About Us

Over the course of sixty springs, LIKUM has embraced not only numerous greats of the Croatian art scene, but also fledglings who were just taking their first steps in the world of art and who came of age through the LIKUM gallery as masters of the brush, the chisel, or graphic art.

Chroniclers of LIKUM’s beginnings recall that Franjo Mraz, already confirmed as a master of artistic expression, served as the association’s first president, and that he was one of many artists among the association’s founding members:
Vilko Šeferov, Sergije Glumac, Fedor Malančec, Antun Zupa, Ivan Šebalj, Ivan Lovrenčić, Velibor Mačukatin, Grga Antunac, Tiljak Đuro, Vaić Fedor, Sabolić Ivan, Gecan Vilko, Kinert Albert, Smilja Kinert, Krsto Hegedušić, Frane Cota, Alfred Pilc, Bruno Bulić, Vilim Čerić, Marijan Szabo, Julije Papić, Branka Hegedušić, Anka Krizmanić, Davorin Hotko, Vjera Bojničić, Tomislav Krizman, Hermina Faust, Dragan Beraković, Kosta Angeli Radovani, Frane Baće, Mato Benković, Edo Murtić, Branko Ružić, Rudolf Sabljić, Slavko Jurić, Milenija Mulanović, Heni Strižić, Vilko Selan Gliha, Vojin Bakić, Malvina Borelli, Vlasta Baranjai, Ema Bursać, Zvonimir Faist, Zora Grin, Tošo Dabac, Pavao Gavranić, Jelena Silvaši, Vjekoslav Rukljač, Dragica Pevec, Stela Skopal, Vojta Braniš, Slavko
Šohaj, Nikola Maraković, Vladimir Pintarić, Danica Brossler, Kamilo Ružička, Olaf Globočnik, Melita Bošnjak, Antun Šojat, Vesna Sokolić, Oton Gliha, Marino Tartaglia,Antun Petrović , Miše Jerolim, Vladimir Jelić, Mladen Veža, Edo Kovačević, Ivo Režek, and Franjo Mraz. Many of these people influenced the course of Croatian art and spread their own artistic knowledge and experience as distinguished educators and art historians at art schools and academies. They utilized their inexhaustible talent, moments of inspiration, their social status, and even material means in order to promote the activities of their association Their mutual cooperation over the past sixty years has been untiring. Through Likum many artists gained personal recognition. The World of art came into public view as a result of LIKUM’s
exhibition and sale galleries, which exhibited and sold artwork that would eventually decorate thousands of private homes as well as public
and commercial spaces.
In fact, there are practically no members of our society who have not decorated their personal space with at least one object of applied art. In all likelyhood, hundreds of thousands of artworks have travelled from LIKUM’s shelves to delighted customers.
Uncounted squares, parks, towns, and villages are decorated and honored by monuments and statues that were cast in LIKUM’s casting foundry, while artists’s studios are often supplied with art materials and tools bought in Karas, LIKUM’s own art supply shop, which has always been an inexhaustible source for world-class quality materials,
even in times of economic hardship, or when the law prevented the importation of paints, brushes, glaze, enamel, emulsions, and other necessities.
The great productivity of the members of LIKUM grew and asserted itself as a verified criterion for choosing LIKUM’s works; as a result, the artists themselves benefitted economically. While some developed into easel painters, others became excellent ceramic artists, unrivaled masters of textile design, creators of jewellery, magicians
of the art of glassmaking, and builders of decorative lighting fixtures and other useful objects, with which they warmed many hearts and lit
up many faces. One must not ignore the fact that, whenever an
object that was bought in LIKUM did not find its buyer because of absolute necessity, it was bought because its artistic expression, beauty, or decorativeness grabbed the attention of the buyer. At various times, depending on the specific economic situation, LIKUM has proved itself in many different segments of business.For example, in earlier periods a variety of service activities developed in the interest of LIKUM’s members, such as a workshop for artistic metalworking
that carried out furniture-making projects; a ceramics workshop that provided ceramic artists with materials and technological processes; and a sculpture foundry that has proven itself through its collaboration with practically all Croatian sculptors in the last sixty years, as well as its production of medals, pins, and cast metal souvenirs, while following market trends. At the same time, architectural designers have created many of the most representative buildings in Croatia through idea solutions that were conceived in collaboration with LIKUM. One merely has to recall some of the projects in which LIKUM played a significant role: the new National and University Library building; the Zagreb Crematorium; the Krk Island bridge; the Ina oil company headquarters; many sports stadiums, banks, and schools; the sculptural and architectural renovation of Anton Domenik Fernkorn’s monument to the Virgin Mary in front of the Zagreb Cathedral; Augustinčić’s massive monument in Šehitluci near the Bosnian city of Banja Luka, Kožarić’s sculpture of the writer Antun Gustav Matoš in Zagreb’s Upper Town; and numerous works by Ivan Meštrović, Marije Ujević, Tomislav Ostoja, Kosta Angeli Radovani, and almost all other Croatian sculptors. One of LIKUM’s most significant programs was its business collaboration with many hotel, restaurant,

and retail companies, the purpose of which was to market LIKUM artwork up and down the Adriatic coast, with the advantage that all of the works were bought in advance by LIKUM’s business partners. LIKUM also proved itself through the publishing of the visual art journal Likum, under the editorship of Veselko Tenžera.
As pioneers of contemporary design, many of LIKUM’s artists proved themselves in the creation of new packaging solutions, most of which led to final product designs used by Tvornica duhana Rovinj (tobacco company), Zagrebačka mljekara (dairy), Grafokarton (packaging company), Franck (coffee manufacturer), and Končar (electrical machines and appliances), not to mention the displays that can still be seen on the roofs of Zagreb’s taxis. LIKUM’s artists were particularly important in the designing of structures and painted works at the Zagreb Fair, which employed almost all members of LIKUM in the improvement of its visual identity. From its earliest days, Gallery Ulrich strove not only to affirm the artistic work of its members, but also to present and make public Croatian artistic accomplishments in general. There are practically no significant Croatian artists who did not present
their artwork to the public at Gallery Ulrich. The gallery encouraged young artists from its very beginnings, yet it never ignored established values. Gallery Ulrich entered most extensively into the structure of contemporary artistic production as the executive organizer of the largest Croatian art exhibition – the Zagreb Salon. In recent times, LIKUM has engaged in new business activities aimed at consolidating the marketing of art production by means of more contemporary
approaches. A partnership was initiated between LIKUM and the CROATIAN UNION OF COOPERATIVES, which helps significantly by providing economic information that is useful to our company. In its continued collaboration with the CROATIAN UNION OF TRADE COOPERATIVES and other relevant vocational organizations, LIKUM
will certainly broaden and enrich its activities. In the immediate future, LIKUM will seek out a path for artists and cooperative members to interesting new buyers abroad, especially since the Zagreb art market will soon be saturated by intense competition, and the only chance for LIKUM’s members to survive will be through its top quality that will gain the trust of buyers. Karas, LIKUM’s art supply store, holds promotional
sales and gives discounts on various products – such as LIKUM paintbrushes, canvases, paint, clay, artists’ pencils, sculptors’ modelling
stands, and painters’ easels – in its effort to cater to
artists’ needs.
These discounts and promotional sales are possible
because of highly beneficial cooperative relations, which contribute to the affirmation of the Karas store, where a great many professional artists, art students, and school children alike shop for supplies. Keeping the interests of artists in mind, LIKUM has now become the authorised representative in Croatia of the Dutch company Royal Talens for the sale of artists’ paints, materials, and equipment.
After the book launch for a monograph by painter Viktor Goričan, LIKUM entered the publishing business. This year, several monographs will launched by some of LIKUM’s most productive members, who were prominent in its history. Soon the monograph about Gallery Ulrich will also be launched, recording 100 years of service in its mission to promote the work of Croatian artists. Gallery Ulrich, as well as the exhibition and sale galleries, Gallery LIKUM, Gallery Nova Forma, and Gallery Contempora, after years of nelect, is now decently decorated so as to present Croatian art in a respectable fashion. In the foreseeable future it will be necessary to establish some norms of house design, especially in the company’s exhibition activities, particularly in terms of catalogues, invitations, and posters. In addition, a new logo should be designed by which LIKUM will be presented in a contemporary fashion, while fully respecting traditional values. Clearly, it is inevitable that LIKUM invest in continued training in the sales process for its employees, as well as in adequate modern sales technology equipment.
LIKUM and its employees are dedicated to the service of the artist and the promotion of artistic works for the benefit of Croatian art, but they also constantly strive to enable its members to maintain a decent existence. As an absolute necessity, LIKUM cooperates closely with the Office of Culture of the City of Zagreb, the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Economy, Labor, and Entrepreneurship of the Republic of Croatia – especially since in LIKUM’s early years abundant aid and support was provided for the implementation of artistic programs and publishing activities, as well as improving the financial base. In order for LIKUM to be socially relevant, it was necessary to activate all of the media to notify the public about new events and trends in the visual arts. This was especially necessary since the time had past when LIKUM, like Don Quixote, could ride blindly through the thorny Croatian market. Instead, LIKUM must install itself into the system for the benefit of its members.
In the future, I definitely see LIKUM as an institution that not only gives life – that is, a strong start into the world of art – to young artists, but which also opens doors for them to continue learning in confirmed values and enables them to live through the business world of art.
A special feature of LIKUM’s display windows and its exhibition and sale galleries is that they are in a sense kaleidoscopes that illustrate the variety of the artistic tensions and interests that exist among the membership of LIKUM. The works are coordinated in the display by means of their difference and through the various intentions of the artists, and as a whole they create a collage, dynamic as a carousel, that attracts customers. Through this traditional, unique presentation, the artists are introduced in the monograph, which is like an open gallery or showcase that presents each artist individually within LIKUM’s lavish supply of works. Therefore, this monograph is a kind of showcase displaying the studios of artists and also an open window through which LIKUM’s many years of promoting artwork can be seen.
LIKUM’s significance is just as important as are the most significant works of its member artists, who to this day are listed in all relevant publications as unavoidable names in the history of Croatian visual arts. It is with pride that I can emphasize that LIKUM is the only cooperative specifically dedicated to artists, that it is in fact a cultural phenomenon, which has reached a respectable anniversary as a unique example of coexistence between artists and a business organization.
The monograph Sixty Years of LIKUM will remain a constant tribute to art exhibition in Croatia, but also a tribute to the numerous artists who succeeded in developing their artistic habits thanks to that very phenomenon which opened its doors to the people of Zagreb and initiated them into the magic of art and the formation of esthetic criteria.

Tea Bilić, director