Bronze sculpture “The Kiss” by SIME (2021), limited edition

About SIME: Born Mladen Simunovic in Gorica, Croatia, in 1968, the painter and sculptor SIME belongs to a young generation of artists who no longer see the question of tradition and modernity as opposites. Rather, his sculptures reveal that the "old" themes of art are far from exhausted for him: he continually extracts new, refreshingly subjective perspectives from them. Before studying sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb (1988-1993), SIME trained at the Center for Applied Arts and Design (1985-1987). He likes to develop his sculptural work based on numerous preparatory drawings—a process in which what later takes shape in clay, plaster, wood, or bronze gradually "forms" on the drawing paper. His sculptures are characterized in particular by their clear forms and their reduced style of representation. The artist focuses entirely on the essential characteristics of his subjects, abstracting their distinctive features. The naturalness of the proportions is always preserved, and the sculptures radiate dynamism and aesthetic appeal. Sime has lived and worked as a freelance sculptor and member of the Professional Association of Visual Artists in Munich since 1999. He has received several art awards in Croatia and has recently exhibited extensively throughout Germany.