Written by: Iva Koerbler
Photos: Tomislav Marić & Šimun Bućan
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Behind the young painter Marta Katavić (born in Križevci, 2000), who graduated in painting last year from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, already lies an impressive list of notable solo and group exhibitions both in Croatia and abroad.
She began drawing and painting at a very early age, and enrolled in the painting program at the Academy in 2019. Marta broke into the Croatian art scene completely spontaneously and without any promotion, as gallery owners, critics, and curators immediately recognized her painting as a fresh and significant contribution in the spirit of expressionist heritage.
Her work is remarkably mature for an artist her age; it reveals a sensitivity focused on deep layers of self-analysis, ultimately leading to an analytical and intimate style of painting. On the borderline between visible, recognizable motifs—landscapes or human faces—and free abstract brushwork, the introspective dimension of her works is further emphasized by a specific tonal palette full of tertiary, saturated, muted, and sombre colours. This palette undeniably enhances the emotional scale, leaning toward the melancholic spectrum of feelings.
“A lot has happened in the past year, year and a half,” she says. “I completed a project-based journey to Mexico, from which a series of works on metal plates emerged—and is still emerging. A two-week stay in the desert regions of Mexico as part of the Grand Tour II artistic-research project, led by Josip Zanki, along with the ‘Possibilities for ’24’ project led by Leila Topić, came together and materialized as a solo exhibition. Every ordinary act there, in that new environment, felt unusual—and that became the title of my exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb (‘Every Ordinary Act There Is Unusual’), where I showcased my oil paintings on canvas, watercolours, photographs, and figurative works, a video showing the early stages of the mentioned works on metal plates. That process is also documented in an interview/video for ARTE TV, specifically for the Arte Journal, aimed at French and German audiences — explains Marta Katavić, whose pace of exhibiting and painting has intensified even further in 2025.
A selection of her works was recently sent to Taiwan, to Nunu Fine Art Gallery, where she will have a solo exhibition. The opening is scheduled for mid-June this year, and the show will run until the end of August. At the same time, as we speak, part of her work is being sent to an exhibition at Poola Gallery in Pula, run by the prominent painter Bojan Šumonja, where Marta is exhibiting alongside fellow artist Franka Vrljić until the end of April.
In July and August, Marta will take part in the “Deconstruction of the Image” residency program in Leipzig, where she will continue painting and immersing herself in the German art scene.
– In the meantime, I completed my undergraduate studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb with high honours (magna cum laude), and in September 2024, I graduated with a Master’s degree in painting from the same academy, under the mentorship of Professor Matko Vekić. For that, I was awarded the Academy Council Prize for the most successful graduates. I also exhibited at the Youth Salon as part of the Situations program and won the Vladimir Dodig Trokut / Iva Vraneković ‘Kontrapunkt’ Award at the 37th Youth Salon,” says the young painter.
In February of this year, she exhibited at Zen Contemporary Art Gallery in Zagreb, alongside fellow artists Monika Sinković and Mihaela Rašica. With the same gallery, and together with painters Sebastijan Dračić, Stjepan Šandrk, and sculptor Božica Dea Matasić, she was represented at the “Nesvrstani” Art Fair in June last year.
– I’m also honoured to have had the opportunity to exhibit in May 2024 at The Hub Gallery, a prestigious venue in Mostar, where, among others, works by Degas, Matisse, Matta, Modigliani, and Metzinger are also housed. In November, my works were also featured at the Vladimir Filakovac Gallery in Zagreb, together with my dear colleagues Marta Dijak, Mia Markušić, and Mihaela Rašica, with whom I grew through the academic years. In a way, this exhibition marked the closure of our student journey – emphasizes Marta.
In addition to her intensive work in artistic research, Marta Katavić strives to deepen her creative process by aligning it with personal life and personal development. She has completed the 9th generation of the 4-year School of Personal and Organizational Development.
– That journey has been an indescribably rich experience for me on all levels, so I’ve decided to continue with the 10th generation, which begins in July this year—and I’m truly excited about it – the artist concludes. At the same time, she is exploring expressive art therapy, devoting herself to Argentine tango, and is both learning and assisting at the Tango Garden school, working alongside an excellent team and community. She always highlights how crucial the support of her family was during her path through the so-called “uncertain waters of painting,” and how no one ever told her she’d ‘starve for bread’—especially since her mother, Dalia Katavić, is a successful art jewelry designer.
Painting is the most important and visible dimension of Marta Katavić’s practice, but she believes that in order to continue exploring the unseen layers of her own and others’ psyches, she needs additional tools—something she realized very early on was essential, so that her work would not become superficial, decorative, or fall into stylistic repetition.
For Marta, the painting is a medium and channel toward realms of vision, the unconscious, and subconscious, where each image holds the power of psycho-emotional resolution and release.
It is precisely this authenticity of vision that allowed her to almost sweep in and captivate the Croatian painting scene—one that can be very complicated and even cruel toward young
artists…
