Biography

Stjepan Dukić Pista was born on 5th December 1949 in Lozan, close to the City of Virovitica. Since his early age, on the beginnings of his artistic path and coming-of-age, Stjepan Đukić Pišta spontaneously explored his artistic sources, their harmony which humanizes the world, giving it the beauty of ours and his personal existence.

. At age 16, he moves to Zagreb, with the goal of perfecting in visual arts. After two years of preparation and gathering courage, in 1971 he enrols in the art study on the Academy of fine arts in Zagreb.

Unfortunately, the same year he was involved in a car accident which prevented him to pursue the study. After making a recovery, he continues the study at the Academy where he meets extraordinary professors and pedagogues Ferdinand Kulmer, Šime Perić, Nikola Reiser and Miljenko Stančić, the latter being his mentor in his 3rd academic year. During the study, Stjepan discovers his strong inner imagination and the world that surrounds him, his connection and opposites that are intertwined, coming to the surface as a powerful echo of emotional content that he wants to convey in a visual art form. In 1974 he pauses his study and embarks on a study trip to Tawonga , Australia .

He returns to Zagreb the following year, where he resumes the study and with several further pauses due to life hardships, finishes his academic education in 1985.

With great passion and energy, he starts working on several painting collections and art-relievos in big formats, as his original technique. From 1986 till this day he is professionally immersed in visual arts. A member of the Croatian Association of Artists (CAA). He has had many individual and contributing exhibitions in the country and abroad, and is creating very difficult and complex visual compositions in sacral building across Croatia. Pista's specialty are portraits, where he established himself with a convincing and expressionist painting approach, spontaneity and art gesturing included, as one of the most interesting Croatian portraitists.

He was quickly discovered by the art critics and world famous gallerists, which results in the famous from New York, to invite Stjepan as a special guests in 1997, hosting his individual exhibition of selected artworks.

In the year 2000, Stjepan received the "Golden arena" of the Silvestri Art Directory for the collection "Timeless horizons" as the most successful virtual debutant for 2001, selected among ten thousand authors. After the award, hundreds of offers are being received from around the world for different offer packages, festivals and galleries, which for Stjepan as a free artists, was an incredible recognition.

He chooses Australia once again, where he becomes a member of the association, which brings together more than 1300 artists from around the world. Stjepan stays in Australia from 2001 until 2004 as a guest of many galleries and institutions. After returning to Croatia, he continues his fruitful cooperation with galleries and also continues his personal search to express human drama in the art form within his collection "The ballads of Petrica Kerempuh".