SIKA, Jutta
Austrian painter, graphic artist, and handicraft designer. She studied at Vienna’s Graphische Lehr- und Versuchsantalt (Graphic Education and Research Institute) in 1895-97, then enrolled at the Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Applied Arts), where she took classes - among others - under Koloman Moser.
Sika was a founding member of the Wiener Kunst im Hause (Viennese Art in the Home), a group established in 1901 whose members were drawn from the Kunstgewerbeschule. This group was regarded as a precursor to the Wiener Werkstätte, in part for its emphasis on creating unified interiors that embodied the ideal of the Gesamtkunstwerk or “total work of art.”
Sika was a skilled designer of ceramics and glass, working both for Josef Böck (ceramics) and E. Bakalowits & Söhne (glass). She designed women’s fashion for various firms, providing accessories to Schwestern Flöge (Flöge Sisters), embroidery designs to Wiener Stickerei, and collaborated with the Salon Hilda Kulmer.
Sika worked as a graphic designer as well, providing material for packaging, decorations and postcards. In the 1920s, Sika began to focus on painting, particularly floral subjects.