Koloman Novak graduated from the Academy of Applied Arts in Belgrade in 1959, where he exhibited for the first time at the "Zapadni Vračar" Culture Center in 1963 and later at Atelje 212 in 1965. He participated in the exhibition Nova Tendencia 3 at the Gallery of Contemporary Art in Zagreb in 1965, followed by the Tendencies 4 exhibitions in 1968 and in 1969, and Tendencies 5 in 1973.

In 1967, he travelled to Vienna, where he stayed until 1971 During his time in Vienna, he organised two solo exhibitions at the Gallery in Griechenbeisl (Galerie im Griechenbeisl) in 1968 and 1971. He participated in the very important international exhibition Kinetics, upon the invitation of Werner Hofmann, at the Museum of 20th Century Art in Vienna in 1967.

Upon his return to Belgrade, he organised the retrospective exhibition Objects 1962-1976 at the Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art in 1976. He had his last exhibition in Belgrade at the Gallery of the Cultural Center in 1995. He was also featured in the exhibition Sequence at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Novak is a pioneer of neoconstructivist and luminokinetic art in Serbia, also having earned considerable reputation in Austria. In addition to a series of lumino-objects, in 1969, he also created his capital work - the ambience of the Light Organ, equipped with a keyboard for the rhythmic, organic, and automatic accompaniment of the orchestra in the Studio N concert hall in Vienna,. He also created the equipment for the Austrian pavilion at the Nice Fair.