Bojitt Bojana Ilic

I PAINT BOLD STORIES IN AN ABSTRACT WAY

My mission is to empower and inspire others to break the surface level of communication and dig deeper to who we really are, to our feelings and how do we share our life and stories with echother. That's provoking and inspiring! - my art is an end product of this exchange.

My career started more than 20 years ago in Serbia, where I worked avidly as a fashion designer. Every collection included hand-painted elements and asymmetry–the early days of my practice’s present colorful chaos, its delicate balance. I transitioned to painting when I moved to Chicago in 2007. I’d always planned to leave home—recognized the limits Serbia’s economic state implied at the hands of NATO bombs and all the rest. Moving to America was a reset. Though I held executive-level achievements in Serbia, I started at square one. In ESL classes I came to appreciate the immense diversity of this place, alongside its ongoing injustices.

Tales of overcoming have always been my favorite. Studio work offers the artist catharsis, but painting for other people provides an emotional service. Commissioned work starts with a conversation between myself and an individual or wider community. Once a story pours into my sou...

I hold a degree in clothing and textile design from DTM Belgrade, Serbia. Following a successful career in the fashion industry in Serbia, I moved to the United States in 2007, obtaining American Citizenship and welcoming my son, Danny.