Artist Statement

Ivana Vozelj (b. 1999, Ljubljana) is a London-based figurative painter, whose work explores her relationship with time, memory, and the enduring spectre of nostalgia. Often imbued with mystery, nostalgia, and tension, she explores the absence of presence through uncanny imagery, often deliberately excluding key details, such as faces or identities, in order to encourage viewers to engage more deeply with her art, prompting them to fill in the gaps with their imagination. Her practice is informed by art history, film, literature, and philosophy, particularly the writings of Jacques Derrida, Mark Fisher, and Fredric Jameson. Through a surrealist visual language, Vozelj evokes the tension between presence and absence. Her introspective narratives feature recurring figures and dreamlike settings that function as extensions of her subconscious. In doing so, she blurs the boundaries between truth and myth, conjuring false memories of the past while the omnipresent gaze of the sea lingers as a constant witness.

Vozelj received her BA in Fine Art from the University of the Arts London in 2022, before moving on to study MA Painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia for a year. In 2024 she graduated from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Painting, and plans to return to Venice to finish her other Masters degree. Her work has been included in group presentations including ART COLLECTIVE: 'From the One to the Many', Saatchi Gallery, London (2024), 'Heterotopia', NORITO Gallery, London (2025), 'Reflections on Being', Double Q Gallery, Hong Kong (2025), and 'Lines Between Us', Unframed Art Collective, Tel Aviv (2025).
She has participated in two charity events in 2025, 'Unseen Wounds' with American Friends of NATAL, and 'YOUNIQUE' with the Bátor Tábor Foundation.

Vozelj's work is held in private collections in Hong Kong, South Korea, Israel, and Slovenia.