Miami-based visual artist Ivana De Armas has been honing her artistic skills for almost two decades. 

 

Her journey as an artist officially began at the age of 13, when she won a prestigious art contest in Kraljevo, her hometown in Serbia, and had 8 of her paintings on display at the local museum, featuring details of Žiča Monastery, an 800-year-old historical landmark. 

 

After finishing Art School, Ivana enrolled in and graduated from the Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade. 

During those years, she worked with mixed media and explored her artistic expression beyond painting, producing sculptures made entirely of recycled materials, and intricate vitrage mosaics. Her prolific creativity kept her art fluidly morphing through various themes, including "Creation, Life & Nature's Cycles", concepts at the core of one of her most cherished exhibitions. But one day, all of it came to an abrupt halt. 

 

At age 23, Ivana moved from Belgrade to the US, where she found a very different world with a multicultural reality to navigate, a new language to learn, and the urgent task to find the means to support herself as an immigrant. Adjusting to her new life was all-consuming, and for a while, she was forced to put art to the side. Eventually, she went back to her first and biggest love: painting. The latest theme dominating her work is "Tribes": groups of people that share deep-rooted traditions, culture, and meaningful connections. It’s easy to draw a parallel between her new subjects and the "tribe" Ivana left behind when she moved to the States. Painting these members of tightly knit communities caught in the middle of ancient rituals, celebrating with all their rich ornaments and vivid colors on display feels cathartic and nostalgic. Ultimately, it's about the triumph of real human connection over the quest for individualism. 

 

Ivana's palette is always bold, vibrant, and with high contrast. She believes that colors have the power to change the mood, and for some, they are a tool for survival. Her strong chromatic style is particularly effective in her solo exhibition from ArtBasel Miami 2019, where she brought her original series called "Recycling Of The Souls".