Welcome to NGO Art Studio

If you have any artworks by Irena Gapkovska, either paintings or drawings, PLEASE send us a PHOTOGRAPH along with the SIZE, TITLE, and YEAR if known.

gapkovskaart@yahoo.com – nicholas.thaw@gmail.com

Irena Gapkovska is President and Founder of NGO Art Studio. She has been an Art Mentor for over 25 years. Irena Gapkovska says: “As a Macedonian artist, the influence of the Byzantine is present in my work in many different ways. My images are usually rather surrealistic in style and I focus on the human figure in a symbolic manner. By using the aesthetics of ancient Macedonian art to express the spirituality of the subject, I make a bridge between abstract and figurative realities ~ combining them in an authentic manner with an intellectual approach to make a unique visual story of symbolic expression.”

Irena Gapkovska’s works are sensual and emotional, celebrating the joy of human movement by combining precise anatomical drawings with expressive and spontaneous touches of color. Strongly inspired by nature, the seasons, and the cycle of life, she redefines the Byzantine spiritual tradition with her unique and modern approach.

Educated in a very traditional manner, she takes inspiration from the moments and impressions from life: “Our deeply visual culture shows the fascination humanity has always had with the power of images within the context of Byzantine art.” Prior to Founding NGO Art Studio in 1998, Irena was graphic designer for the newspaper Elena and for Nova Makedonija Magazine, receiving a national award for best art illustration. She earned a Master’s Degree in Graphic Art from St. Kyril Methodiy University Fine Art Academy in Skopje with her thesis on Symbolism in Art.

Her current projects include portraits for a limited edition book: “Les Rues de Perpignan: Rien n’est Définie, Rien n’est Aléatoire” and the illustration of a book on American blues music. Also the series of large formats “STIHIA: A Force of Unstoppable Nature”. The name derives from “Hestia (Ἑστία)” which means “hearth, fireplace, altar”. In ancient Greek religion, Hestia is a virgin goddess of the hearth, ancient Greek architecture, and the proper ordering of domesticity, family, and state – and in Macedonian and Serbian traditions, a Stihia is a person who is supposed to have the ability to protect her village from destructive weather conditions. We need to think about this today more than ever!