ORIGIN: WONDROUS WORLDS

 

 Solo Exhibition at Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery 

 August 12, 2025-September 21, 2025
Reception: Thursday, Aug. 28 | 11 a.m.-1 p.m. 

 

What a wonderful opportunity to show my larger body of work, some works spanning fifteen years in the making ("Gathering" ceramic series), others still very new and fresh even for my eyes ("Reef Pods" ceramic objects and "Origin Aqueous" and ""Suspended" elongated watercolor paintings) at Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery of Moraine Community College. 

The work in this exhibition, like all my work, is autobiographical, gently referencing the places and memories from my life. All of it has a deep personal meaning to me, and connects me, like a journal, to my previous thoughts, reflections and experiences. And of course, what makes me so very happy is when the artwork resonate with others, when there is something to be found, experienced and felt, always anew, and shared with another human being..

Each solo exhibition is in itself like a new art piece; to some extent it is a leap into the unknown. To me it is of the utmost importance to stand behind my work and present it in the best possible way. But there is always that leap of faith, beyond the certainty of any control, and it simply is about believing all the parts of that mechanism of putting up an exhibition will work out and end up being fruitful. 

It is an enormous joy for me to see new faces in the "audience" at each of my openings - young generations of students, and also those who remember being students some forty and fifty years ago, who come to visit the exhibit and open themselves to feeling something - maybe familiar, maybe new, maybe a bit of both?

                            All images in this post courtesy of Dan Jarvis*

Lastly, I would like to mention how grateful I am to Moraine Valley Community College and the gallery coordinator Dan Jarvis, for doing a tremendous work - bringing this exhibition to life - from its installation to documenting. Thank you, Dan!

 IN MY STUDIO

 

 

 Over the years (I dare not say decades out loud!), my studio space went through many changes. 

While I was studying art in Croatia, at the Academy of Fine Arts University of Zagreb, I had a shared studio with a few other students in my class. I was able to work on large oil canvases, but also - made etchings in the printmaking studio, worked with clay in the sculpture space, drew with charcoal in the drawing class....it was great to have a specialized space for each of these mediums, separated from my home. 

Soon after I graduated and moved to the US, no longer having a studio space, I continued my art practice, but now in my small bedroom. I no longer used oil paints and decided to switch to acrylics, as they involved less toxic fumes than oil, and as watercolor was continuously my huge passion, at this time it became more obvious I should pursue it even more. 

Slowly, watercolor as a medium became the main focus of my practice. Especially a few years later, as our family expanded, I very much appreciated watercolor's zero toxicity and focused on using only the non-toxic pigments. And then - when our son Albert was born - becoming a parent, (a mom!) took over EVERYTHING. Most of you parents and especially moms out there will know exactly what I mean... 

Suddenly, my studio practice had vanished completely. After a while, feeling as if I was abstaining from making art, without a choice, I realized - that was not going to work out for me.
I needed to find space and time specifically designated for my work, with no distractions, away from home. That was the start of a several year period when I rented a space in an artist community center. It was not cheap to rent a separate space, as I was not earning much of an income from my art yet, but it was definitely a move in the right direction. 

I remember my husband and I calculating if we could afford it financially at all, and I will never forget my mom (whose sister was a professional painter as well, so she knew!), saying it was imperative to protect my practice and have a professional space for making my work. She was so right!

A few years later, once we settled into the area, knowing we were staying; not moving to a different state, nor returning to Croatia, my husband and I started looking for a house, keeping in mind it needed to have a good studio space for me. I have been making my work in my home studio for the past ten years, and I cherish every moment I spend in it. Not guaranteed there are no distractions, but less than there would be outside my home, for sure.

WELCOME 2025!

 

Happy 2025! It is hard to believe we have almost chipped away a quarter of a century!
Does anyone remember the dramatic entrance to the new millennium, the countdown to 2000? Wow. I just realized that the year 2000 is my half-way marker - half of my life happened before and the next half after it.
Coincidentally, I also celebrated that countdown into 2000 in Austin, TX, which was the first time I visited the United States.
There are, naturally, always some new “firsts” throughout our lives - some great, some wonderful, others strange or sad or really difficult. That’s life.

Here’s my favorite 2025 image related to my art.
It is from the opening reception at ​Gallery 1871 in Chicago, with one of my large scale “Origin Aqueous” watercolors. It is one of the works I really wanted to see framed and on the wall, and thanks to the amazing support of the gallery director Jackie Pernot, that vision came to fruition.

Year after year I am astonished by the gift of being able to create art as my 100% calling, passion, and profession.
Without any sentimentality or sugarcoating - this path is both one of freedom and of daily hard work, dedication, and perseverance.

Being one’s own boss is a very interesting situation. It’s not as easy as one might think. Also, not considering other avenues, other jobs, other opportunities…not getting distracted along the way can be a real challenge.

I am grateful I get to do what I do, every single day. It’s a gift, I know it and I don’t take it lightly.

Now - on to face what lies ahead!

2024 IN REVIEW

 

​My 2024 was marked by several exciting exhibitions with each of the galleries that  currently represent me, two trips to Croatia to visit my mom, a holiday in Cancun with my family, many new commissioned works, and a museum exhibit where my painting was shoulder to shoulder with Hokusai's legendary masterpiece "The Great Wave off Kanagawa ".

"Wondrous Reef " diptych at Olson-Larsen Galleries*

 

 

"Wondrous Reef " series at Walker Fine Art*

"Ark" at Gallery1871* (and following 4 images)

 

 "Return to Arcadia" at Olson-Larsen Galleries* 

 

 "Waterways" exhibition, together with Hokusai's "The Great Wave" * 

For me this year was also greatly impacted by my older son Albert enrolling in Illinois Math and Science Academy, a residential public magnet high school. So, instead of having a child leaving for college at 18, I had to (despite being immensely grateful and happy for such a wonderful opportunity for my highly gifted child), make peace with letting him spread his wings and leave the nest early so he can fly, at 14.

 

My painting "Viridis", part of a permanent collection of Aurora University*

And yet, though I would of course love to have him at home with us every day, our weekends together are filled with great discussions and exchange of ideas underscored with a heightened awareness of how precious our time together is.

Every aspect of my life is connected to my work on some level. When Albert was just born, I decided to create a series of 365 watercolors until his first birthday. Each was to be 9"x12" in size. I titled the work "Albert's Series". It was dedicated to him, and in a way to me too, for persevering as an artist in this new role of motherhood. Becoming a mom felt so challenging, but the idea of neglecting being an artist was challenging just as well! Out of the new beautiful and difficult challenge of parenthood, new artwork also came to life. 

*"Albert's Series" at Wisconsin University, 2012.

 

Every stage in my life seems to be marked by a new series of works that follow and reflect it. And like almost everything in life - on some level it is always a surprise. 

 

WHAT'S INSIDE

 

 I often hear from the viewers my work has a scientific connection - sometimes it has to do with the forms and details that might appear amoebic-like, or plant-like or galactic-like, sometimes it has to do with my experimental, yet methodical process, the way I organize my studio and tools, and make notes and palette swatches.
I think artists are always experimenting, always discovering, always searching, and that is something shared by all the creative explorers - scientific and artistic-alike.
I come from a family where almost everyone I know was either a scientist or an artist. My parents both had math degrees, yet my mom was passionate about music and piano, my dad always experimented - learning about everything from sewing, (and sowing and sawing!) crocheting, loom weaving and making fishing nets, to beekeeping, cheese-making, mushroom-growing, you name it. Having a sister who is a professor of biophysics and also passionate about music and an amazing pianist in her own right, and now also seeing this duality of interests in my own children...I love that I came to discover, and accept, there is so much in me that is scientist- like. I never thought of it that way. Even though I chose a biology major in high-school and studied horticulture for a couple of years, I always thought at my core I am an artist.
Nowadays, thankfully, I see it all boils down to curiosity and a sense of wonder. One should always seek and explore and question and wonder (and wander!)...regardless what your profession is, there is simply no reason to put oneself in (any kind) of a box.

 “Waterways” 

Schingoethe Center Museum of Aurora University

August 27-December 12, 2024

 

One of my watercolors ("Viridis" series, 30"x23", watercolor on paper) is right now on display at the Aurora University in "Waterways", exhibition co-curated by Dr. Natasha Ritsma, director of the Schingoethe Center, and Doug Stapleton, art curator of the Illinois State Museum. With paintings, photographs, sculptures, prints, and installation pieces by more than 40 artists spanning over 150 years, "Waterways" addresses themes of water rights, water safety, pollution, and invasive species, as well as water’s ability to heal, nurture and regenerate.

  Among the many artworks displayed, it also features the iconic masterpiece - Kusama Hokusai’s woodblock print “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” (1831.) 

I have to say, it is humbling to have my own work displayed in the same room with Hokusai’s Great Wave. I am sure I speak for all the artists included in this exhibit. 

And as you might suspect, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” is truly magnificent in person; it  holds all the power of restrained elegance, at once intricate and simple.

 “We are thrilled to collaborate with Doug Stapleton and the Illinois State Museum on this dynamic partnership investigating artistic responses to the responsibility, challenges and pleasures of living near vital waterways,” said Dr. Ritsma. “This exhibition was inspired by the fact that the Schingoethe Center of Aurora University is located in the Fox River Valley between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. This exhibition aims to be both visually stunning and educational.”

Doug Stapleton stated, “Water is essential for our existence. It makes up most of our body. We can’t live without it. Yet, we treat it like a commodity, a resource to extract for our needs alone. We act without much regard toward our impact on this elemental, living substance. This exhibit brings disparate voices together, all who address the power of water to nourish, sustain and inspire us to a greater relationship with the natural world.”

 “Waterways” features the work of the following artists: Sadiq Amarea-Bey, Robert Amft, Rene Arceo Atlan Arceo-Witzl, Frances Badger, Camille Billie, Jeremy Bolen, Clark Dean, Shepard Fairey, Laura Husar Garcia, Christina Haglid, Jennifer Steensma Hoag, Katsushika Hokusai, Yuichi Idaka, Jamie John, Esther Johnson, George Klauba, Louise LeBourgeois, Jin Lee, Nathan Lerner, Ben Mahmoud, Dolores Mercado, Fidel Moreno, Elsa Munoz, Bea Nettles, Lindsey Olson, Tom Palazzalo, Chris Pappan, Yoonshin Park, Erik Peterson, Alison Ruttan, Sarah Sense, Jennifer Shaw, Joel Sheesley, Art Sinsabaugh, Thomas Skomski, Eleanor Spiess-Ferris, Michael Strauss, Michael Tropea, Rain Wilson, David Windsor, Jeffrey Wolin, Ana Žanić.