Josipa Krolo: Paintings of Gentrification

Josipa Krolo fills her canvases with empty scenes from her hometown Split, portraying gentrification and the effects of tourism in pastels. She has been selected by Raum www as the winner of our open call competition ‘Unseen.’

Josipa Krolo finished her Master’s at Arts Academy of Split in 2018 and also studied one semester at the Facultat de Belles Arts in Barcelona. Currently, the artist is based, as she describes it: “between Split, Zagreb, the countryside, and artist residencies.”

In our latest open call ‘Unseen,’ we wanted to shine a light on projects that were affected by the pandemic. Josipa Krolo’s project Postseason was supposed to be featured in a group exhibition in Leipzig, which was canceled due to Covid-19.

Downward Spiral, Where’s the Lifeguard by Josipa Krolo — *Downward Spiral, Where’s the Lifeguard* by Josipa Krolo

Congrats! How did it feel when you got the email saying that you are the winner of our open call ‘Unseen’?

It feels great to have your work recognized. You made me so happy, I really appreciate it!

Your project Postseason was planned to be part of a group exhibition, which was canceled due to the pandemic, could you tell us more about the planned exhibition?

The exhibition gathers artists that took part in the De/construction of painting artists’ residency at Hafenkombinat in Leipzig. The Croatian Association of Artists organized both the artists’ residency and the exhibition.

What were your thoughts at the time when the exhibition was canceled?

I thought that there were bigger problems now in the world than my canceled exhibition. Haha, this sounds so falsely modest, but actually, it just got postponed, and I was eager to paint the rest of the Postseason series, so I took my dog, canvases, paint and went to an old family house kind of in the middle of nowhere and set up a studio.

The Headless Woman

The Labyrinth

Chess

Above the Situation

Sitno Gornje

You’ll All End Up Driving Ubers

In Postseason, you are dealing with the subject of gentrification related to tourism. In what ways do you see this the most in your hometown Split?

You can’t find an apartment for long-term rent. You’ll always be kicked out in May or June when the Airbnb season starts. The options for moving out of your parents’ place are: wait for a grandma to die, find a boyfriend and wait for his grandma to die, or move to smaller towns adjacent to Split, Zagreb, or abroad.

Also, the city center is crowded during the season and a ghost town during the offseason. You can get the sense of it in the promo material for Voids2020, a very good project from @culturehubcroatia, where they turned closed souvenir shops into open studios.

1979 by Josipa Krolo — *1979* by Josipa Krolo

How are these subjects shown on your canvas?

The Postseason is that short period after the tourists leave, when we can enjoy the summer. That’s why all of the paintings are vacant. It’s about claiming my own town in my paintings, if not in real life.

The vacancy also represents every person that has left the city because of the gentrification. Furthermore, it raises the question of what will happen when the Postseason becomes a prolonged state, which is a probable outcome now due to Covid-19. Which I depict in the painting Downward Spiral, Where’s the Lifeguard?

Have you learned anything from the last months in quarantine?

I noticed that a lot of introverts were having a blast, while it was the worst period for most extroverts. It felt nice to have the tables turned. Perhaps this experience of having the world organized against one’s needs will make some people more considerate.

For me, aside from being a good way of healing and a finer method of communication, art is a nice excuse to spend a lot of time alone. Also, the usual, we should rearrange our priorities, think, and act sustainably and whatever other little steps we have to take in striving for that Star Trek version of humanity.