nasl. doc. art. Leo Vukelić

He was born on 9.9.1972 in Zagreb. After elementary and high school, he studied electrical engineering, and in 1996 he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, majoring in painting, in the class of Prof. Zlatko Keser. In 2000, he went to the Kunstakademie in Duesseldorf, where he changed his major to sculpture, in the class of Prof. Magdalena Jetelová. He graduated in liberal arts in 2004. In the same year, he returned to Zagreb and with two colleagues started the artistic organization Tigar Theater and began to be intensively involved in theater for children and youth. From 2006 to 2016, he was permanently employed as the head of the Dubrava Children's Theater of the Dubrava People's University. At the same time, he is active in the field of visual arts and theater. To date, he has realized 25 solo and over 50 group exhibitions in the country and abroad (Salon Galić, Split, SC Gallery, Zagreb, Balen Gallery, Slavonski Brod, Trogir City Museum, Virovitica Museum, VN Gallery, Zagreb, MSUI Pula...). His works have been purchased by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb, the Cabinet of Graphics of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb, the Ružić Gallery in Slavonski Brod and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Pula. From his theatrical beginnings until today, he has realized more than 100 professional projects as an artist on almost all Croatian stages, as a set designer, costume designer, performer, text author, director, lighting and visual identity designer. In addition to Croatia, he participates in theater projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia, Austria, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Japan. He has won several professional awards. Since 2008, he has been a member of the board of directors of the Croatian Centre Assitej, and from 2013 to 2016 he was its president. In 2008, he launched the Theater Night event, which is now called the European Theater Night, and is held simultaneously in 10 European countries and more than 300 theaters. Since 2016, he has been working as an external associate at the Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek, Department of Visual and Media Arts / course 3D technologies and virtual modeling and Department of Creative Technologies / courses Scenography and Stage Sculpture. Since the same year, in parallel, in coordination with the 3D group from Zagreb, he has been implementing the project "Be 3D Creative" in high schools in Zagreb County. He is also one of the initiators of the ZiXY art platform, which promotes the synergy of art and 3D technologies. Since 2023, he has been employed as an assistant professor of art at the Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek.

My research interests lie at the intersection of visual arts, theater and new technologies. Through many years of work in painting, sculpture, scenography and performance, I explore the processes of transformation of space and materials, their symbolic and interactive dimension, and the possibilities of synergy of classical art disciplines with digital media. I believe that a contemporary work of art must correspond to the social and political environment in which it is created. I see the artistic act as a dynamic process that constantly changes meaning through context, interaction and performativity. I am interested in how the spatial and material characteristics of work change in relation to the audience and how art can become an active participant in social change. In particular, I explore the relationships between virtual space and reality, questioning how identity, body and object manifest in the digital and physical environment. Through my work with puppets and characters, I explore the boundaries between the material and the simulated, the authentic and the constructed, opening up space for layered narratives that arise from this interrelationship. As an artist and educator, I continuously explore methods of knowledge transfer and creative processes, focusing on experimentation, interdisciplinarity and innovation. My research is not only focused on results, but also on creating new spaces for dialogue, collaboration and interaction within contemporary art practice.

The field of 3D digital modeling combines visual arts, art history and video games, enabling the creation of interactive virtual spaces, characters and objects. The course 3D Modeling in an interactive context introduces students to the basics of digital design, working with materials, space and movement, preparing them to work in a game engine environment through practical work in Blender.

– – 2024 – "Cooking with Elvis", Divadlo pod Palmovka, Prague: set design, costume design, lighting design, director Ksenija Krčar 2023 – PQ2023, "Shattering Boundaries", with Attila Antala and Višnja Žugić, Prague 2016 – "Ilica of Culture", VN Gallery, Zagreb 2014 – "Father Courage", Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Dubrovnik; set design and acting; director Boris Bakal 2011 – "Pop Art is not dead", Klovićevi dvori, Zagreb 2006 – "Venceremos/sale", Kunstforum, Ostdeutsche Galerie Regensburg (Germany) 2002 – "Here Tomorrow", Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb 2000 – "Big Torino", Turin 1998. – 33. Zagreb Salon, Klovićevi Dvori Gallery, Zagreb