Paris-based figurative painter Jelena Petkovic, works primarily with oil paint, creating portraits of women recognizable by their bright colors. She was raised by her mother and grandfather, both architects and artists, so her love of drawing, painting and art in general came at a very young age. ​

 

Jelena went from art high school to art and design university where she received a BA of Interior Design, but it wasn’t until she moved to Paris that she started pursuing her passion for oil painting. 

 

​She started her artist career in 2017 when she exhibited her work for the first time in Paris, after taking two years to create 20 paintings and a whole new body of work. Since then she was awarded "Best in show" in the "ALL Planet Earth'' art competition in 2020 with her portrait of a woman inspired by a tree branch. She exhibited her work multiple times in Paris including an exhibition in the gallery “AAB” and she participated in the art fair “Art3F Paris” with The Art Cycle gallery. Internationally she exhibited at SWISSARTEXPO, at “ARTBOX.PROJECT Venezia” and in a gallery South Art Dealer in New York.

 

Two of her favorite exhibitions were the group project “Dia de las Muertas” in Paris 2022 which focused on the theme of violence against women in their own country and through the process of immigration, and Erasmus+ Youth Project « Artistic Expression To Facilitate Youth Inclusion Processes » organised by Arci Chieti in Italy where she did a group mural in the street of ancient city of Chieti.

 

In 2023 she started creating murals and was lucky to have the opportunity to participate in the street art festival “Planète Périphérique” in Paris. The festival lasted for one month in April-May and received more than 10 000 visitors. Today, while oil paint is forever Jelena's favorite medium, she is bringing her heroines to life with aquarelle, drawings, ceramics and murals. ​