December 18, 2022 - Firebird: the most famous Croatian poster now available in a new limited series

Mimi and Vanja Rakočević, father and son, owners of the Zagreb gallery Paravan at Martićeva 4 were motivated by the great demand for the works of our famous artist Boris Bućan, to create a unique limited series of firebird posters in Plexiglas in collaboration with the author himself.

About one hundred copies of the Multipla Firebird were made in the size of 40x40cm. The item consists of six individual plans made of Plexiglas. Each multiple is numbered and signed on an aluminum plate by Bućan himself.

"Months passed from the idea to realization, several months filled with interesting and vivid conversations with the artist Boris Bućan. The preparation for printing itself lasted three weeks," says graphic designer and owner of the Paravan gallery, Vanja Rakočević.

One hundred original copies of the Firebird poster

Firebird is the most famous Croatian poster, created in 1982 for Igor Stravinsky's ballet at the Croatian National Theater in Split. Today, it is also in the lineup of the Tate Modern and MoMA museums and has become a recognizable motif of Croatian contemporary culture. As such, the Firebird poster is one of the most sought-after works in the Paravan gallery, where one of the hundred original copies from 1982 is exhibited. However, that copy is not for sale.

Vanja and Mimi Rakočević came up with the idea of performing it through a different medium and decided on a multiple. Multiples were created in 1955 when the artists Jean Tinguely and Arman, wanting to make their works more accessible, presented the idea of producing a more extensive and unlimited series of their artworks.

"The specificity and in fact the transparency of the medium itself resulted in an interesting and somewhat pop art expression. Because of the combined six individual planes, the work has a three-dimensional effect and takes on different forms, depending on the angle from which it is viewed," explains Vanja Rakočević.

The foreground is in red color, the beak, the tail, and the heels. The second plan is the bird itself, the third, fourth, and fifth plans have green leaves printed on them, and the sixth plan is white. Getting the exact shades and color variants was one of the biggest challenges, and until the final product was ready there were more than 10 numbers of printed proofs.

As expected, the general public and the artistic community recognized the value of this series and have already reserved almost 50 copies of this limited series in the Paravan gallery. For reservations and more information about the work itself, you can contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., via Facebook, Instagram, or in person at the address Martićeva 4, Zagreb.

February 24, 2022 - Croatian painter, designer, and graphic artist Boris Bućan can be found among the 425 posters at the 86th International Auction of Rare Posters in New York City.

From February 25 to March 19, 2022, the 86th International Auction of Rare Posters (Poster Auctions International) will be held at the PAI Gallery in New York City, where rare and cult posters from the end of the 19th century will be offered for sale, reports Jutarnji List.

Among the 425 posters is an anthological poster for Igor Stravinsky's ballets 'The Firebird' (Žar ptica) and 'Petrushka' at the Croatian National Theater in Split in 1983, authored by Croatian painter, designer, and graphic artist Academician Boris Bućan, which was also published on the cover of the auction catalog.

"This auction not only features top works by our most beloved artists but also includes rarely seen paintings, models, drawings, and books. From Belle Époque designs by Alfonso Mucha and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec to jazz, Paul Colin, and Charles Loupot fashion, there’s really something special about this collection for every collector," said Jack Rennert, president of Poster Auctions International.

The 'The Firebird' poster price ranges between $10,000 and $ 15,000. According to the auction catalog, the poster is a stunningly original creation, at the same time bizarre, enchanting, and lavish, and thus the perfect design for the mythical rise of imagination evoked by Stravinsky's ballets.

The 'The Firebird' depiction is described as an androgynous obscure Egyptian bird creature posing in red high-heeled shoes, which is more austere than flaming but unquestionably provocative.

Zagreb painter Boris Bućan is one of the most successful Croatian painters. Since 1984, he received more than twenty top international awards and recognitions, including an honor in the representative catalog of the world-famous London Victoria & Albert Museum for one of the most successful posters of the 20th century.

Bućan’s works are displayed in the world’s most renowned museums and galleries (New York, Munich, Essen, Melbourne). In addition, they have been exhibited at more than 70 solo exhibitions (Ljubljana, Edinburgh, Venice, Sarajevo, Shanghai, Ankara, Zagreb, Melbourne, New Jersey, Copenhagen, Adelaide, Jerusalem, Dordrecht, Wiesbaden, Berlin, Osijek, Našice, Rijeka). Bućan has also participated in more than 150 collective exhibitions at home and abroad.

Boris Bućan also received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Croatian Design Society in 2006,  while three of his posters have been permanently displayed at MOMA in New York since 2020, writes HAZU.

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