visual artist
BIOGRAPHY
Stjepan Šandrk (Osijek, 31 March 1984) is a painter whose practice is centred on the analysis and mutation of the image under the conditions of contemporary visual culture. He graduated in 2006 in the class of Professor Igor Rončević and completed his PhD in painting in 2015 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, under the supervision of Igor Rončević and Bruno Kragić.
Rooted in a rigorous painterly discipline and a high degree of technical control, Šandrk approaches the image as an analytical field — a site for examining shifts between the analogue and the digital, the mimetic and the synthetic, and between recognisable motifs and their media-induced transformations. In his work, the image is not treated as a closed aesthetic object but as a mutable structure, exposed to the interferences of technology, vision and social patterns. Pixelation, digital inserts and screen-mediated motifs operate both as symptoms of the image’s transformation and as instruments of its self-reflexive inquiry.
He has presented around twenty solo exhibitions and participated in approximately fifty juried group exhibitions in Croatia and internationally and has received multiple awards for his work. He is an active member of HDLU, HZSU and MENSA.
He lives and works in Zagreb as an independent artist.
EDUCATION
2006.
Master od Fine Arts (painting), Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb
2015.
PhD Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb (Croatia), mentorship prof. I. Rončević
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025.
Galerija Kontura, Zagreb, Iluzije stvarnosti
Winarts, Milano
2024.
Galerija Turnac, Novi Vinodolski, Slike iz metaversa
Galerija Oranžerija, Gradski muzej Vukovar, Slike iz metaversa
2023.
Zen Contemporary Art Gallery, Zagreb, Slike iz metaversa
Winarts, Milano
2022.
Galerija Ružić, Slavonski brod, Fake news
2021.
Galerija Forum, Zagreb, Who the fuck is Tinky Winky?
Galerija Poola, Pula, Fake news
2020.
Winarts, Milano, Distinct realities
Gradska galerija Jozo Kljaković, Zagreb, Spektakl (akvareli)
2019.
Galerie Potemka, Leipzig, Distinct realities
2018.
Velika galerija grada Zaboka, Spektakl
Winarts, Milano, Spectacle
2017.
Bačva, HDLU, Zagreb, Spektakl
Lauba, Zagreb
Galerija Kontura, Zagreb
Winarts, Milano, Inspiration to Classic
2015.
Palača Zuccato, Poreč, Figuracija/3
2013.
Bačva, HDLU, Zagreb, Čuvar (g. Kralj)
Galerija Dulčić Masle Pulitika, Dubrovnik
2012.
Galerija Mazuth, Zagreb, Martina i buldog
Galerija Kontura, Publika
2011.
Ministarstvo financija, Porezna uprava, Zagreb, Nužnost slikanja
BlackBox, Sarajevo, Zlatne slike
Galerija Kazamat, Osijek, Zlatne slike
2009.
Galerija Kalos, Barcelona, Estada a Barcelona
2007.
Galerija CEKAO, Zagreb, Current news
2006.
Galerija Decumanus, Krk, Hrvati na bijenalu
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026.
Studio Račić, Zagreb, Dijalozi s Krležom
2025.
Galerija umjetnina, Slavonski brod, 10. hrvatski trijenale akvarela
Gradska Sabornica, Poreč, 65. Porečki Annale
NMMU, Zagreb, Ikonologija potrošnje (Art Zagreb)
2023.
HDLU, Zagreb, 7. Bijenale slikarstva
2022.
Civico Museo Revoltella, Trst, Contemporary Croatian Painting
ALU, Zagreb, Fikcija&Fakcija (Art Zagreb)
2021.
HDLU, Zagreb, 6. Bijenale slikarstva
NSK, Zagreb, Žrtva Vukovara
2019.
Art Salon, Zagreb, Art Today
HDLU Zagreb, 5. Bijenale slikarstva
Westpol, Leipzig, Known Unknowns
Galerija Karas, Zagreb, radovi rezidenata u Leipzigu De/konstrukcija slike
Galerija umjetnina, Slavonski brod, 8. hrvatski trijenale akvarela
2018.
Narodni muzej, Zadar, Plavi salon, 18th Triennial of Croatian Painting
MSU, Zagreb, Potraga za stvarnošću - Jadranka Fatur i hiperrealno
Gradski Muzej Varaždin, 4. Bijenale slikarstva
Künstlerhaus Vienna, Sold Out, Anti-propaganda
HDLU, Zagreb, Traces of water
2017.
HDLU, Zagreb, 4. Bijenale slikarstva
MLUO Osijek, Zbirka Hanžeković
2016.
MSU Zagreb, Galerija No, Slikarstvo kao alegorija teorije
Maringer Galerie, Sankt Poelten, Junge Kunst aus Kroatien
Ex Fornace, Milano, Il rittorno alla figurazione
National Museum, Gdansk, Exporting Zagreb
2015.
HDLU, Zagreb, 3. Bijenale slikarstva
2014.
HDLU, Zagreb, 2. Bijenale slikarstva
2013.
Gliptoteka HAZU, Novi hrvatski realizam
Gradska Sabornica, Poreč, 52. Porečki Annale
HDLU, Zagreb, 48. Zagrebački Salon
MSU, Zagreb, ESSL Award CEE Nominees
Galerija umjetnina, Slavonski brod, 6. trijenale akvarela
2012.
MLUO Osijek, 23. Slavonski bijenale
MMSU, Rijeka, Zbirka Faggian
ALU, Zagreb, INA Energija
MSU, Zagreb, T-HTNAGRADA@MSU:HR
2011.
MMC, Galerija Luka, Pula, Zbirka Faggian
Galerija Kazamat, Osijek, Onurov dvojnik
2010.
Kunstgalerie Erolzheim
MLUO, Osijek, 22. Slavonski bijenale
HDLU, Zagreb, 30. Salon mladih
2009.
Klovićevi dvori, Zagreb, Slavonija, Baranja i Srijem; vrela Europske civilizacije
Umjetnički paviljn, Zagreb, Gledati druge
2007.
HDLU, Zagreb, 42. Zagrebački Salon
2006.
HDLU, Zagreb, Slikarstvo sada: Resume
Galerija Kortil, Rijeka, Klasa Rončević
2005.
ALU, Zagreb, ESSL Award CEE 2005. Nominees
Galerija Kazamat, Osijek, Nova osječka likovna scena
2004.
MLUO, Osijek, 19. Slavonski bijenale
HDLU, Zagreb, 27. Salon mladih
GRANTS/AWARDS
2025. Velika nagrada 10. hrvatskog bijenala akvarela
2018.
Dekonstrukcija slike, artist in residence, Leipzig
2014.
Glo’Art, Belgium, artist in residence
2012.
nagrada publike T-HTNAGRADA@MSU.HR, MSU, Zagreb
2010.
Ex Aequo, award of 22nd Slavonski bijenale, MLUO, Osijek
2006.
award for most succesfull graduate, Croatian Chamber of Economy
award for most succesfull graduate, ALU, Zagreb
specail award of 20th Slavonski bijenale, MLUO, Osijek
PROJECTS
2018.
Vizkultura, Plakatiranje, poster design
Express magazine, front page