Tisja Kljaković Braić
Solo Exhibition
2–25 April 2026
Opening: 2 April at 20:00

Renowned Croatian artist Tisja Kljaković Braić will present herself to the Sarajevo audience for the first time with a solo exhibition, opening on 2 April 2026 at the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Through a selection of paintings, drawings, and caricatures, as well as a screening of the animated film Žarko, You Will Spoil the Child, the exhibition offers a view of everyday life through Tisja’s distinctive, witty, and perceptive lens. Her artistic expression, based on the reduction of form and precision of observation, reveals complex relationships, emotions, and the quiet dramas of daily life through just a few strokes and short sentences.

Biography

Academic painter Tisja Kljaković Braić was born on 30 June 1979 in Split. She graduated from the School of Fine Arts, department of painting design, and in April 2003 completed her degree in painting at the Arts Academy in Split under the mentorship of Professor Gorki Žuvela.

She has exhibited her work in around thirty group exhibitions and forty solo exhibitions in Croatia and abroad. Her works are part of the collections of the National Museum of Modern Art in Zagreb and the Gallery of St. Krševan, as well as numerous private collections in Croatia and internationally. She is a member of the Croatian Freelance Artists’ Association and the Croatian Association of Visual Artists.

In addition to painting, she is also active in caricature and illustration. Her book of caricatures Oni was published by Fraktura in 2018 and has since gone through eight editions, followed by Oni 2. Her literary debut Into the Little Girl Came the Devil (expanded second edition), enriched with illustrations, has held the top position on Croatian bestseller lists for two years (according to the Croatian book and reading culture portal Moderna vremena). A sixth edition was published in 2025.

A stage adaptation of the novel, directed by Mario Kovač, premiered in 2022 at the Croatian National Theatre in Split. In 2021, she held a major monographic exhibition at Klovićevi dvori, and in 2023 she wrote and illustrated the children’s book Pita moja mama imate li jedno jaje (Fraktura). A children’s theatre adaptation is currently being developed by Teatar Poco Loco.

She is co-author, together with director Veljko Popović, of the animated film Žarko, You Will Spoil the Child, based on her novel. The film received the award for Best Croatian Animated Film and the Audience Award at Animafest, as well as the Grand Prix and Audience Award at the Split Mediterranean Film Festival. In 2024, it received the Croatian Film Critics’ Award for Best Animated Film, along with numerous awards at festivals worldwide.

She lives and works in Split.