Meet The Team

Danijela Krha Purssey is an entrepreneur, and the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of Australian based international contemporary art magazine, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

She is deeply passionate and committed to her vision to help shift the paradigm in the global contemporary arts industry regarding what is defined and accepted as contemporary art.

Danijela has created a carefully curated, unique contemporary arts experience via all the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine touch points that inspires and champions emerging and mid-career creatives both locally and around the world. Beautiful Bizarre Magazine has inspired creatives to pursue a life and career in the arts and helped artists’ careers grow via Beautiful Bizarre Magazine’s exposure of their work.

Danijela founded Beautiful Bizarre Magazine in 2013 with her husband, Richard Purssey. In the 7 years since the launch of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine she has released 27 issues, published over 2,300 web articles, developed and launched our interactive digital magazine, curated 9 exhibitions in 4 countries, and shared the work of countless creatives from all corners of the globe. Beautiful Bizarre Magazine has become not only an influential player in the contemporary art scene, but more importantly a voice, a tribe and platform for creatives whose work doesn’t always fit neatly into the traditional fine art “box”.

Danijela has forged global connections with artists, collectors, gallery owners and their communities to further her vision for the new contemporary art scene and to help galleries and creatives thrive. The Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media platforms have grown to over 980,000 followers.

As a champion of Australian art, Danijela has started an Australian Creatives Collective Instagram account. She feels strongly that her local creatives need and deserve more exposure both locally and internationally, more support, inspiration and mentoring. Danijela plans to use her own and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine’s influence and connections to more deeply support her local arts scene.

In late 2016 Danijela was awarded the prestigious AMP Foundation ‘Tomorrow Makers’ Award, and grant funding to expand Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Richard Purssey is the Co-Founder and Technical Director of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

He is also an ICT Director who is also a lifelong collector and appreciator of modern art. During the life of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Richard has interviewed some of the finest contemporary realist artists from around the world, and been intimately involved in the creation of Beautiful Bizarre as a leading voice in the world of figurative art in all mediums. He has also been closely involved with the fine arts during his time as CIO of one of Australia’s most prestigious public galleries, the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Based in the UK, Natalia Joruk lives amongst a mass of art, nature, curious trinkets and green tea. As Deputy Editor, Natalia works closely with the Editor-in-Chief, supporting with the design, curation and overall growth of Beautiful Bizarre and the annual Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize. She also oversees distribution of the magazine, so drop her a line if you know someone who would like to stock! Utilising her experience as a freelance writer, Natalia also engages with editorial writing and proofreading for both the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine website and print publication. One of her favourite perks is getting to know artists, gallery owners and their teams personally, so feel free to email her if there is anything she can help you with – or just to connect!

I am the Finance Director of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine and feel incredibly lucky to have been part of this amazing journey from the second issue in 2013. As a lover of all things creative and artistic, with my body being my canvas, it is wonderful to see how art touches the lives of so many in such a positive way through Beautiful Bizarre.  When not punching numbers, you’ll find me out in the paddock with my horses or knee deep in the garden in the wine region of South Australia.

Bella Harris is an internationally exhibited artist and creator of Wooden Ophelia. She is not only the Online Editor at Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, she also oversees all staff writers and helps support website functionality and development. As a contributing writer for the website, active copy editor, and editorial photographer, she plays a vital role in the growth of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine while working closely with advertisers and artists.

Bella Harris is a self-taught artist whose first experience with the paintbrush came when she realized turpentine wasn’t her Grandmother’s Chanel N°5. Working with a variety of mediums, the St. Louis native explores the fragility, whimsicality, and unguarded emotional expression between realism and pop surrealism. With an emphasis on off-kilter portraiture, her emotionally driven works convey a sense of vulnerability and haunting individuality. Through her growing body of art and photography, she continues to render interpretatively subtle message of self-awareness and personal reflection alongside the many characteristics of a slightly stranger beauty. Her vision presents a wide spectrum of dark detailed lines juxtaposing light minimalism while other works capture a true range of color. Thriving deep in a collective vein driven by fragments of self-perceptions, the reservations in which one’s own criticisms have the ability to cripple distinctiveness are shed. Bringing to life new techniques and evolving styles, each piece embodies personal attachments of the artist’s creative voice and aims to embrace the viewer while delivering a nearly tangible variance of emotional communication. With consistent study, she methodically incorporates a variety of styles to convey the journey of her deeply personal vision.

She is the original creator of Wooden Ophelia, a contemporary collection of original moon designs, handmade woodwork, artwork furnishings, and sacred crystals… all to enchant your home.

Andrea Kovacic is a fourth-year Law and Creative Writing student studying in Sydney, Australia. Andrea has also studied Literature and History abroad at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice, Italy. In addition to her studies, Andrea works as a freelance writer for a number of publications, whilst working on literary manuscripts. She is interested in the more dreamy and whimsical creations of the moody artistic world.

Chrysa Podioti is the Designer of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine and a freelance graphic artist.

Now based in Greece and with 20 years of commercial experience in London UK, Chrysa has worked on various kinds of design work, from logos and branding identity, advertising, promotional graphics and editorial materials to book & magazine layout, web layout and illustration commissions.

Graduated from the University of the Arts (London College of Communication), her work is focused on editorial graphic design, experimental typography, illustration and printmaking. Studies also include freehand & architectural drawing.

Chrysa has also been a resident teaching artist at The Green School for girls and having taken several illustration commissions, has exhibited extensively in and outside London, in venues such as the ICA.

Samantha Dexter is a Manchester-based writer, musician, artist and photographer. Graduating with a degree in music journalism, she now works as an advertising accounts manager and writer for Beautiful Bizarre. Her passion for art and culture runs into every facet of her life. She possess a strong connection to all things weird and wonderful with a particular fondness for dark and pop surrealism, lowbrow, contemporary art and animation. In her free time, Samantha enjoys playing guitar, travelling, collecting art books and designer toys and learning more about the topics that fascinate her the most. Her biggest goal is to be able to share her passions with like-minded people through her work.

Ren Riley is an aspiring bounty hunter librarian, but until that job becomes a real thing, she works as a graphic designer, freelance writer, and marketing consultant. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Biology from Middle Tennessee State University and a Masters of Education Policy from the University of Washington. In her free time, she enjoys creating digital collages with a focus on futuristic elements and self-portraiture; her work has been shown at the Holy Art Gallery in London. She is the Editor of I, Enheduanna, a zine focused on up-and-coming feminine and non-binary creatives.

Athina is the Personal Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine. She loves to travel and learn about different cultures, and during her free time, she volunteers at a dog shelter. She’s been an assistant to various industries for 6 years and helped with the business’ growth. Her goal in life is to make a difference by inspiring others to see their potential and so enable future beings to live in a better society.