Alieta Monas Plejić

Alieta Monas Plejić (November 5, 1951, Pazin – March 12, 2022, Rijeka)

Dedicated to working with children, Monas Plejić founded the children's biennial United Bright World in the 1990s. In Split, she taught painting and drawing at the School of Fine Arts until her retirement in 2013. She was a member of the Croatian Artists' Association – Split. and Svjetlehem II in 2017, where she planned to illuminate parts of the Pazin Pit.

In addition to her focus on light, Monas Plejić's artwork prominently featured nudes and portraits. Her art was inspired by figures such as Einstein, Dante, and Dostoevsky, and she dedicated paintings to significant literary and artistic figures, including Tolstoy's Room, Tin's Room, and Vidović's Studio.

Some of her most notable works include Žena na propuhu (Woman in a Draft, 1981), Judita II (1984), Svijetli (The Bright Ones, 2010), and Sloboda vodi narod (Liberty Leading the People, 2017).

Exhibitions She participated in both group and solo exhibitions. Her first solo exhibition was held in Pazin in 1979. She later exhibited individually at Salon Galić in Split in 1982, and at Galerija Nova in Zagreb, where she showcased her work from the 1980s. The exhibition took place across various locations in Split, including Salon Galić and the Multimedia Cultural Center Split. Monas Plejić's open display was positioned at the entrance of the Multimedia Cultural Center, where four of her paintings were exhibited, along with four empty framed spaces reserved for future additions to her artistic archive.

Her work was also featured in The Visible Ones exhibition in 2023 and 2024. This project aims to raise awareness about the need for gender equality and the representation of women in art. Among the displayed pieces were Judita II(1984) and Žena na propuhu (1981), both created using mixed techniques.

Awards The artist received several awards throughout her career. Her first award was the Ars Histriae VIII Charter, which she won in Rovinj in 1982, followed by the Split Salon Award the same year in Split. In 1984, she earned the Ars Histriae IX Diploma and the Grisia Award, both in Rovinj.