Darko Masnec completed his M.A. studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb (Department of Animation and New Media), and in 2017 obtained his Ph.D. degree at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb with the doctoral thesis "The Zagreb School of Animated Film: Art and Market Practices in the Context of Videogames". His body of work includes a range of animated films and video games that combine hand drawn details and classical gags with abstract, modernistic aesthetic. He strives to bring a unique perspective to his pieces, often focusing on playfulness and movement as a way of expressing emotion, while experimenting with different types of atmospheres and visual narration. In the same vein, his conceptual art pieces frequently deal with the deconstruction of material objects of play and how they represent the systems from which they originate. He has also worked on a few short animated film projects in various roles, as an animator, prop-maker and in post-production.
In addition to his work as an artist, he has also contributed to the academic community through publishing in journals and various educational and public presentations dealing with aesthetic qualities of videogames, animated film and their correlation. He regularly cooperates with (animated) film festivals. A strong believer in the importance of knowledge-sharing within and between disciplines, Darko is committed to sharing and expanding his insights in order to enhance our collective potential. Currently he works as an Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb.
Awards:
2022 – ASIFA Croatia Special Mention 2022, Zagreb, Croatia
2022 – Grand Prix, Balkanima - European Animated Film Festival, Beograd, Serbia
2015 – Award for best experimental film, FESA, Beograd
2013 – Award to young scientists and artists, awarded by The society of university teachers, scholars and other scientists s for the work in the field of fine arts, Zagreb, Croatia
2012 – Vedran Šamanović Award – awarded by Croatian Film Association for innovative and valuable contribution to Croatian filmmaking, Pula Film Festival, Croatia
2012 – Grand Prix, FHAF 3 (Festival of Croatian Animated Film), Kino Europa, Zagreb, Croatia
2012 – Award for best student film, FHAF 3 (Festival of Croatian Animated Film), Kino Europa, Zagreb, Croatia
2009 – 3rd prize in the category of sculptural installations, Visual arts Forma Viva "Evolution", international competition of artworks, Narodni dom Maribor, Slovenia
2008 – 1st prize, Ex Tempore, painting, Naskok Castle, Maribor, Slovenia
2008 – 2nd prize, Visual arts Forma Viva "Harmonic interventions into the urban green", Kibla, Maribor, Slovenia
Exhibitions:
2023 – Sketch for (Video)game - view from the other side, group exhibition, Gallery Putolovac, Zagreb, Croatia
2022 – Poveznice iz druge ruke / Second Hand Connections, solo exhibition, Gallery Putolovac, Zagreb, Croatia
2022 – Cinema on the Edge - Cycle of short films and talks about the intersection of film genres, group film projection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia
2022 – Behind the Scenes 4, group exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia
2019 – Navigator B, solo exhibition, Gallery SC, Zagreb, Croatia
2019 – Vrijeme srca: (Re)Animacija poezije, group exhibition, Gallery Pogon, Zagreb, Croatia
2019 – Byl-ka, solo exhibition, G-MK (Galerija Miroslav Kraljević), Zagreb, Croatia
2018 – Slovenian animated film 2006 – 2017, Celje Gallery of Contemporary Art, Celje, Slovenia
2018
– Nove kolekcije - Makh, video/film of the videogame Makh for HRT (Croatian Radiotelevision)
2017 – T-HT award MSU, group exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia
2017 – Iza kulisa- vizualni kodovi mreže (engl. Behind the scenes - visual network codes), group exhibition, Gallery VN, Zagreb, Croatia
2016 – Dream Control, solo exhibition, Net.Cube gallery, coopertion with WHW (Internet project)
2015 – Crtomat, festival of illustration, Gradski muzej Virovitica, Virovitica, Croatia
2014 – Transform 2014, group exhibition, Bucharest, Romania
2013 – Prostor je taktika IV, group exhibition, Gallery Pogon, Zagreb, Croatia
2012 – Collab - Lauba cinema, group exhibition, Gallery Lauba, Zagreb, Croatia
2012 – Prostor je taktika III, group exhibition, Gallery SC, Zagreb, Croatia
2012 – Stillstand: Persistent Control, solo exhibition, Gallery SC, Zagreb, Croatia
2011 – Skup.Na, group exhibition, Gallery VN, Zagreb, Croatia
2011 – Prostor je taktika II, group exhibition, Gallery SC, Zagreb, Croatia
2011 – Prostor je taktika I (engl. Space is a tactic), group exhibition, Gallery Jogurt- AKC Medika, Zagreb, Croatia
2011 – All the art that's fit to show, group exhibition, Gallery SC, Zagreb, Croatia
2011 – "buffering", art-group filtrKOMBINAT - solo exhibition, Inkubator, Maribor, Slovenia
2010 – Identiteti/Identities, group exhibition, Gallery SC, Zagreb, Croatia
2009 – Visual arts Forma Viva "Evolution", art-group filtrKOMBINAT - group exhibition, Narodni dom Maribor, Slovenia
2008 – Object NOB, Nanagiriti.si, artistic intervention as a festival of contemporary visual art, art-group filtrKOMBINAT- group exhibition, Maribor, Slovenia
2008 – Visual arts Forma Viva "Harmonic interventions into the urban green", art-group filtrKOMBINAT - group exhibition, Kibla, Maribor, Slovenia
Festivals:
2023 – Animatricks International Animation Festival, international film festival, Helsinki, Finland
2023 – 32. Dani hrvatskog filma, film festival, Kino SC, Zagreb, Croatia
2023 – La Guarimba International Film Festival, international film festival, Amantea, Italy
2023 – Insomnia International Animation Film Festival, international film festival, Moscow, Russia
2023 – Fest Anča, international animated film festival, Žilina, Slovakia
2023 – Filmfest Dresden, international film festival, Dresden, Germany
2023 – Go Short International Short Film Festival Nijmegen, international film festival, Nijmegen, Netherlands
2023 – Landshut Short Film Festival, international film festival, Landshut, Germany
2023 – Monstra Lisbon Animated Film Festival, international animated film festival, Lisbon,
Portugal
2023 – PequeFilmes International Children Film Festival of Galicia, international film festival, Galicia, Spain
2023 – Film Maudit 2.0, international film
festival, Los Angeles, USA
2022 – Aguilar Film Festival, international film festival, miniaguilar category, Aguilar de Campoo, Spain
2022 – Animateka, international animated film festival, main competition, Ljubljana, Slovenija
2022 – Animasivo, international animated film
festival, international competition,
Mexico City, Mexico
2022 – DOK Leipzig International Festival for Documentary and Animated Film, Competition for the Audience Award, Leipzig, Germany
2022 – Balkanima European Animated Film Festival, international animated film festival, Beograd, Serbia
2022 – Fantoche International Animation Festival, international competition, Baden, Switzerland
2022 – Supertoon International Animation Festival, main competition, Sibenik, Croatia
2022 – Flipbook Film Festival, main competition, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
2022 – FeKK Ljubljana Short Film Festival, shorts competition, Ljubljana, Slovenija
2022 – Animafest, international animated film festival, grand and croatian competition, Kino SC, Zagreb, Croatia
2017- The Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS), international animated film festival, Stuttgart, Germany
2016 – Fest Anča, international animated film festival, Žilina, Slovakia
2016 – Monstra, international animated film festival, Lisbon, Portugal
2015 – FESA (Festival of European Student Animation Film), Belgrade, Serbia
2015 – L'Univers Cinema Festival, Lille, France
2015 – Supertoon, international animated film festival, Šibenik, Croatia
2014 – Review of the Slovenian Animated Film Festival. Portorož, Slovenia
2014 – In The Palace, international short film festival, Balchik, Bulgaria
2013 – Linoleum, film festival, Moscow, Russia
2013 – Fest Anča, international festival of animated film, Zilina, Slovakia
2013 – FSF (Slovenian Film Festival), Portoroz, Slovenia
2013 – LIAF, international animated film festival, London, United Kingdom
2013 – MIAF, international animated film festival, Melbourne, Australia
2013 – HAFF, international festival of animated films, Utrecht, The Netherlands
2013 – Videoex, festival of experimental film and video, Zurich, Switzerland
2013 – Animatou, international animated film festival, Geneva, Switzerland
2013 – 66th Cannes Film Festival, Short Film Corner, France
2012 – Animateka, international animated film festival, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2012 – Croatie la voici!, program "La Croatie s’anime" , Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
2012 – Tofuzi, international animated film festival, Batumi, Georgia
2012 – Eyeworks, international experimental animated film festival, Chicago, SAD
2012 – 25fps, international experimental film festival, Kino SC, Zagreb, Croatia
2012 – Animafest, international animated film festival, Kino Tuškanac, Zagreb, Croatia
2012 – 21. Dani hrvatskog filma, film festival, Kino SC, Zagreb, Croatia
2012 – FHAF 3, animated film festival, Zagreb, Croatia
2011 – Animateka, international animated film festival, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2011 – FHAF 2, animated film festival, Zagreb, Croatia
2010 – Animateka, international animated film festival, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2010 – International Streaming Festival The Hague, international festival of short film, Haag, Netherlands
2010 – Balkanima, international animated film festival, Beograd, Serbia
2009 – Fanima.TU, animated film festival, Trzin, Slovenia
2009 – In The Palace, international short film festival, Balchik, Bulgaria
2009 – Kurye Video, International video festival, Akbank Sanat, Istanbul, Turkey
2008 – From Europe with love, festival of European film, Prince Charles Cinema, London, UK
2007 – Animateka, international animated film festival, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2007 – Betting on Shorts - Front runners, international short film festival, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London, Great Britain & Cineclub VoidZelig, Barcelona, Spain
Collaborations, projects, workshops:
2023 – ASIFA International Animation
Day 2023 - Croatia, jury member for competition programme, Museum of Contemporary Arts, Zagreb, Croatia
2023 - 2024 – Expert program committee for the design of programs, development and realization of animated film projects, member of the committee, Slovenian film centre, Ljubljana
2022 – Digital Animation - Animated Film, Simulation Media and Future of Animation, an article in a monography „Fifty Years of the World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb (1972–2022)", Zagreb
2019 – 2022- Edu4Games – Creation of standards of professions and qualifications as well as new study programs for the area of design and development of video games, member of the project team, University of Zagreb (Academy of Dramatic Art, Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design at the Faculty of Architecture, Faculty of Organization and Informatics and Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing), Zagreb
2021 – A sense of unfinished destiny- a talk with Zlatko Bourek and Pavle Štalter, co-author with Andrijana Ružić, an article in a journal „Hrvatski filmski ljetopis“, autumn edition (107), Zagreb
2021 – Animated documentary film, guest lecturer at PSJ Lab workshop, Ethnographic Museum, Zagreb, Croatia
2021 – Member of the state level committee for Competition-exhibition of high school students in the field of visual arts and design - LIK 2020/2021, Education and Teacher Training Agency, Croatia
2019 - 2021 – Member of the committee for designing a new PHD programme at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, approved by University of Zagreb, Croatia
2020 – Constantines Gold Coin, international animated film festival, jury member, Niš, Serbia
2020 – "Animation in the context of multimedia and videogames", Animation today - artist talk, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia
2019- (ongoing) – Animafest council, member of the council of Animafest - World Festival of Animated Film, Zagreb, Croatia
2018 – Banja Luka international animated film festival, jury member for
the best short animated film, Banja Luka
2018 – "Anemoia of the Video Game Space", Talkthrough II - conference on the video games phenomena, GMK, Zagreb, Croatia
2018 – Animafest 2018, international animated film festival, member of selection committee for student competition programme
2017 – Videogames – aesthetic role of game and interactivity, article in a journal „Hrvatski filmski ljetopis“, summer-fall edition (90-91), Zagreb, 2017
2017 – Aesthetics of
animated film, article in a journal „Hrvatski filmski ljetopis“, winter-spring edition (89), Zagreb
2016 – Monstra, international animated film festival, jury member for the best short animated film, Lisbon, Portugal
2015 – "Videogames as an art" – lecture in the multimedia centre "Mama", WHW, Zagreb, Croatia
2015 – Revija studentskog filma, the festival of animated, short, feature and documentary films, jury member, Zagreb, Croatia
2015 – "Animation and animated film in art teaching in primary schools" – lecture at the symposium "The media as a challenge in the art teaching", Agency for Education, Rijeka
2015 – Videogame workshop, Animafest 2015, Zagreb, co- mentor of a workshop
2014 – Videogame workshop, Animafest 2014, Zagreb, co- mentor of a workshop
2014 – Here, There, animation on a short animated-experimental film by Alexander Stewart, Bonobo studio
2013 – Videogame workshop, Animafest 2013, Zagreb, co-mentor of a workshop
2013 – Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen, animation and montage on a short animated film project by Darko Bakliža, Zagreb film
2012 – At first sight, animation and scenography on a short animated film project by Lea Jeger Kralj, Zagreb film
2009 – Festival Lent, Maribor, mentor of art workshop
2009 – Društvo za oživljanje zgodbe 2. koluta, Ljubljana, mentor of animated film workshops