About Nikolina Petolas
Links
Awards
2023
London Photography Awards
2019
FAPA Fine Art Photography Awards
2018
PSA bronze medal
2017
"Bookill fest"
2017
Reality we live in
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Previous events
Event: International Surrealism Now
Dates: 17 Nov 2018 - 5 Dec 2018
International Surrealism Now is the largest international surrealist exhibition in the World, presenting 107 of the world’s leading surrealism artists from 45 countries. This ground breaking project is presented by Santiago Ribeiro, Portuguese surrealist painter, dedicated to promoting Surrealism of the 21st century, through exhibitions presented over the last 8 years in various parts of the world: Berlin, Moscow, Dallas, Los Angeles, Mississippi, Warsaw, Nantes, Paris, Florence, Madrid, Granada, Barcelona, Lisbon, Belgrade, MonteNegro, Romania, Japan, Taiwan and Brazil.
Event: Through art - resist and recover
Dates: 25 May 2018 - 1 Jul 2018
Through art - resist and recover
Event: International Surrealism Now
Dates: 23 Dec 2017 - 5 Jan 2018
The "International Surrealism Now" began in 2010 in Coimbra, when Santiago Ribeiro conceived a major exhibition organized by Bissaya Barreto Foundation. This event has been in Conímbriga celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Monographic Museum.
The exhibition consists of a variety of artworks including drawing, painting, photography, digital art and sculpture.
Event: Pamart at Pamali Festival
Dates: 10 Aug 2017 - 15 Aug 2017
Since its first edition, the Pamali Festival has aimed at combining music with other forms of culture and art; This year, "Pamarte - 706 Arte in quota", a collective of contemporary art, returns with works and installations of selected artists among the most significant of the national and international landscape. The exhibition, entitled "A-MORS revolutio-ONIS" , will unfold from the town center to the festival area, and will include an outdoor section, an indoor pavilion "The Slaughterhouse" and is enriched by the "Pamarte live" section that will see The presence of some resident artists who will develop their projects in the six days of the festival. "Amor's Revolution-onis" tends to trace a new but ancient fiction of love: Pure, natural, invisible and powerful love, cosmic energy, impersonal and incomprehensible constant vibrations. It is born of pure hearts, floods the earth and penetrates all that lives, from the deepest of us wants to shine, joy and happiness that come out of u
Event: Circle Seven
Dates: 1 Jul 2017 - 5 Aug 2017
Group exhibition of 'Circle Seven' - traditional and digital visionary artist
Event: Kombinart, exhibition of awarded artists
Dates: 20 May 2017 - 20 Jun 2017
Square of Sabac victims
Exhibition opening 20th May 2017
Outdoors exhibition of awarded artist
Event: Surrealism Moscow, Zagreb, Lisbon, Coimbra
Dates: 19 May 2017 - 19 Jun 2017
Museum House of Fernando Namora, Condeixa-a-Nova, Portugal / exhibition opening May 19th / 17:30h
Event: Real - Surreal - Unreal
Dates: 13 May 2017 - 11 Jun 2017
Parkstrasse 1,D 79713, Bad Säckingen / Switzerland
Event: Münchner Science & Fiction Festival
Dates: 28 Apr 2017 - 30 Apr 2017
Einstein Culture Einsteinstraße 42, 81675 Munich, Germany
Event: FERIA INTERNACIONAL DEL ARTE DE GRANADA
Dates: 31 Mar 2017 - 30 Apr 2017
FERIA INTERNACIONAL DEL ARTE DE GRANADA
/ Centro Municipal de Cultura / C/ San Ramon, No 13, Churriana de la Vega, Granada 18194 (España), Spain
Event: Reality we live in, Kombinart
Dates: 25 Mar 2017 - 30 Apr 2017
Square of Sabac victims, Sabac, Serbia / exhibition opening 25th March, 17h
Event: 33st INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION ESBJERG 2016
Dates: 24 Sep 2016 - 20 Nov 2016
International photographic exhibition Esbjerg 2016
Biography
I’m drawn to this, to the unknown.
My love for nature, animals, and fantastical realms has led me to create a parallel world—one that feels familiar yet distant.
Historical interiors and gardens are transformed into surreal spaces, inhabited by animals, hybrid creatures, and human figures in unconventional roles.
Much like us, they yearn for love, security, and a place to belong. They wander through, seeking answers, only to find even more questions. The world I create is anti-utopian; it appears tranquil and in harmony, there’s a sense of something unsettling just beneath the surface.
Over many years, I’ve searched for locations and interiors that I’ve brought into my work.
I work in both traditional and digital mediums, each offering unique ways to express my vision.
Through photo collage and illustration, I combine elements from photography with animals and hybrid creatures, often transformed from my own self-portraits. The digital medium fascinates me and opens up endless possibilities, but I also find immense joy in traditional methods, particularly painting with oils. There’s an irreplaceable feeling that comes from the brush on canvas and the experience of working with paint.
I’m grateful to be able to embrace the best of both worlds.
The world I create often tells stories within stories, sometimes through allegory, and with a touch of irony and even humor.
It is deeply rooted in personal experiences and reflections on the world, nature, and society.
Animals and characters represent deeper ideas, symbolizing how wildlife replaces the societies we have constructed throughout history and into an uncertain future.
My art is still a mystery to me. I embrace it, and it speaks back. It is a journey, and I'm uncertain of its destination. Perhaps it offers some answers, or perhaps it simply gives a moment of solace in its beauty.
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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 with photography or through traditional painting.
Recognized for her unique artistic style, Nikolina has collaborated with renowned clients such as Ferragamo and Marriott. Her signature Blue Pear series, developed over the past 12 years, has earned global recognition and numerous international art awards. Her work has been acknowledged by prestigious institutions, including the IPA Photography Awards, LICC, Beautiful Bizarre, FAPA, and notably, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, to name just a few.
Her impressive portfolio has been widely acclaimed and exhibited in galleries and museums across Europe, the United States, and Asia.
