Mario Keglevic

- Instead of writing a story -I paint a story -

Portfolio

Dreamscape is a growing collection of paintings I make based on my imagination alone, or my memory of a place I have once seen, which I reimagine on canvas.

Dutch Delight is a growing collection of paintings I make inspired by my surroundings living in the Netherlands, which has become over the years my second home. In this collection, I use mainly a photo as a reference for creating the painting. I also have here a few paintings based on the works of the Dutch Golden Age painters; Jan van Der Heyden, Johannes Vermeer and Pieter de Hooch.

12 Chapters is a collection of paintings I made between 2006 and 2012. All 12 paintings are based on my memories from my childhood to my adulthood. Most of the paintings in this collection depict the sceneries from Croatian Zagorje, which is a cultural region just outside Zagreb. I grew up in Zagreb, but I spent most of the summers in my childhood in Zagorje, where my mother's family comes from. I have many happy and vivid memories from those visits to my uncle's place in the countryside, which I wanted to eternalize on canvas. These paintings are the result of that.

These are my previous commissioned artworks by my clients. If you have in mind a custom art request for an artwork based on your specifications, and you like my style of painting, please feel free to contact me for further inquiries about commissioned art.

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Bio

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 Mario Keglevic (b. 1963, Zagreb, Croatia), currently working and living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Mario's artworks are recognizable for their vibrant colors, well-thought-out compositions and evocative storytelling. He was 10 years old when he got his first oil paints. Interestingly, his early works were painted in reverse on glass. As he says, his love for colors was so enormous that it made him discover how to paint.

 He plays with colors and figures reshaping coloring according to the painting's goal and intended effect. Thus, Mario creates his magical worlds with simple brush strokes enjoying the process at the same time.

 Although Mario is a self-taught artist he had an opportunity to study art and design while staying in Perth, Western Australia, where he fled his country in 1993 during the conflict in Yugoslavia. Between 1995 and 2000 he had several exhibitions in Perth. At that time Mario made acrylic paintings influenced by his studies of Pieter Breugel the Elder using memories from his childhood as an inspiration.

  After returning to Europe in 1999 and situating himself in Amsterdam, he continued working in the same style. Between 2006 and 2012 he was working on Twelve Chapters, a collection of 12 paintings, which are personal takes from his life.

 In 2013 he switched from using acrylics to painting with oils and he started to explore more realistic style. The result is a series of 9 paintings called Reflections of Jordaan, which is part of his larger collection Dutch Delight.

 Mario's artistic personality is compounded by qualities that include sensibility and a penchant for detail. In his use of color and light tone, Mario is influenced by naïve art, realism, pointillism and impressionism, with significant inspiration drawn from the old masters of the Dutch Golden Age.

 Mario's occupations as a painter are surreal and imaginary landscapes, while his recent style is a result of his exploration of naivistic and realistic styles. His artworks don't show reality as it is, but what it could be. This colorful happening is managed by using exaggerated colors.

  Mario's painting Harmonious depicts his vision of art in a very good manner. His paintings show recalled memories of his childhood combined with the ideal scenery and warm colors and therefore create a beautiful and harmonious world. Along with his peaceful landscape scenes, there are many including human figures which show his artistic skill.

 His artistic activity is confirmed by a series of exhibitions in the Netherlands, Japan, UK, Spain and Australia:

  • 2024: Pop-up Gallery, Amsterdam, NL
  • 2023: Boomers Gallery, London, UK
  • 2022: The Flat Gallery, Mahon Menorca, Spain
  • 2017: Four Seasons Art Fair, Amsterdam
  • 2014-2017: Cafe Eijlders, Amsterdam, Gallery Cloud, Amsterdam
  • 2012-2013: Galerie Jordaan, Amsterdam 
  • 2007: Window to the World, NL/JP Nagasaki National Museum, Japan
  • 1996-1999: series of exhibitions in Perth, WA

 Also, many private collectors around the world including ones in Australia, Austria, Finland, the USA, the Netherlands, Japan, England and Croatia have Mario’s (sold) artworks in their possession.

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