At the proposal of the State Commission for Awards and Recognition of the Republic of Croatia, the President of the Republic of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, awarded the painter Alfred Freddy Krupa the Order of Danica Hrvatska ( “Order of the Croatian Morning Star” or simply “Order of the Croatian Star”) with the image of Marko Marulić, ‘for special merits in the field of culture and exceptional contribution to the promotion of Croatian fine arts in the country and abroad’.
Some of the most internationally famous people honored with this high state honor include Emmy-awarded actor John Malkovich, entrepreneur Mate Rimac, Laurel and Daytime Emmy-awarded actor Michael York OBE, Golden Globe, and Emmy-awarded actor Martin Sheen, multiple Oscar nominee and Premium Imperial and Palme d’Or and Cesar winner director Andrzej Wajda, Nobel laureate Vladimir Prelog ForMemRS, Wolf Prize, Grammy and Primetime Emmy-awarded composer Krzysztof Penderecki, pianist Ivo Pogorelić, footballer Davor Šuker, basketball player Dražen Petrović, Swiss-Austrian art expert, art mediator, collector, and patron Francesca Habsburg-Lothringen, French Legion of Honor for Arts and Letter bearer and The Gorgone Group cofounder Josip Vaništa and others.
Alfred Krupa, also known as Alfred Freddy Krupa, is a contemporary Croatian painter born in 1971. He is a multi-award-winning artist, teacher, draughtsman, book artist, and world record holder. Krupa is considered a New Ink Art movement pioneer in the West and enjoys international recognition.
According to the Allgemeines Kunstlerlexikon (AKL – Berlin, General Dictionary of the Artist), he is the leading representative of modern European ink painting. His works are present in prestigious art institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA), the Tate in London, the Silesian Museum in Poland, the National Museum of Modern Art in Zagreb in Croatia, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb, the Orange Regional Art Gallery in Australia, the Museo Internazionale dell’Acquarello in Fabriano in Italy, as well as in many other public, corporate and private collections.
The original manuscript of the New Ink Art Manifesto written by Krupa in 1996 is kept in the ‘documenta (exhibition) archive’ in Kassel, Germany. His art was first exposed to the general public at 19, in 1990, in the Yugoslav magazine ‘Vikend’ (Weekend Newspaper).
Alfred Krupa graduated in painting in 1995 from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, where he studied under Zlatko Kauzlarić Atač, specializing in watercolor. He also received a scholarship from the city of Karlovac in 1992 and a Japanese government scholarship to Tokyo Gakugei University, Fine Arts Research Institute, Tokyo, in 1998.
In 2005 Krupa obtained the title of Professor of Drawing and Painting from the University of Zagreb and the State Institute for Education of the Republic of Croatia (now the Education Agency). In January 2023, he set a world record by creating the most extended ink drawing on raw canvas, using only swan and goose feathers as brushes. This work of art has been recognized by the American organization RecordSetter as the longest of its kind and a world record.
Alfred Krupa is one of the most accomplished living painters from Croatia, has exhibited more than 120 times worldwide, and has received numerous awards and honors. His works have been featured alongside renowned artists such as Ivan Kožarić, Josip Vaništa, Mersad Berber, Vlaho Bukovac, and Edo Murtić, and others.
According to the Badan Rynkowych Institute’s 2007 survey report, Alfred Krupa is among the 70 most wanted artists for the future collections of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (MSN). This highlights the recognition and interest in his artistic work.
The President of the Republic of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, will personally present this award to the painter Alfred Krupa during a ceremony that will be organized in the Presidential Palace in Zagreb.
