Project Description
Joseph Zbukvic
Born in Zagreb, Croatia, Zbukvic’s early education was very versatile and included both the performing and visual arts. Despite his obvious talent for painting, in 1967 he enrolled into university to study languages and literature in order to pursue a teaching career.
This was interrupted in 1970, when due to political unrest, he decided to immigrate to Australia, where he saw an opportunity to return to art. He continued his formal education at DAKIN UNIVESITY, Melbourne, graduated in 1974, gaining a DIPLOMA of ART, majoring in INDUSTRIAL DESIGN. During this course he began to paint again achieving instant success at art competitions, winning his first major art award in 1975.(Corio Council Art Award, Judged by Richard Heffernan,Head of Deakin Art Faculty)
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
In 1978 he took up painting full time quickly establishing himself as one of the leading artists in this country.To date he has had over 40 solo exhibitions in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, London UK and San Antonio, Texas USA
He is a member of the Victorian Watercolour Society and its vice president from 1991 to 1994 and was also invited to join the Australian Guild of Realist Artists in 1988 . He has been a member of the Victorian Artists Society since 1988 and a teacher at Charles Sturt University, Mitchell School of arts. He is also a long serving member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society. In 1998 he was nominated and excepted for the esteemed membership of the Australian Watercolour Institute and became a VRC member in 1998.
He has won over 200 awards in his career including the coveted Gold Medal for best painting at the Camberwell Rotary Art Exhibition three times.The panel of judges was chaired by Richard Stone portrait painter for the Royal Family. Other awards span over 20 years and are just too numerous to mention
