Potočnjak Ante

Ante Potocnjak was born in Rijeka on 22nd February 1955, and lives and works in the nearby Kastav.
Since 1970s he has been actively involved in painting and, together with his friend Bruno Paladin he founds the art group “Friends of the Sea”. Then follow exhibitions in Mali salon of Moderna Galerija Rijeka (Gallery of Modern Art), in Guvernerova palača (Governor’s palace) and in Jugolinija Club in Kostrena.
Towards the end of 1980s he starts developing his specific attitude towards the architecture of interiors which soon results in the reconstruction and re-designing of the Town Hall in Opatija - a gem of the Central European architecture.
The decoration of interiors of representative ships becomes a particular challenge so that he decorates the whole interior of” AI Farah” - Moamer AI Gadafi’s yacht, and designs the interior of m/v “Učka”, ex “Podgorka” , the yacht that belonged to Josip Broz Tito.
Jointly with well known scene and costume designers he takes part in more than 20 premiers, among which there was also the mega project of Puccini’s “Turandot” in the National Theatre in Rijeka.
In addition to the activities mentioned above, he organises exhibitions of his paintings and takes part in collective ones, so as a tradition he takes part in “Mandrać”-Volosko and “Grizia” in Rovinj, as well as in Grad Rijeka (summer 2000). Potocnjak is also involved in promoting artists and gathers them in the Rijeka Alternative Group and they tend to decorate the interiors of the local hospital. Potocnjak has three permanent exhibitions at the Clinical Hospital in Rijeka, while a fourth one is about to be opened.
At the beginning of 2002 Potocnjak had a big retrospective exhibition in Triest where he was presented to the Italian admirers of art, and he goes on promoting the Croatian modern art exposing in the prestige Matrix Gallery in which most prominent Croatian artists like Murtic, Diminic and Pulitika used to have exhibitions.