STANKA KORDIC
All at Once
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As One
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True North
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Upward Bound
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Visionaries
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Within Reach
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STANKA KORDIC - Biography
Photographer - Jerry Mann
Stanka Kordic is a first generation American born of Croatian parents. She followed her talented brothers, Vladimir and Branko into the world of Art. Stanka graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1985, with a major in illustration and a minor in ainting. From there, she traveled Europe, taking in as much art as humanly possible. She returned to work as an illustrator for several years. Her projects included editorial art, package design, and book illustration. In pursuit of artistic freedom, she left the commercial world in 1988 to establish a fine art studio, concentrating her efforts on painting the landscape and figure. This led to local recognition, international awards, and inclusion in several corporate collections throughout the mid-west, including Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, and Key Corp. Inspired by people, she turned to the field of commissioned portraiture in 1998 to become successful employing the philosophy of making the portrait a great painting by transcending likeness. Her extensive client list spans the US and Europe.
Stanka continues to work from life and her own source materials as she studies the figure in a variety of natural environments, integrating elements of abstraction with realism. She also serves as Artist in Residence at Beaumont School, sharing her knowledge of painting with students who have chosen a focus in visual art.
The Artist Says:
“Working with a single model in a series has allowed me the space to explore a wide berth of visual and emotional intricacies. I prefer to work in layers, creating the foundation slowly and building upon what came before. This most fully expresses my intuitive response to the subject, as well the paint. Our connections intrigue me...whether it be the landscape to the figure, light with color, painter with brush. There is no separation in a world that breathes.”
Artist A Day On-line Magazine:
“Stanka Kordic’s collectors would say her work affects them on many levels. To see her entire body of work, the art critic may have trouble putting her into a specific category. Both would agree she is one our best modern painters. Neither traditional impressionism nor expressionism, nor figurative realism can be used to label Stanka Kordic. Her paintings speak for themselves, never nostalgic replications of by-gone days, but truly contemporary and magnificent examples of Modern Art rendered with the skill and passion of the Master’s traditions. Her paintings provide lasting pleasure as one is always delighted to find a previously undiscovered passage with each new glance.”
Southwest Art Magazine, December 2012:
When the day came for the Portrait Society of America to announce its annual awards last spring, Stanka Kordic anxiously checked her email account. When no congratulatory letter appeared bearing the good news, she almost gave up. But sometime later that day she happened to look in her spam folder. Voilà! There sat the email announcing that her painting, MAYA, had won a coveted certificate of excellence. “I was so thrilled,” Kordic says. “I respect everyone that is accepted into that show, and it’s just astounding to see my painting with their work.”
MAYA is a good example of the Ohio-based artist’s focus on painting women and children in a powerful yet sensitive way. As an expressive painter, she likes to convey as much as possible through the figure but also relies on the environment and her brush strokes to evoke energy and movement. For Kordic the brush strokes led the way in the award-winning work. “Intuition is key in all I make,” Kordic says. “The paint will often determine my next move. This is what I call ‘the stepping-back time’—looking at the piece as an observer and finding things to respond to in a two-dimensional way.”
EDUCATION:
The Cleveland Institute of Art, BFA, Illustration Degree with a Painting Minor.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
2008-present: Professional Fine Artist
1998-2008: Commissioned Portrait Artist. In the collection of patrons across the globe.
1991-present: Artist in Residence, Beaumont School. Painting instructor and mentor.
1987-1998: Freelance Artist and Illustrator. Editorial, package design, book illustration, at local and national level. Fine Art exhibited regionally, and acquired in corporate collections including, Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Key Corp, Bonne Bell.
1986-1987: Staff Illustrator, Rasic Art
AWARDS AND EXHIBITIONS:
2013:
Ambiguity & Wisdom, Solo Show at The Carnegie, Covington, KY
Women Painting Women, Invitational, The Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA
Portrait Society of America International Competition, Certificate of Excellence
Woman VI, Invitational, Lakeland College Gallery, Mentor, OH
The May Show, Juried, Lakeland College Gallery, Mentor, OH
2012:
Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition, 3rd Place, and 5th Merit Awards
Allied Artists of American Natiional Juried Exhibition, New York, NY, Gold Medal Ptg.
Raymar International Competition, Finalist
The Laumeister Juried Exhibition at The Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, VT
The May Show, Juried, Lakeland College Gallery, Mentor, OH
Woman V, Invitational, Lakeland College Gallery, Mentor, OH
The Portrait Society of America International Competition, Certificate of Excellence
Solo Show, The Rhythm of Stillness, Fairmount Center for the Arts, Novelty, OH
2011:
Drawing Magazine Self-Portrait Competition, Finalist
Solo Show, The Rhythm of Stillness, Sullivan Gallery, Bay Village, OH
America China Oil Painting Artist League Nation Competition, Finalist
Art Renewal Center International Competition, Finalist
Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Annual Juried National Competition, New York, NY
Oil Painters of America, Eastern Conference, Orleans, MA
Raymar Juried Competition, Finalist
Woman IV, Invitational, Lakeland College Gallery, Mentor, OH
The May Show, Juried, Lakeland College Gallery, Mentor, OH
Fairmount Juried Regional Competition, Novelty, OH, Best of Show
Backgrounds in the Forefront, Invitational, Guenzel Gallery, Fish Creek, WI
Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, Saratoga, WY, 2 week residency
2010:
The Butler Midyear at the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
Women Painting Women, Invitational, Robert Lange Studio Gallery, Charleston, SC
Artist Magazine Annual Juried Competition, Finalist
The May Show, Juried, Lakeland College Gallery, Mentor OH, Best of Show
2009:
The Salon International Juried Competition, The Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX
Art Kudos International Competition
American Women Artists Juried National Competition, South Street Gallery, Easton, MD
Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Competition, Corse Gallery, Jacksonville, FL
PUBLICATIONS:
Fine Art Connoisseur, Interview, September 2013
Artists on Art, Spring 2013 Issue, The Call to Respond
International Artist Magazine, Dec/Jan #88, Cover Art and Feature demo article
Southwest Art, December 2012, Artist to Watch
Drawing Magazine, May, 2012
American Art Collector: November 2010
ArtSee Magazine: Nov/Dec 2010 issue
Stanka continues to work from life and her own source materials as she studies the figure in a variety of natural environments, integrating elements of abstraction with realism. She also serves as Artist in Residence at Beaumont School, sharing her knowledge of painting with students who have chosen a focus in visual art.
The Artist Says:
“Working with a single model in a series has allowed me the space to explore a wide berth of visual and emotional intricacies. I prefer to work in layers, creating the foundation slowly and building upon what came before. This most fully expresses my intuitive response to the subject, as well the paint. Our connections intrigue me...whether it be the landscape to the figure, light with color, painter with brush. There is no separation in a world that breathes.”
Artist A Day On-line Magazine:
“Stanka Kordic’s collectors would say her work affects them on many levels. To see her entire body of work, the art critic may have trouble putting her into a specific category. Both would agree she is one our best modern painters. Neither traditional impressionism nor expressionism, nor figurative realism can be used to label Stanka Kordic. Her paintings speak for themselves, never nostalgic replications of by-gone days, but truly contemporary and magnificent examples of Modern Art rendered with the skill and passion of the Master’s traditions. Her paintings provide lasting pleasure as one is always delighted to find a previously undiscovered passage with each new glance.”
Southwest Art Magazine, December 2012:
When the day came for the Portrait Society of America to announce its annual awards last spring, Stanka Kordic anxiously checked her email account. When no congratulatory letter appeared bearing the good news, she almost gave up. But sometime later that day she happened to look in her spam folder. Voilà! There sat the email announcing that her painting, MAYA, had won a coveted certificate of excellence. “I was so thrilled,” Kordic says. “I respect everyone that is accepted into that show, and it’s just astounding to see my painting with their work.”
MAYA is a good example of the Ohio-based artist’s focus on painting women and children in a powerful yet sensitive way. As an expressive painter, she likes to convey as much as possible through the figure but also relies on the environment and her brush strokes to evoke energy and movement. For Kordic the brush strokes led the way in the award-winning work. “Intuition is key in all I make,” Kordic says. “The paint will often determine my next move. This is what I call ‘the stepping-back time’—looking at the piece as an observer and finding things to respond to in a two-dimensional way.”
EDUCATION:
The Cleveland Institute of Art, BFA, Illustration Degree with a Painting Minor.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
2008-present: Professional Fine Artist
1998-2008: Commissioned Portrait Artist. In the collection of patrons across the globe.
1991-present: Artist in Residence, Beaumont School. Painting instructor and mentor.
1987-1998: Freelance Artist and Illustrator. Editorial, package design, book illustration, at local and national level. Fine Art exhibited regionally, and acquired in corporate collections including, Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Key Corp, Bonne Bell.
1986-1987: Staff Illustrator, Rasic Art
AWARDS AND EXHIBITIONS:
2013:
Ambiguity & Wisdom, Solo Show at The Carnegie, Covington, KY
Women Painting Women, Invitational, The Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA
Portrait Society of America International Competition, Certificate of Excellence
Woman VI, Invitational, Lakeland College Gallery, Mentor, OH
The May Show, Juried, Lakeland College Gallery, Mentor, OH
2012:
Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition, 3rd Place, and 5th Merit Awards
Allied Artists of American Natiional Juried Exhibition, New York, NY, Gold Medal Ptg.
Raymar International Competition, Finalist
The Laumeister Juried Exhibition at The Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, VT
The May Show, Juried, Lakeland College Gallery, Mentor, OH
Woman V, Invitational, Lakeland College Gallery, Mentor, OH
The Portrait Society of America International Competition, Certificate of Excellence
Solo Show, The Rhythm of Stillness, Fairmount Center for the Arts, Novelty, OH
2011:
Drawing Magazine Self-Portrait Competition, Finalist
Solo Show, The Rhythm of Stillness, Sullivan Gallery, Bay Village, OH
America China Oil Painting Artist League Nation Competition, Finalist
Art Renewal Center International Competition, Finalist
Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Annual Juried National Competition, New York, NY
Oil Painters of America, Eastern Conference, Orleans, MA
Raymar Juried Competition, Finalist
Woman IV, Invitational, Lakeland College Gallery, Mentor, OH
The May Show, Juried, Lakeland College Gallery, Mentor, OH
Fairmount Juried Regional Competition, Novelty, OH, Best of Show
Backgrounds in the Forefront, Invitational, Guenzel Gallery, Fish Creek, WI
Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, Saratoga, WY, 2 week residency
2010:
The Butler Midyear at the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
Women Painting Women, Invitational, Robert Lange Studio Gallery, Charleston, SC
Artist Magazine Annual Juried Competition, Finalist
The May Show, Juried, Lakeland College Gallery, Mentor OH, Best of Show
2009:
The Salon International Juried Competition, The Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX
Art Kudos International Competition
American Women Artists Juried National Competition, South Street Gallery, Easton, MD
Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Competition, Corse Gallery, Jacksonville, FL
PUBLICATIONS:
Fine Art Connoisseur, Interview, September 2013
Artists on Art, Spring 2013 Issue, The Call to Respond
International Artist Magazine, Dec/Jan #88, Cover Art and Feature demo article
Southwest Art, December 2012, Artist to Watch
Drawing Magazine, May, 2012
American Art Collector: November 2010
ArtSee Magazine: Nov/Dec 2010 issue
