Journeying Within
Stipe Ivanišević, Solitude, author’s private collection
The hardest journey is the one within. It takes courage to break the safe lull of the familiar routine for some time in solitude and quiet contemplation; courage to dive deep for a private audience with your soul, facing the unknown and the darker crevices, a requisite passage towards the light.
Standing in the fragrant scent of Stipe Ivanišević’s fruit orchard in Croatia’s picturesque Split, holding a glass of homemade hazelnut liquor lit by the golden rays of the setting sun, I was struck by the power of “Solitude” (above), a large canvas he wheeled out to the open studio doors in front of me. There is palpable power in the strength of the figure’s resolve, his hand outstretched in an authoritative gesture to the world for a minute alone, a time-out to commune with the undulating motion of the sea as a prelude to the brave plunge within, a reconnecting with the self.
That’s how it spoke to me. Of course Ivanišević has his own relationship with the work and the meaning in it of his city, its history, and his own history within it.
Stipe Ivanišević, Self-Portrait, author’s private collection
I first discovered Ivanišević’s art while climbing the steep, narrow staircase of a Split maisonette. My friends and I, laden with suitcases and sailing gear and chatting happily in anticipation of a week at sea ahead, all stopped as one in front of a small painting on the wall. Impossible to miss despite its size, it commanded attention. I no longer remember the exact work we saw but we were fascinated by its raw emotion and unique style. That evening, the proprietor kindly shared the contact of the local artist - Stipe Ivanišević - and so began my private collection of his works.
To me, Ivanišević’s works are compellingly introspective and spiritual. The light of inspiration coming, perhaps in the dark hour of the soul, in “Contemplating the Meaning of Life” (below) or a version of himself standing, saint-like in the company of his thoughts, elongated next to an equally skyward-bound maritime pine - the tree of his childhood, a symbol of his beloved city and his place in it (Self-Portrait, above).
Stipe Ivanišević, The Light by Our Side, author’s private collection
Stipe Ivanišević (b. 1960, Croatia) is an award-winning artist who has been exhibited extensively in Europe and the United States. All of the works here (except for Friends, below, which got away!) are from my personal collection and not for sale. You can see more artworks by Ivanišević on his website, http://www.stipeivanisevic.com/zivotopis.en.html and his IG @stipeivanisevic_
COOL FACT
Ivanišević’s powerful yet tender paintings are not only about going within. They take delight in small, everyday joys, depicting family, friends, himself in relation to his world, and the sea and maritime pines of his native Split. “Friends” captures a tender moment between his daughter and the family Bernese underneath the ever-present pine (possibly beneath the watchful eye of what appears to be a saint or angel above them).
[Image: Stipe Ivanišević, Friends, 2008, oil on canvas, 80 x 60cm]