Artist Spotlight - Ivana Gagić Kičinbači — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

Biography

Ivana Gagić Kičinbači (1980) is a contemporary Croatian artist whose unique approach to drawing has earned her recognition in the international art world. Her extensive academic background and professional endeavors have profoundly shaped her work.

Hommage for Love, 2024. Digital Print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Satin Paper, 100 x 70 cm

With a PhD in art from the University of Mostar, she teaches at the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Teacher Education while actively pursuing her creative passions. Gagić Kičinbači’s doctoral thesis, “Drawing in Contemporary Art as a Medium for Expressing the Transcendent,” showcases her profound philosophical approach to art, which seeks to bridge the spiritual and the material.

Note, 2024. Indian Ink on canvas, 61 x 1420 cm, with Drawing diaries, visual poetry artist books, Indian ink on handmade paper 17 x 29 x 1.5 cm

Her educational journey has spanned multiple prestigious institutions, from completing her master’s degree in graphic arts at the University of Zagreb to her postgraduate studies of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana.

Drawing Diary, visual poetry artist book No. 3, 2024. Indian ink on handmade paper, 17 x 29 x 1.5 cm

Her accolades are numerous, demonstrating the global appeal of her work. In 2024, Contemporary Art Collectors honored her with the Global Art Virtuoso: Elite Artistic Career Achievement Award, recognizing her artistic achievements.

Drawing diary, an excerpt from a visual poetry artist book No. 7, 2024. Indian ink on handmade paper, 17 x 29 x 1.5 cm

Before this, she had received several prestigious awards, including the International Leonardo da Vinci Prize and the Contemporary Art Collectors Harmony for Humanity Prize in 2023. Her works were shown at solo and group exhibitions in Europe (including Great Britain, Spain, Slovenia, Germany, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, and France), the United States, the United Arab Emirates (Dubai), and Japan.

No Comfort in the Flesh, 2024. Digital Print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Satin Paper, 100 x 70 cm

Artist Statement

An intuitive search for knowledge and an intuitive experience of reality are at the heart of my work. I explore the interference and coherence of soul and body, spiritual and material, space and time, and the struggle for inner freedom in the contemporary realm.

Struggle, 2024. Digital Print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Satin, 80 x 80 cm

I believe that art can lead to the sublime and open the mind, eyes, and heart to that which is beyond. When we encounter a profound work of art, we adopt the mentality of listening to our inner self; we enter silence. This possibility of uncovering and revealing the transcendent via matter through artistic inquiry is at the core of my artistic quest.

https://ivanagagickicinbaci.com.hr/