IVANKA PENJAK

Hi, I’m Ivanka – photographer, artist, storyteller.
Based in Berlin, I work at the intersection of fine art, fashion and documentary.

My work moves between fashion campaigns, exhibitions and personal projects – always with a strong focus on people, emotions and the search for meaning in everyday structures.
I love creating images that go beyond the obvious:
playful, experimental, sometimes abstract, but always authentic.

I have a Bachelor of Arts in Photojournalism & Documentary Photography at Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts and trained as an advertising photographer before moving into the art world. Since then, I’ve collaborated with fashion brands like Aeyde, Ivy Oak and Westwing, and exhibited at a selection of international art contexts – including the European Month of Photography Berlin, the RAW Phototriennale Worpswede with Ostkreuz – Agentur der Fotografen, Kunstquartier Bethanien Berlin and the Producers’ Festival Schmiede.

In 2018 I published Der weiße Fleck, a photo book on the former Stasi prison Hohenschönhausen, exploring memory, freedom and the traces of history.

Alongside commissioned work, I’m deeply drawn to analog photography.
Shooting on film allows me to slow down, search for rhythm and beauty in structures, and translate these moments into timeless color prints – available as limited fine art editions for collectors and galleries.

What drives me? Curiosity, aesthetics and connection.
Whether on set for a fashion campaign, in a gallery space, or through my analog prints – photography is my way of building bridges between people, ideas and worlds.

Let’s create something that sticks!
contact me

EXHIBITIONS
07-08/ 2025 solo exhibition	180° Cafe, Berlin, DE
09 / 2024 Artist Talk	Schmiede, Produzenten Festival, Hallein, AT
07 / 2024 group exhibition	Wille Oder Wahl, Kunstquartier Bethanien Berlin, DE (cat.) curated by Dr. Helen Adkins
05-08 / 2024 Blickfang	Blickfang- Heimat eine Suche, Kunsthaus Kaufbeuren, DE
2023 magazine release rûm ISSUE °VI	OAG Kulturverein, Graz, AT (cat.)
2023 photo exhibition	Schubert for the people, Club Hybrid, Graz, AT
2023 solo photo exhibition	Its a feeling,180° Cafe, Berlin, DE
2023 group exhibition	Böse Kunst, Graz, AT
2022 videoinstallation	Sündenbock, Schmiede, Produzenten Festival, Hallein, AT
2022 group exhibition	Autopilot, Inselgalerie, Berlin, DE (cat.) curated by Kim Dotty Hachmann
2021 photo group exhibition	Ideologien, RAY 2021 Triennale/ Beyond, Framed Gallery, Frankfurt am Main, DE (cat.)
2020 photo triennale	Changing Realities, RAW Phototriennale Worpswede zusammen mit Ostkreuz Agentur der Fotografen, DE
2019 photo group exhibition	Transit, Lychen, DE
2018 videoinstallation with sculpture	Schmiede, Produzenten Festival, Hallein, AT
2018 photo group exhibition	Zwischen Kunst Nutzen, Transit, Lychen, DE
2018 photo group exhibition	Bachelor 2018/1, Galerie für Fotografie, Hannover, DE (cat.)
2017 videoinstallation	Ihme Visions, Hannover, DE
2016 photo exhibition	Kopfkunst, MHH, Hannover, DE
2016 photo group exhibition	Human Scale, European Month of Photography, Collegium Hungaricum Berlin, DE curated by Gábor Arion Kudász
2016 musicvideo production	Schmiede, Produzenten Festival , Hallein, AT
2014 videoinstallation	Schmiede, Produzenten Festival , Hallein, AT