In the University Gallery in Split, as part of the long-standing and successful collaboration with the Brešan Gallery, from August 20, 2025, the Split audience will have the opportunity to visit a solo exhibition by renowned Croatian artist Nikolina Šimunović. This is yet another valuable project through which the two galleries continue their tradition of jointly presenting authors of contemporary Croatian art.
The exhibition brings together a selection of the artist’s most significant works from two notable cycles – Lapis Lazuli and Unrepeatable Sounds of Summer.
In the former, the artist builds canvases of almost therapeutic value using the blue color named after the rare gemstone from which ultramarine was historically derived. Light blue, associated with optimism, peace, and healing, becomes a metaphor for the universal needs of contemporary man. In Unrepeatable Sounds of Summer, Šimunović finds inspiration in the Mediterranean ambiance – in dreams, storms, the shimmer of the sea, and “green rooms” – creating a visual score imbued with light and an emotional perception of space.
The ceremonial closing of the exhibition, in the presence of the artist, is scheduled for Thursday, September 4, 2025, at 8 p.m., hosted by Split gallerist, journalist, and curator Igor Brešan, who has for many years contributed to enriching the cultural scene of Split.
Nikolina Šimunović (Dubrovnik, 1978) is a multimedia artist who works in painting, sculpture, artistic objects, and installation. She graduated in painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 2003, in the class of Zlatko Keser, and already in 1999 received the Rector’s Award. She is a member of the Croatian Association of Fine Artists and, in addition to her artistic practice, is also engaged in teaching.
To date, she has held more than thirty solo and around forty group exhibitions in Croatia and abroad. Among others, notable exhibitions include Herbarium (Knin Museum Gallery, 2022), Lapis Lazuli (Dubrovnik Art Gallery, 2021), and One Summer in the City (Modern Gallery – Josip Račić Studio, Zagreb, 2017). She participated in the 6th Painting Biennale (HDLU, Zagreb, 2021), the 8th Croatian Watercolor Triennial, international festivals in Italy, Austria, and Slovenia, as well as exhibitions in New York, Florence, and Ferrara. Her works can be found in numerous private collections, as well as in museum and gallery holdings.
The artist lives and works in Sveti Ivan Zelina.
By presenting Nikolina Šimunović to the Split public, the University Gallery and Brešan Gallery once again reaffirm their shared mission of promoting contemporary Croatian art.
