[artinfo] (fwd) Abstract artist Edo Murtic dies

[sj at c3.hu]

Abstract artist Edo Murtic, one of Croatia's most prominent painters, has
died at the age of 83.
Murtic began his career with figurative painting but came to be regarded
as one of the masters of European abstraction in the 1960s and 1970s.
Characterised by an aggressive use of colour, his work appeared in
prominent galleries including the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, and New
York.
Murtic died after a long illness at a Zagreb hospital on Sunday.
He was influenced by socialist ideas growing up in north Croatian village
Velika Pisanica. At the outbreak of World War II, Murtic became involved
in the anti-fascist movement. In 1944 he joined the liberation forces
where he first began his work as an artist.
Initially designing graphics, posters and books, Murtic gained worldwide
recognition after the end of the war.