Zeljko Desider Kujundzic (1920-2003)
About the Artist: Zeljko Desider Kujundzic, of Turkish descent, was born in Subotica, Yugoslavia, October 23, 1920, where his artistry took roots. Zeljko was educated on the Dalmatian coast. He was a fifth generation of artists, printmakers, sculptors and ceramicists.One of the projects he worked on as a youth is a stained glass panel, now to be seen at the Tate Gallery London.In 1939–40 he studied art in Venice, Italy. During the period of 1941-46 he entered and completed art studies at the Royal College of Art, Budapest; and received a master’s of fine arts degree from the Institute of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary.In 1946 he worked in the Propaganda Department in Yugoslavia under Tito while acquiring Teacher Certification.Disillusioned by political constraints on artists he fled to Hungary and relocated to Britain. In1948 Zeljko was employed by Scottish sculptor Charles d'Orville Pilkington Jackson (Sculptor to the Queen). In the next ten years he held one man shows in Edinburgh, London, Paris and Oslo; and wrote an autobiography: ‘Torn Canvas’, chronicling his youth and WWII struggles. In 1958 he immigrated with his family to Canada settling in Cranbrook, B.C.Kujundzic chose Canada because of keen interest in the Native Arts he had seen in British Galleries. He felt that Native arts have certain similarities to the Byzantine roots of his own culture and artistic expression.In Canada, he continued to exhibit in Britain and in Canada. In 1959 he moved to Nelson, BC and taught at the Summer School of the Arts. In 1959 Zeljko founded and directed the Kootenay School of Art in Nelson, BC till 1963. He moved to Kelowna in 1964 where he established the ‘Art Center’, a former church that he converted into a gallery, studio and a teaching facility. Here Kujundzic formed the Contemporary Okanagan Artists association with Weldon Munden, Des Loan, Leroy Jensen and Frank Poll, with George Ryga writing for them. In 1968 he accepted a Professorship at the Pennsylvania State University and was asked to head the new Arts Department for the Fayette Campus in Uniontown Pa.He returned to the Okanagan each summer until 1982 and taught workshops in various BC locations. In 1981he also studied bronze casting at the Johnson Atelier Sculpture Center, Princeton, New Jersey. His artistic media included sculpture, pottery making, painting, printmaking, metalwork, stained glass & weaving. He made his own paints and put them in tubes and dug up clay for his sculptures. He integrated art and science, and resisted being pigeonholed into one medium or genre. He always sought to merge the knowledge and wisdom of the past with modern know-how. Zeljko had a tremendous respect and appreciation for indigenous and ancient cultures: Peruvian, Shuswap, Etruscan, and Egyptian. Not only did he have an affinity for the best of Western art in general, he also had an understanding of the natives of west coast Canada.
In 1982 he retired as Professor Emeritus from the Penn State University and maintained a studio in Entiat, Washington State and Osoyoos, BC. Zeljko spent much of his artistic career studying, teaching and exhibiting in Paris, Edinburgh, London, Mexico City and Lima, Peru to name only a few. He executed commissioned work on five continents. A few examples of his commissions can be seen at: the Placita Square in Taos, New Mexico, “Cycles and Circles” (mural); North Central Washington Museum, “Kootenay Indian Girl” (painting); Pennsylvania “Gate of Life” (150 ton sandstone sculpture) monument to Jewish Holocaust victims; Kyoto National Museum, “Warrior” (sculpture); and Swiss National Museum, Geneva, “Twins” 7-inch wheel thrown solar fired sculpture. He was also commissioned to create the Thunderbird sculptures at UBC’s Thunderbird Stadium, and the Gate of Life, a 150 ton sandstone archway. Zeljko was also a writer and an inventor. One of his major inventions was a working solar kiln.
His award-winning art has been exhibited in public and private collections around the world including Italy’s Palazzo Medici-Ricardi; the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.; Edinburgh University; Pennsylvania State University; Canadian Sculpture center, Toronto; and Kyoto National Museum in Japan. He has also received numerous awards and grants and has an extensive list of other exhibitions and accomplishments. An artist and an academic who left his mark worldwide, Zeljko Kujundzic died on January 23, 2003 in Osoyoos, BC.
Awards and Grants
1993 Federation International De La Medaille juried show, Budapest Hungary. Elected Canadian delegate, and received Canada External Affairs grant to attend and present paper on the History of Medalist Art.
1987 International Sculpture Exhibition ‘East / West’ Budapest, Hungary. One of four North Americans jury-selected and Canadian External Affairs funded travel grant to attend.
1985 Bronze award, International Medalist Exhibition, Stockholm, Sweden.
1978 Professor Emeritus conferred for high excellence and unusual contributions to Pennsylvania State University;
1975 Purchase prize, International Medalist Exhibition, Poland.
1972 Faculty Research Fellowships, Institute for Arts and Humanistic Studies Grant, Penn State University – ‘Integration of Sculpture with Painting’.
1964 – 69 Leon and Thea Koerner Foundation Grants –Pottery making workshops for Caribou Indians, held at Vivian Cowan’s Ranch, 100 Mile House; Pottery making workshop for Okanagan Indians, Kelowna; Metal Arts workshops for Indian students at the Art Center in Kelowna and on the Indian Reserve in Penticton.
1967 Scholarship – Artist in Residence, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Commissions and Collections - selected
1991 Edinburgh’s Knox House 500 year Anniversary Renovation, five bronze reliefs of coin casts, 7” diameter wall plaques.
1987 North Central Washington Museum, ‘Kootenay Indian Girl’ painting.
1985 Bellevue Art Museum, Washington, ‘Mother and Child’ ceramic sculpture.
1981 Swiss National Museum, Geneva, ‘Twins’ 7” wheel thrown solar fired sculpture.
1980’s Provincial Museum, Subotica Yugoslavia, ‘Earth Spirit’ wood and copper sculpture, 6’;
Kyoto National Museum and Art Gallery, Japan ‘Warrior’, ceramic sculpture;
Japanese Ceramic Society ‘Matriarchy’ sculpture displayed in Tajimi High School, Gifu province.
1970’s Pennsylvania ‘Gate of Life’, 150 ton Sandstone monument to 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust; First Federal Bank Pittsburgh Belvue, Pennsylvania ‘Chief and His Eagle’ 7’6” ceramic wall mural with relief pieces; Sculptors Society of Canada, permanent collection, ‘Nuclear Demon’ cast aluminum sculpture on cherry wood base; Several pieces in the JC Leff Collection, Uniontown, Pa.; Uniontown Pennsylvania Fayette Campus, ‘People Grow Through Involvement’ Mural; Placita Square, Taos New Mexico, ‘Cycles and Circles’ Mural.
1960s UBC Stadium, Vancouver BC ‘Thunderbirds’, twelve precast lightweight concrete, each 7’9”; Middlegate Shopping center, Burnaby welded copper and bronze fountain 20’.
1959 Cranbrook, B.C. Fountain, downtown Memorial to Jakob Pius Fink, Cranbrook’s first fire Chief, welded copper and concrete.

Additional pieces in the collections of:
Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue WA
Penn State University, Pa
Edinburgh University, Edinburgh Scotland
National University, Mexico City
Canadian Embassy, Mexico City
National Communications Center, Zimbabwe

Solo Exhibitions – selected
1998 Summerland Art Gallery, Summerland BC – ‘Integrated Media Art’
1995 Osoyoos Art Gallery, Osoyoos BC – ‘50th Anniversary Exhibition’
1992 Netherbow Art Center, Edinburgh, Scotland
1991 Gulacsy Gallery, Budapest, Hungary – Prints and Ceramic pit fired sculptures, ceramics created in Ketchkemet, Hungary
1990 Gallery of the Kootenays, Castlegar, BC – ‘Ancestral Images’
1986 Expo 86 UN Pavilion Vancouver, BC – exhibition, and invited to demonstrate sculpture technique at BC Pavilion
1986 Nahan Gallery, New York, NY USA - Ceramics
1981 Art Institute of Pittsburgh Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA – ‘Paintings, Drawings and Prints’, also shown at Jewish Community center and Fayette campus
1981 Gallery ’76, Wenatchee WA., USA – ‘Diversity’
1976 – 78 12 Galleries in 8 USA states, Van Arsdale Assoc. touring show – ‘Integrated Media'
1977 Kennedy Gallery, St. Vincent College, Pa., USA – ‘Cycles and Circles, work from the 70’s’
1972 Charles Pitcher Gallery, Shadyside and, Quigley Hall Art Gallery, Western State College, Pa., USA
1972 Placita Gallery, Taos, New Mexico, USA – ‘Paintings, Sculpture and Tapestries’
1970 Recent Art and Expositions Gallery, Vancouver BC – ‘Graven Images’ “Welding and metal craft are used within the framework of carved paintings to extend dimensions, to reflect the complexity of the individual’s condition in our age”
1967 Instituto Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico – Ceramic Sculpture
1958 - 64 Canvas Shack, Vancouver, BC; 57 Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland; Grabowski Gallery, London, England; New Design Gallery, Vancouver, BC; Chiltern Art Gallery, London, England, Washington State University Art Center; Spokane WA, USA; Waddington Galleries, Montreal; Edinburgh International Festival, Scotland; K.B. Galleries, Oslo, Norway; and Canadian Gallery, Calgary.

Group Exhibitions – selected
1993 National Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Boston
1993 Budapest, Hungary - Federation International De La Medaille, juried
1993 Zagreb, Croatia – International Small Ceramics, juried
1992 Helsinki, Finland and British Museum London – Federation Internationale De La Medaille, juried
1991 Ellensburg Community Art Gallery, Ellensburg, Wa. - Two man show with Robert Graves, paintings, prints and sculptures
1990 Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland – International Ceramics
1989 Coastal Arts League Gallery, Half Moon Bay, California – with Liz Campbell
1987 North Central Washington Museum – International Contemporary Ceramics - juried travelling show
1987 Wenatchee’s Museum and Gallery of Fine Art and Koehler Gallery, Spokane, WA. ‘The Spokane Connection – Old Friends, Recent Works’ Five teachers and students from the ‘Spokane School’
1987 Budapest, Hungary – International Sculpture, 39 countries, juried
1986 North Central Washington Museum – ‘Diversity, International Exhibition of Sculpture’ - juried travelling show, co-presented with Sculptors Society of BC
1987 John Blackaird Gallery, Toronto Ont. – Sculpture Society of Canada “Expressions in 3D”
1987 & 85 International Ceramics Exhibitions Tajimi, Japan
1985 Robson Square Media Center, Vancouver BC – ‘Sculpture 85’, Sculptors Society of BC
1985 Seattle Center, Seattle WA – Washington Potters Association
1984 Toronto and North Central Washington Museum, Wenatchee WA., USA - International Federation of Medalists
1984 Zagreb Yugoslavia – 1st World Triennial Exhibition of Small Ceramics
1983 Plazzo Medici – Riccardi, Italy – International Medallist Exhibit, juried
1982 Museum of Crafts, Palais de Louvre, Paris - International Exhibit
1974 Peter Whyte Gallery, Banff BC – Canadian Medallist Artists
1972 Sculpture Center, University of Kansas, - International Sculpture Conference and Exhibit
1972 Gallerias Mercup, Polanko Mexico – ‘Sculptors of BC’, with Marshall, Mctaggart, Neuberger
1971 US Government Information Service touring show of: Lima, Cuzco, and Arequipa, Peru
1969 International Exhibition of Contemporary Art – Interartex Canada ‘19 Artists: Oil, Tempera, Charcoal and Watercolor’
1967 Warehouse Gallery, Yakima WA – 4 Artists with Warren Arthur, Leroy Jensen, Weldon Munden
1967 Obelisk Gallery, Mexico City – graphic art
1966 College of Further Education, Cambridge Road, Hitchin, England – ‘Paintings, Taurus Artists’
1962 and 59 Chiltern Gallery, London England, ‘two man show, Boszin / Kujundzic’ and ‘Taurus Artists’ respectively
1957 and before: Crane Kalman, Manchester, England, Galleri Benezit, Paris France, O’Hana Gallery, London, England, St. Georges, London, Leichester Gallery, London

Memberships and Associations
International Federation of Medallists
International Academy of Ceramics
Northwest Designer Craftsmen
Sculptors’ Society of Canada
Sculptors’ Society of British Columbia, founding member
Contemporary Okanagan Artists, founder and president
Taurus Artists, U.K. Member and exhibitor, continued the relationship after emigrating to Canada
http://www.jmwturner.ca/zeljko_kudjundzic.htm

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http://www.morrisgallery.ca/photos/1142_1691