Robert Šimrak

Robert Šimrak (Zagreb, 1967) is a Croatian painter, graphic artist, and university professor. He completed the School of Applied Arts and Design in Zagreb, and in 1992 graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb (Graphics Department, class of Prof. Ante Kuduz). He has taught at the same institution since 1995, first as an assistant in the Department of Art Education (drawing, painting, and life drawing), then as associate professor (2006), and full professor in the Graphics Department (2014). He received his doctorate of art (dr. art.) in 2018 based on his project 'WIREFRAME – Exhibition of Digital Graphics/Installation' at the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb. In his work, Šimrak develops a conceptual approach in a hyperrealistically precise manner, drawing on the iconography of comics, film, advertising, logos, and industrial symbolism. His paintings function as collision points between high painterly craft and the visual language of mass media: what at first glance appears virtuosic and seductive, in the background opens questions of power, violence, control, and consumer society. Critics describe him as a postmodernist 'high-tech' painter whose figuration reaches Pop Art aesthetics with technical perfection. Key cycles include: 'The Idea of Chaos' (2017) – monumental acrylic paintings dedicated to World War I and the fate of the ordinary soldier; 'Do you (I) feel lucky?' (2015) – an existential test of luck, risk, and the price of security; 'PURGATORIJ' (2024–2025) – dystopian visions of concrete landscapes and cold architectures as the 'normalised' landscape of our time; and 'WIREFRAME' (2008) – digital graphics/installations within a Gothic church space. He served as President of the Croatian Association of Artists (2001–2003), during which he coordinated the restoration of Meštrović's Pavilion. He is a veteran of the Croatian War of Independence (1990–1992). He has received multiple awards, including the Josip Račić Award (2009) for the best solo exhibition in Croatia and the Ministry of Culture Award at the 3rd Croatian Triennial of Graphics (2003). He has realised over 40 solo and 300 group exhibitions in Croatia and internationally. He is a member of HDLU and the Croatian Freelance Artists' Association.