Ivana Berendika

Ivana Berendika is a Miami-based designer who pushes the conceptual and physical limits of metal. Ever since she first encountered the material at Parsons The New School for Design, she has reveled in its contradictory qualities of elasticity and permanence. Berendika likens brass, nickel, and their kin to co-designers—they simultaneously accept direction and guide her hand.

The designer left her native Serbia at age 18 first to pursue a career in fashion, and in 2005 she settled in Miami, where she was captivated by that city’s interpretations of Art Deco and subsequent movements. Following in the footsteps of masters like Paul Evans, Berendika began working with metal through jewelry designs that collectors immediately hailed for recalling textiles and draping. Berendika’s limited-edition, artisanally produced pieces for Cristina Grajales Gallery represent her first foray into architectural objects.