalogued and organized. This accompanying study exhibition presents a selection from this valuable collection to the public.
The donated material includes drawings, watercolors, and prints by Oton Polak created between 1939 and around 1995. As a young artist, already during his undergraduate and postgraduate studies under Professor Božidar Jakac, Polak produced a cycle of 30 etchings on the theme of Old Maribor, for which he received the student Prešeren Award in 1953. The exhibition features selected prints from this cycle, alongside drawings and watercolors of Maribor, study drawings of nudes, landscapes executed in gouache and tempera, the drawing cycle titled Macedonia, and the abstract cycle Composition.
Although Polak was primarily a painter, his drawings reveal him as an exceptional draftsman, with virtuoso technique that adapts masterfully to different subjects and artistic expression across various media (pencil, charcoal, chalk, ink, marker, etc.). Many works on paper were created during artistic colonies, holidays, or excursions, where the artist tirelessly sketched landscapes, cityscapes, and occasionally figures. While some motifs appear exclusively in his drawings, others show connections to his paintings, serving as stylistic exercises for his painted works. For example, the Composition cycle represents tireless variations of compositional and color relationships on the theme of the city - a favorite subject of the artist.
Oton Polak (1917–2011) studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb under Prof. Krsto Hagedušić and Prof. Omer Mujadić from 1940 to 1941. He continued his studies at the newly established Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana as part of its first generation of students. He graduated under Gojmir Anton Kos and pursued postgraduate studies with Prof. Gabrijel Stupica (1948–1950), completing a painting specialization, and with Prof. Božidar Jakac (1950–1952), completing a graphics specialization. From 1952 to 1975, he worked as an art teacher- first at Janko Padežnik Primary School in Studenci, and later at the Secondary School of Floristry in Maribor. Polak participated in numerous painting colonies, including Prilep in Macedonia (1963, 1964), Škofja Loka (1967), Ravne na Koroškem (1970, 1971), Ptuj (1969, 1970, 1978), Novo mesto (1976, 1977), and Gorenjske Selce (1978). Among his awards are the Prešeren Award for the cycle of prints Old Maribor (1953), the Glazer Award for lifetime achievement (1988), and the award from the Association of Slovenian Fine Artists (2006). UGM organized a retrospective exhibition for the artist’s 70th birthday, and Polak also exhibited at the gallery on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
