Description
‘Riddles’ by Nikolina Petolas
Artist: Nikolina Petolas
Title: ‘Riddles’
Medium: Oil on board
Dimensions: 11.8″ x 11.8″
Framing: Framed (frame size: 15.7″ x 15.7″)
Year of Creation: 2023
About the Artwork:
“By blending animals with lush, otherworldly landscapes and overgrown gardens and interiors, I want to create something that seems familiar, yet originates from our dreams.
For more than a decade, I’ve been building an anti-utopian world, the realm that looks harmonious, where animals and humans live together, but there’s an underlaying tension that things could go wrong at any time. I enjoy introducing unusual characters into my world that defy conventional reality, creating a sense of wonder as they exist in a realm seemingly detached from our own. They engage in confrontations through a mystical language that we struggle to understand, mirroring a reflection of us all.
These characters create a link between the man-made, historical surroundings and the fragile natural environment. The world they inhibit carries a feel of untold stories and hidden wisdom, challenging our perception of the past and present.
This artwork, a part of my long-term project, showcases animal hybrids coexisting, shedding light on the relationship between contemporary society and the natural world. It shows humanized animals in historical gardens, embodying intellectual nobility while challenging established norms. Within this strange gardens, these entities engage in interactions that reveal the complexities of the relationship between them, as well as underlining the irony of our society wrestling with primal instincts just beneath the surface.
As I explore the ‘Green,’ a realm of possible, wonder, and decay, I discover our evolving connection with the environment and the core elements of human nature, especially as we navigate to an uncertain future.” – Nikolina Petolas
About the Artist:
(Artist Bio)
Inspired by nature, societal observation, and the world of fantasy, Croatian artist Nikolina Petolas opens the door to secret places where memories, desires, and the subconscious converge, existing somewhere between real life and imagination.
Through allegory as a means of expression, she discovers a parallel world woven into dreams and disrupts our perception of reality. In her symbolic visual stories, Nikolina creates a deep narrative with profound compositions in her unique style by blending contemporary digital techniques or through traditional painting.
Nikolina’s distinctive artistic style has captured the attention of prestigious clients such as Ferragamo and Marriot, with whom she has collaborated closely. Her signature Blue Pear series has gained worldwide recognition, earning numerous international art awards. Her impressive portfolio has been widely acclaimed and exhibited in galleries and museums across Europe, the United States, and Asia.