Kristina Kinkela Valčić is a Croatian visual artist based in Opatija whose practice spans painting, sculptural objects and site-responsive installation. Working primarily within the language of abstraction, she explores the relationships between colour, material and spatial perception, creating works that evoke atmosphere rather than depict place. Through layered surfaces, subtle textures and carefully balanced compositions, her work invites moments of contemplation and quiet reflection.
Her recent practice centres on the ongoing series Ultramarine, in which colour becomes both subject and experience. Using acrylic, pigments, resin and mixed media, she develops surfaces through an intuitive process of layering, revealing and transformation. The resulting works exist between painting and object, where material presence and the interaction of light become integral elements of the composition. Alongside painting, she creates sculptural wall pieces and installations that extend these investigations into physical space.
While rooted in abstraction, her work is informed by ideas of memory, landscape and human perception. Rather than representing specific locations, her paintings seek to evoke emotional states and spatial experiences, encouraging viewers to slow down and engage with the subtle relationships between surface, depth and light. The dialogue between control and chance plays a central role in her process, allowing each work to evolve organically through experimentation with materials.
Kinkela Valčić holds a Master's degree in Art Education from the Academy of Applied Arts at the University of Rijeka and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Zagreb, where her research explores cultural identity, collective memory and the role of cultural heritage in contemporary society. Although her academic research and artistic practice operate independently, both are driven by an enduring interest in the ways people perceive, experience and construct meaning through place, material and memory.
Her work has been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Croatia and internationally, and is held in private collections. Through an evolving multidisciplinary practice, Kristina Kinkela Valčić continues to investigate the poetic potential of abstraction, creating immersive works that invite personal interpretation and establish a quiet dialogue between artwork, space and viewer.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2026 „Quiet Spaces of Blue", Loža Gallery, Omišalj, Croatia
2026 „Neba/Skies“, Artsada Gallery, Volosko, Croatia
2026 „Reflections of presence“, Idealni grad Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia
2025 Solo booth, Art Expo Ljubljana: The Premier Art Fair and Gathering, Brdo Estate, Slovenia
2025 "Quiet Spaces of Blue", PIK Gallery, POU Rab, Rab, Croatia
2025 "Preplitanja / Intertwinings", Ambasador Art Gallery, Split, Croatia
2025 "Preplitanja / Intertwinings", Juraj Klović Gallery, HDLU Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
2025 "Čarolija sinergije / The Magic of Synergy", Fonticus Gallery, Grožnjan, Croatia
2024 Solo booth, Art Expo Trieste, Magazine 42, Trieste, Italy
2024 "Tragovi / Marks", Art Pavilion Juraj Šporer, Opatija, Croatia
2024 "Imaginary Landscapes", Ambasador Art Gallery, Split, Croatia
2023 Solo booth, Art Expo Ljubljana: The Premier Art Fair and Gathering, Brdo Estate, Slovenia
2023 "Deconstruction: From (Un)familiar Landscape to Monochrome", Oblok Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia
2023 "Dijalog2: Grad (Dialogue2: City)", Four-Artist Exhibition, Juraj Klović Gallery, Rijeka, Croatia
2021 "(Un)familiar Landscapes", Galerijica Gallery, Matulji, Croatia
2018 "Izložba slika (Exhibition of Art)", Bianco&Nero Gallery, Opatija, Croatia
2016 "Apstraktno (Abstractions)", Podroom Gallery, Rijeka, Croatia
2015 "Apstrakcije (Abstractions)", City Hall Matulji, Matulji, Croatia
2015 "Izložba animalističkih motiva i mrtve prirode (Animalistic Motifs)", Museum of Bell Ringers, Rukavac, Croatia
2012 "Negativi (Negatives)", Photo Exhibition, City Hall Matulji, Matulji, Croatia
2012 "Prozor i Vrijeme (Time)", Photo Exhibition, City Hall Matulji, Matulji, Croatia
2012 "Mi (We)", Sculpture Exhibition, Gallery OK, Rijeka, Croatia
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026 International Juried Exhibition „Why Art?“, Razvid Gallery, Zaprešić, Croatia
2025 "A Quite Distance", NMB Brown Studio, Jelsa, Hvar, Croatia
2025 Swiss Art Expo, powered by Artboxy, Zurich, Switzerland
2025 "Potraga za drugim životom / The Search for Another Life", Art Čakula Members Exhibition, Aluz Gallery, Zrenjanin, Serbia
2025 "Grožnjan 60", Collective Thematic Exhibition, Fonticus Gallery, Grožnjan, Croatia
2025 "Potraga za drugim životom / The Search for Another Life", Art Čakula Members Exhibition, Cultural Centre of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
2025 Art Salon Contemporary Budapest, Art Salon Contemporary Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
2025 "Good Morning, Opatija – Artists of Opatija", Art Pavilion Juraj Šporer, Opatija, Croatia
2025 78th Annual Exhibition of HDLU Rijeka, Juraj Klović Gallery, Rijeka, Croatia
2024 "Women's Tower", Open University of Buje, Buje, Croatia
2024 "Distopija / Distopia", Collective Thematic Exhibition, Fonticus Gallery, Grožnjan, Croatia
2024 "Voda (Water)", Collective Thematic Exhibition, HDLU Istra Gallery, Pula, Croatia
2024 Artbox Project Basel 3.0, EuroAirport Basel, Basel, Switzerland
2024 Grand Exhibition of the Salvador Club, Space 7 – Hall A, BTC City Ljubljana, Slovenia
2024 77th Annual Exhibition of HDLU Rijeka, Garbas Gallery, Rijeka, Croatia
2024 "Fialový Pštros / Prague Art Exhibition", Slovanský dům, Prague, Czech Republic
2023 "Razgovori sa sobom", Group Exhibition of Art Čakula Members, Juraj Klović Gallery, Rijeka, Croatia
2023 "Women's Essence", Labo 6/2 Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2023 "Premier Istanbul", Istanbul, Türkiye
2023 7th Zagreb Summer Salon – "Freedom", Kontrast Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia
2022 76th Annual Exhibition of HDLU Rijeka, Kortil Gallery, Rijeka, Croatia
2022 "Razgovori sa sobom", Art Čakula Online Members Exhibition, Azimut Gallery, Šibenik, Croatia
2022 "Plavo (Blue)", Collective Thematic Exhibition, HDLU Istra Gallery, Pula, Croatia
2022 "Kefir '22", Cloister of the Pietro Thouar Library, Florence, Italy
2022 "Iskra", Oratorij Gallery, Vrbovec, Croatia
2022 "Kefir '22", Sveti Ivan Zelina Gallery, Sveti Ivan Zelina, Croatia
2022 "The Milk of Dreams (Kefir '22)", Galleria delle Cornici, Venice, Italy
2022 HDLU Rijeka New Members Exhibition, Juraj Klović Gallery, Rijeka, Croatia
2021 6th Humanitarian Art Colony on the River Zrmanja, Privrednik Association, Croatia
2021 5th Zagreb Summer Salon – "Spirituality and Art", Kontrast Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia
2016 Art Exhibition of the City of Zagreb, Europe House, Zagreb, Croatia
2016 Spring Exhibition of HDLU Zagreb, Sunce Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia
2014 Female Photographers 2014, Principij Gallery, Rijeka, Croatia
2013 Female Photographers 2013, Principij Gallery, Rijeka, Croatia
2012 "Photographieausstellung Druckwellen", Rockie Gallery, Graz, Austria
2012 "Op-Art 2012", Outdoor Experimental Film Exhibition, Volosko, Croatia
2012 Contemporary Photography of the City of Rijeka, Museum of the City of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
2012 Contemporary Photography of the City of Rijeka, C.V.U. Batana, Rovinj, Croatia
AWARDS
2023 First Prize, Ex Tempore – 20th Art Colony Ex Tempore, Kostrena, Croatia
2023 Woman Art Award 2023, Musa International, Berlin, Germany
2021 First Prize, Ex Tempore – 18th Art Colony Ex Tempore, Kostrena, Croatia
2020 First Prize, Ex Tempore – 17th Art Colony Ex Tempore, Kostrena, Croatia
2019 Art Recognition, 9th Painting Ex Tempore Competition, Funtana, Croatia
2019 First Prize, Finished Artwork – 16th Art Colony Ex Tempore, Kostrena, Croatia
2018 First Prize, Ex Tempore – 15th Art Colony Ex Tempore, Kostrena, Croatia