Today on A Portfolio, we close out the week with the great works of Ivana Štulić, a New York-based Croatian artist that was one of our favorites at New York Academy of Art when we saw her work a few years ago. What she told in an interview a few years ago, "I believe I can best embody my ideas through figurative representation. When I think about the composition of the image it’ll start off with an initial vision, almost like how I imagine a cinematographer composing films, and paint until these visions are realized. It sounds sort of chaotic, but I see this process as quite simple. Although my paintings are figurative, I don’t want my images to be defined by a 'rewriting of reality.' The image should always bring something more than narrative elements, and I believe it is important that it opens up a space of thought large enough for the observer."

Štulić received a BA (2017) and MA (2018) from the Academy of Fine Art in Zagreb - Croatia and MFA (2020) in painting at the New York Academy of Art. During her studies she was awarded the Kylemore Abbey Global Centre Residency, LCU Fund for Women’s Education Grant Award, New York Academy of Art Academy Scholar Award and Appreciation of the Academic Council from Croatian University. A three-time Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant and two-time Frankopan Fond Award recipient, Štulić has participated in group shows in Croatia, Poland, Italy, Ireland, Brazil, UK and New York. Her work resides in private collections in USA and Europe.