The World According to Billich”
There are artists — and then there are visionaries who transform the very way we see the world. Charles Billich belongs to the latter. His life, much like his art, is full of colour, contradiction, and imagination. To know Billich is to enter a different universe.
“All About Billich” begins here — with an introduction to the man behind the masterpieces.
There’s something magnetic about Charles Billich.
You notice it the moment you walk into a room filled with his art — or if you’ve ever met him, the moment he starts to speak. His sentences move the same way his paintbrush does — sharp, playful with meaning. He doesn’t just paint what he sees. He paints what he feels should exist.
Billich’s world isn’t quiet. It’s a carnival filled with, colour, and emotion — a place where angels lean against skyscrapers, dancers float in midair, and history comes alive . His imagination is vast, but it’s never disconnected from life. Everything comes from something he’s lived, loved, or observed.
The man behind the myth
Charles Billich
Charles was born in Croatia, a world away from the galleries and hotel walls that now hold his work. The story is hard — war, escaping a communist country, and starting again from zero.He doesn’t romanticise it, but you can see it in his determination. Australia became his safe haven, literally. Sydney, especially, shaped him .
In conversation, Billich is equal parts philosopher and showman. He can talk about architecture, religion, and anatomy in one breath — then crack a joke about the absurdity of life in the next. He’ll tell you he paints every day because, “it gives me the kicks” and he means it.
The art — and the attitude
If you’ve ever stood before one of his paintings, you will know they’re alive.Standing before the paintings, you become captivated. Each painting opens a door, inviting you into a gallery inside the canvas. The scenes are so real that you can almost feel the painted walls, as if walking through them.
In the Regatta Series the sails move with the wind, and the waves crash. You seem to be on the boat itself, the spray in your hair, the boat rocking beneath your feet. The sea’s power feels so real that you forget you’re just a viewer.
He’s fascinated by people — their bodies, beliefs, ambitions. You can see that in his Olympic series, in his portraits of saints and sinners, and in his countless depictions of dancers and dreamers. Each figure seems to be caught between heaven and earth. Maybe that’s where Billich himself lives.
A life painted in layers
Spend a bit of time around him, and you realise the art and the man aren’t different. They blend together .He lives in a home filled with love. For over 40 years, he and his wife Christa have built an amazing partnership. Christa, is also his dedicated manager, who has stood by his side, and supported him over the years. They live with their charming Bengali cat Louie , and Charlie, the long haired Chihuahua. His home and studio are filled with classical music, books, half-finished sketches, and laughter.
He’s not interested in trends or approval. He paints what fascinates him. Billich believes art should both provoke and charm.
The legacy of a living master
Today, Billich’s work hangs everywhere — from the Vatican Museum,White House United Nations to private collections across the world.
People collect his work because it’s more than beautiful; it’s alive. It carries his energy, his stories, his stubborn refusal to be ordinary.
“All About Billich” will follow that same spirit — stories, memories, art, and glimpses of the man behind the myth. Because understanding Billich is to see the world the way he does — bold, unapologetic, a little surreal, and always full of wonder.