Ikon Arts Foundation

Blanka Dužanec (1908 – 1989) was trained in ceramics and designed industrial ceramics. After graduating from the Art Academy in Zagreb she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw during the 1930s. She returned to Zagreb where she began a career as a professor and was the Head of the ceramics department at the School of Crafts in Zagreb from 1933 – 63. Along with the sculptor Stella Skopal, Dužanec was responsible for educating a large number of ceramic artists and experts in industrial production. She helped modernize the education program by introducing new courses in Modeling and Constructive Drawing of Utilitarian Objects for mass production with the intent to meet the requirements and establish opportunities within the industry. With the support of the Association of Ceramic Factories, she established a Technology Department at the School of Crafts where she actively monitored and advised the independent work of students. She developed advanced forms of bottles and flasks for the liqueur and spirit company, Maraska that were used as prototypes to test the possibilities of the production processes of the industry. In 1971 she won the Vladimir Nazor award for lifetime achievement.