Živa Kraus
Born in Zagreb, 1945 and lives in Venice
Živa Kraus is a Croatian-born Italian artist and gallerist. Born in Zagreb, she trained in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts before moving to Venice in 1971. In 1979 she founded Ikona Photo Gallery, initially in Campo San Moisè and later relocated to Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, establishing it as a key international platform for photography.
As an artist, Kraus was reviewed in 1979 by writer Alberto Moravia, who described her as “a realist of the invisible.” Alongside her personal practice in drawing and painting, she is internationally recognised for her pioneering role as a photography gallerist and curator. This dual identity – artist and cultural mediator – defines her career, bridging visual experimentation with the promotion of photographic culture
