Joško Buljanović (Joko Bird)
Joko Bird’s work transforms the ancient human impulse to communicate through symbols into a contemporary pictographic language where birds become both subject and script. Drawing from his background in visual communication design and semiotics, he creates paintings that function as visual conversations—writing with pictures, painting with words.
Birds serve as his artistic totems, embodying the freedom and innocence he believes art should restore to our lives. Inspired by children’s art and primitive expression, his simplified forms carry complex meanings about connection, healing, and universal communication. Each painting becomes an act of translation, converting pure birdsong into symbols and works that are accessible to all.
His practice extends beyond gallery walls into therapeutic spaces, including kindergartens, psychiatric facilities, and autism centers, where his bird-filled murals create environments of comfort and understanding. Through this work, Joko Bird demonstrates that art’s highest purpose is not decoration but communication, offering a visual language that speaks to our most fundamental need for connection and freedom.
Short bio
Joško Buljanović (Joko Bird) is a visual artist born in 1989 in Split, Croatia. He earned his MFA in Graphic Design from the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo in 2017, following studies in Visual Communications at the Art Academy in Split.
During his studies, he developed a deep interest in paleography and semiotics, leading to his distinctive pictographic artistic style. He began painting during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on birds as symbols of freedom, peace, and transcendence.
Inspired by children’s and primitive art, his work features simplified forms, geometric and organic shapes, bold black lines, and vibrant colors. His birds, reduced to their essential recognizable elements, become totems within his artistic universe.
Since 2024, his murals have adorned therapeutic spaces including children’s and adolescent psychiatric facilities in Split, and in 2025 he donated murals to the Split Autism Center.
Discover the art
Artist Year 2021
Medium collage on paper
Size 50 cm (h) x 70 cm (w)
Framed No
€ 1.060,00
Artist Year 2024
Medium acrylic on canvas
Size 70 cm (h) x 100 cm (w)
Framed No
€ 4.200,00
Artist Year 2020
Medium acrylic on canvas
Size 100 cm (h) x 70 cm (w)
Framed No
€ 3.850,00
Artist Year 2025
Medium acrylic on canvas
Size 70 cm (h) x 100 cm (w)
Framed No
€ 3.600,00
Joško Buljanović, known by his artistic name Joko Bird, was born in 1989 in Split. He earned his MFA in Graphic Design from the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo in 2017, following his studies in Visual Communications at the Art Academy in Split.
During his university education, he developed a particular interest in paleography and semiotics, which led him to create his own pictographic style in art. His work in visual communications is characterized by the use of letters, signs, symbols, and logos.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he began painting, focusing on birds as his primary motif—symbols of freedom, peace, and transcendence. In his works, he creates his own pictorial language using flat shapes, geometric and organic forms, bold black lines, and vibrant colors. Inspired by children’s and primitive art, he strives for simplicity and purity of expression. His style is characterized by simplification and stylization, where birds, reduced to the limits of recognizability, become totems in the artist’s own universe.
Since February 2024, his works have also adorned the spaces of the children’s and adolescent psychiatry department in Split, and in 2025 he donated murals to the Autism Center in Split.
2024 – Primitive Infant, Bar Sistema Split, Croatia
2023 – Ringe Ringe Raja (transl. Ring around the Rosie), Hotel Ambasador Split, Croatia
2023 – Hotel Ambasador, Split, Croatia
Commission a Custom Artwork
If you’re looking for art that’s uniquely yours, you can commission a piece directly from the local artists exhibiting in the DLightful Gallery.
We’ve made the commission process as straightforward as possible: just fill in the Form for commissioning an artwork where you will state your preferred artist and present your idea.
Starting price points, estimated completion times and any other information regarding the commission process are provided upfront to ensure transparency every step of the way.
