One of the first European graduates from China's top art school tells Alexandra Leyton Espinoza how she merges modern design with traditional Chinese painting.

Artist Mia Kirincic draws her inspiration from the modern designs associated with the feminine form. She cites the glamour of Hollywood's leading ladies as a good example of this fashion statement. And now she has a plan.

"I want to be able to combine Chinese traditional painting with these other factors and make Chinese painting something even more unique," the young Croatian says.

Kirincic recently graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, one of Asia's most prestigious art schools.

Although the school hosts many foreign-exchange students and allows Europeans to take post-graduate courses, Kirincic was the only foreigner in her year to complete a bachelor's degree in traditional Chinese painting at the academy.

Armed with her newfound knowledge and inspired by her passion for modern design, she wants to create something new. And Beijing, a hotbed of energy and activity, is the kind of city that encourages dreamers.

The 24-year-old is very familiar with the capital and has been a Beijing resident for more than a decade. She is the daughter of former Croatian ambassador to China Zeljko Kirincic, and moved to the city in 1999 after spending four years in Indonesia.

After another four years in China, the family moved back to Croatia where Kirincic finished high school. It was a hard transition and soon she was eager to return to China.

"My classmates thought I was a freak and I felt like an alien in my own country," she says. "Zagreb, which is Croatia's biggest city with 1 million citizens, felt too small because I was just too used to the environment in Beijing. So I decided to move back as soon as I finished high school."

From a very young age, Kirincic has been interested in art. After high school, she felt a special connection to China, and wanted to embrace its culture even though fashion design was her first choice.

"But it would have been crazy to study fashion design in Beijing. You do that in New York, Milan or Paris," she says.

"I had been exposed to Chinese traditional painting before, and I really loved the technique, so once I decided what to study, I moved back to China."

Kirincic says traditional painting is refined and delicate. It involves the same techniques as calligraphy and is executed with a very fine brush dipped in black or colored ink.

"It's very different from oil painting, where you can get your clothes messed up," she says.

"Traditional painting has a relaxing and meditative feel to it."

While some Chinese art forms - such as the Peking Opera, paper cutting designs and dragon dancing - are very colorful and loud, traditional painting is beautiful because of its simplicity.

"White space is very valuable," she says. "The format of this art has a very simple graphical quality, almost minimalism."

Being the only Westerner enrolled in the academy's undergraduate program was not always easy, and Kirincic says she faced a lot of skepticism at the academy.

"Some were skeptical about a foreigner studying this major," she says. "It felt like they didn't believe in me. And the atmosphere at the academy wasn't always friendly either.

"I guess because it's full of artists. I can't speak for everyone but most of us are narcissistic, introverted and living in our own world," she adds laughing.

After graduation, she joined a graphic design company in Beijing, even though she had never studied in this field. A friend at the academy taught her the basics.

"I used to be very negative toward modern design and stubborn when it came to using new technology," she says.

"I didn't care about the latest software and vowed to do things the same way people did it in the 1990s. But I came to realize there are many ways art can be expressed."

One example: her personal seal, which she uses as her signature on her paintings.

"The red stamp portrays a woman's body with Kirincic's initials on both sides of the emblem.

"My own logo is inspired by red Chinese seals, which you can see on every Chinese painting as the signature for the artist. But the seal also adds to the beauty of the painting," she says.

"Something like a seal is a graphic design. It's different of course, but art is art."

Unlike many other newcomers to the capital who marvel at its dramatic and rapid physical transformation, Kirincic believes the city still retains the same spirit she remembers as a teenager.

"Beijing has changed in some ways, like Sanlitun (bar area) looks different. But in some other aspects it hasn't changed. You can still buy chuan'er (kebab-like snack) on the streets."

The young artist has already held three exhibitions, one in Croatia and two in Beijing. She's at work on a new piece that focuses on ballet and takes the form of a scroll.

"My father now works in the Ukraine, and when I visit I spend most of my time at the ballet watching every single performance," she says.

She appreciates ballet's quality of refinement, which she has also found in Chinese art.

Her long-term goal is to become financially independent through her art and now has to practice the patience to allow this to happen.

"I don't see myself as anything else then an artist, it's just impossible to imagine," she says.

You can contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 07/17/2011 page5)