Antonia Mrljak
Antonia Mrljak uses paint as an expressive tool to cover the canvas with colour, form, and mark-making.
Words: Emma-Kate Wilson
“Contributing something to society no matter how small really drives me, I couldn’t ask for anything more,” says Antonia Mrljak. Photo - Maree Homer.
Antonia Mrljak, a former fashion stylist, didn’t start painting until after her fourth child when a friend suggested giving it go while Antonia grappled with post-natal depression. Even though her friend wasn’t in the creative industry, and the artist herself had no idea about an art practice, she brought round canvases and paint. Antonia shares, “I was totally intrigued and found reprieve in art. Nothing much has changed.”
From here, the artist found an innate creativity. Antonia sought out a higher education which changed her entire way of seeing. “It made me unlearn everything, and with that, a different set of values became tied to my art that was removed from my connection to place and identity,” she adds.
Her Personal Narrative of Wading in Summer Fields by Antonia Mrljak.
Antonia Mrljak in her Sydney studio. Photo - Maree Homer.
Antonia’s artwork has moved through a passionate art practice, now being featured in beautiful homes, consulting with design teams, solo exhibitions and performing at Sydney Contemporary. The large-scale action painting came together with extension planning with Sophie Vander from ‘Curatorial and Co’, Antonia’s Sydney gallery.
“I realised that what I had learned could exist in harmony with my own thoughts and creative identity without compromising or undermining it.”
The Sydney Contemporary overwhelming and exhilarating experience cemented the artist’s place in the art world. For the artwork, Antonia used noise-cancelling earphones and “painted intuitively and emotionally in response to the Carriageworks environment.” Titled Align in silence, the artwork explores the conjunction of expectation and reality of action.
Obedient # 10 by Antonia Mrljak.
Let’s Start Again by Antonia Mrljak.
Starting with a simple sketch, Antonia follows her instinct, keeping an idea or vision in mind. She brings the colour as the mood calls for, moving through them simultaneously. The artist draws on her rich Sicilian and Roman Catholic, which to the core, calls for a strong guilt-work ethic. The memory of family life and tensions feed into her expressive artworks, “colourful and resourceful way of being was just a part of what it was to exist.”
“I grew up watching my father grow food, play guitar, craft tools and shoes, my mother making everything from our clothing to our food, family playing, dancing to and singing Sicilian folk songs, the creativity of all this was not clear to me at the time”
A way to continue her enthusiasm for art is to feed it back into teaching; something that gives Antonia drive back within her practice. One memorable program ran by the artist was Juniperina Juvenile Justice Centre art project, where she facilitated a program full of sculpture, drawing and painting. “The diversity in talent was amazing, they’re so intelligent, willing and creative,” Antonia reflects.
Obedient # 14 by Antonia Mrljak.
“Humans are made up of impressions of events, thoughts, feelings and sensations that are forever adding up within a lifetime but also between generations,” shares Antonia Mrljak. Photo - Maree Homer.
“My practice in abstraction, whatever the medium, creates a sense of intimacy and arises through decisive spontaneity.”
“There was a lot of laughter and even tears from people, making art is so emotional and presents a chance to think and appreciate,” says Antonia Mrljak on Sydney Contemporary.
I Don’t Know What’s Going On With You, by Antonia Mrljak.