Convalescence Painting

Koraljka Polacek is a Croatian painter whose work is almost entirely devoted to representing cats, her primary source of artistic inspiration, making her a distinctive figure in the Croatian art scene. She was born in Zagreb, Croatia, into a family of artists, and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1998, under the mentorship of Professor Eugen Kokot. In her early years, she worked and exhibited at the family art studio in Baška on the island of Krk. The studio was established in the early 1960s by her great-grandmother, ceramicist Katarina Pezer, and later became her grandfather Slavko Marić’s painting studio in the 1980s. Koraljka began exhibiting her work during her student years, participating in both solo and group exhibitions. After graduating, she taught art in Zagreb and later on the island of Cres, where she lived from 2007 to 2023. A lifelong animal lover, especially of cats, Koraljka organized a feral cat protection initiative while living on Cres. This experience profoundly influenced her artistic expression, leading her to make cats the central motif of her work, which she calls "Mačkoslike" (a Croatian term meaning "cat paintings"). Koraljka is an award-winning painter and art educator, having received the "Art Flag" award in Zagreb in 2009 and the "Europe at School" award in 2001. She has been a member of the Croatian Association of Artists (HDLU) since 1998. Today, Koraljka lives and works in the city of Rijeka. Her paintings are part of private collections in Croatia and abroad, particularly in the homes of cat lovers. .. Koraljka Polaček on her work: "When I was a child, my greatest happiness was retreating into solitude and drawing. Some sad events marked my early years, so I believe that expressing myself through art was a form of healing – back in a time before child psychologists. I also grew up in a family of artists, so the scent of turpentine and the joy of artistic creation felt natural to me. Today, I paint without limitations, often exploring and refusing to be bound by a single style. I believe my spirit speaks many 'languages,' and I am grateful when I can capture a vision, feeling, or story - freezing it in time on canvas, which can flow to the hearts of others."