Ljubo de Karina was born in 1948 in Rijeka. He graduated with a degree in sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana. He completed his postgraduate training under the mentorship of professors Vanja Raduš (Radauš) and Antun Augustinčić. He has been working as a freelance artist since 1973. The author’s exhibition itinerary includes many exhibitions that were held in his home country and abroad. One of the most important exhibition in Croatia was the monographic exhibition at the HAZU Glipoteka and the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery. Also noteworthy are his contributions at international sculpture symposia. De Karina’s monumental public sculptures can be found in various cities in Croatia and abroad (Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Japan), while many of works in a smaller format are part of public and private collections. He lives and works in Brseč (Croatia).
One could argue that De Karina’s sculpture with its circular shape acts as a counterbalance to the round, but more massive Table of Friendship (1991), which lies close nearby. At first it appears to be an artistic interpretation of a species of mushrooms that naturally grow in a circle, which is always astonishing to us, because we do not expect to find such perfect forms in nature. But a closer look quickly reveals the gist of the author’s idea. The orbit on the ground marks the number of times the moon travels around the earth in a year and the number of times they both travel around the Sun. It consists of smaller, egg-shaped stone formations that bear reliefs of fertility symbols, which is a representation of natural fertility processes. The self-sufficient and perfect sculptural microcosm invites us to cross the boundaries of the stone circle, both real and imaginary, and experience the whole.
