Croatia has long been famous for it’s na|0x95|ve painters. The most famous of this group though, is, doubtless, Josip Generalic and we in Bermuda are privileged to have a significant collection of his paintings in our midst. Presently they are being exhibited in the ACE Gallery in its global headquarters on Woodbourne Avenue in Hamilton.

Although Josip Generalic employed various painting techniques, most in this present exhibition are reversed glass paintings. There is a long tradition of this type of difficult painting in European art and Josip Generalic has developed into one of the masters of this technique. If you have ever painted at all, most will remember starting a painting with the simple shapes and colours and then gradually adding more and more details. With reversed glass painting, one has to reverse this process. It involves thinking backward and that is the difficulty with this type of painting. One has to begin with the details and gradually reverse to the simple shapes and colours. The finished painting is viewed by looking through the glass.

Josip Generalic was born in Hlebine in the Republic of Croatia on February 19, 1936. His father, Ivan Generalic is considered the primary force behind the establishment of the Hlebine school of naif painting. It was from his father that Josip Generalic learned the art of reverse glass painting.

Ivan Generalic was by profession, a farmer and his paintings reflect that background. Josip Generalic’s work, while influenced by his father’s art, often has a greater Surreal quality. this can be seen in such paintings as “Two Headed Mutant Bull” or “Industrialised Individual Fishing.”

At other times his work depicts a fantasy view of his peasant world, through such subjects as harvest, fishing or picnicking. Although these paintings are colourful, in their own particular way, they are often set against a dark background. This sets the brighter colours apart so that they often seem to glow.

This is a large exhibition with 50 paintings on show. The show continues through August 24, 2007.