OKO

Marina Mesar, known as OKO (b. Zagreb, Croatia), works across various media, including painting, drawing, illustration, and public interventions and murals. She often creates surreal imagery and portrays anthropomorphic figures—blending human, animal, and otherworldly forms—to explore themes of identity, memory, and mythology. OKO has exhibited in museums and galleries such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Bolzano, e-flux Gallery in New York, Mograg Gallery in Tokyo, and the European Parliament in Brussels. Her public works can be found in various cities, including Zagreb, Turin, Toulouse, London, and Berlin. Her mural Open My Eyes That I May See is featured on the façade of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb, and her interactive video/wall work Don’t Follow the White Rabbit is part of its permanent collection. Her mural Equilibrium is included in the European Central Bank Art Collection in Frankfurt. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts Zagreb in 2013 and currently lives between Zagreb and London.

 

EDUCATION

2010-2013
MA – Animation and New Media, Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb, Croatia
2007-2010
BA – Art History and Education (Painting), Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb, Croatia

 

EXHIBITIONS, PUBLIC INSTALLATIONS AND MURALS

2024 Inner Nations: Exploring the Unity Within, Solo Exhibition, Mograg Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2024 Light installation, Festival of Lights Zagreb, Croatian National Bank, Zagreb, Croatia
2024 7th Biennial of Painting, Group Exhibition, Istarska Sabornica, Pazin, Croatia
2024 7th Biennial of Painting, Group Exhibition, Varaždin City Museum, Varaždin, Croatia
2024 7th Biennial of Painting, Group Exhibition, Meštrović Pavilion, HDLU, Zagreb, Croatia
2022 Women’s Month, Group Exhibition, Adidas, 425 Oxford Street, London, UK
2020 European Culture of Resistance, Group Exhibition, Between Bridges, HKW, Berlin, Germany
2020 European Culture of Resistance, Group Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia
2020 Google Arts and Culture, Illustrations for Google Web
2020 Mural, Women’s Lives Louder, Rijeka 2020, Rijeka, Croatia
2020 European Culture of Resistance, Group Exhibition, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Bolzano, Italy
2020 Space for All Possible, Group Exhibition, European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium
2019 Light installation, Free Your Energy, The Festival of Lights, Berlin, Germany
2019 Mural, Streetart Turin, TOward 2030: What Are You Doing? Global Goals of the United Nations by Lavazza, Turin, Italy
2019 Contemporary Art from Croatia, Group Exhibition, Seat of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt, Germany
2018 426m2 The Southbank Show, Group Exhibition, StolenSpace Gallery, London, UK
2017 Exquisite Growth, Solo Exhibition, French Pavilion, SC Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia
2017 4th Biennial of Painting, Group Exhibition, Meštrović Pavilion, HDLU, Zagreb, Croatia
2017 Murals, OKO – Goya Artwork for Tram Stations, Asalto Festival, Zaragoza, Spain
2017 Illustration That Tells Stories, Group Exhibition, Oris – House of Architecture, Zagreb, Croatia
2017 Past, Present, Future, Group Exhibition, 1963 Gallery, London, UK
2016 Borders: Imaginary Lines, Group Exhibition, Galerie Protégé, New York, USA
2016 Mural, City Making, European Day of Artistic Creativity, CreArt, SC Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia
2016 Installation, Golden Trust, 0,04m3 Gallery, Maribor, Slovenia
2015 As Far as the Mind Can See, Group Exhibition, Experimenta Design Biennale, Porto/Lisbon, Portugal
2015 Mural, Open My Eyes That I May See, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia
2015 Mural, Asalto Festival, Zaragoza History Center, Zaragoza, Spain
2015 Lonely Walkers, Solo Exhibition, VN Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia
2015 No Root, No Fruit, Performance, Lauba, Zagreb, Croatia
2015 So You Want to See, Group Exhibition, e-flux, New York, USA
2014 Really Useful Knowledge, Group Exhibition, Nova Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia
2014 Art Fair Artigo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2014 Mural, Mister Freeze Night and Day, Toulouse, France
2014 The Balkan Bride’s Project, Group Exhibition, Hoxton Gallery, London, UK
2014 Installation, Friday Late Event: Hackney Wick Takeover, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
2013 T-HT @ T-Com, Group Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia
2013 OKO, Solo Exhibition, Institute for Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia
2013 Mural, Asalto Festival, Zaragoza, Spain
2013 31st Youth Salon, Group Exhibition, Croatian Association of Artists, Zagreb, Croatia
2012 European Urban Art Award, Group Exhibition, ARTAQ, Paris, France
2011 Draw, Group Exhibition, Mograg Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2011 Mural, Laser Samit, Belgrade, Serbia
2010 Mural, To Be Destroyed, Football Association Building, Soho, London, UK
2010. Stereo Exhibition, Group Exhibition, City Gallery, Nova Gorica, Slovenia
2009 Lille 3000, Group Exhibition, Lille, France

 

RESIDENCIES

2015 GLO’ART Residency, Lanaken, Belgium
2014 Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
2013 One Sided Story Artist Residency, Spinnerei, Leipzig, Germany
2009 Lille 3000, Europe XXL, Lille, France

 

AWARDS

2016 Best Artist by People’s Choice, Cosmopolitan Magazine
2013 Grand Prix at the 31st Youth Salon, Croatian Association of Artists, Zagreb, Croatia
2011 Nominated for ARTAQ (European Urban Art Award), Paris, France

 

COLLECTIONS

Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb, Croatia
European Central Bank Art Collection, Frankfurt, Germany
E.ON Art Collection, Berlin, Germany
+ private collections

@OKO