Tatjana Krizmanic is known for her brilliant paintings, which depict ordinary life with a distinctly European sensibility that recalls Chagall, Matisse, and Bonnard, influences she grew up with. Born in Zagreb, Croatia, she started painting full time at age fourteen and studied at the University of Zagreb and Georgetown University. She went on to build a career as a painter and art director, working primarily in oil on canvas and pastel and gouache on paper.

Her first exhibit was held at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, a school founded by the Tibetan Buddhist master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. In 1988 she took up meditation, and decades of studying Tibetan Buddhism gradually reshaped her work toward a contemplative, compassionate view of life. That practice found its deepest expression in Bhutan, the last Vajrayana kingdom, where Krizmanic became the first Western artist to hold a solo exhibition, and where she has been confirmed as artist-in-residence at the Wangduechhoeling Palace Museum, with her residency planned for 2027.

Her paintings are held in private collections, museums, and galleries across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Krizmanic lives in New York City.