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Jagoda Buić was a Croatian visual artist renowned for her monumental fiber art installations, which brought textile art into the world of contemporary fine arts. Born in Split, Yugoslavia (now Croatia) in 1930, she studied at the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts and later pursued advanced studies in scenography and costume design in Vienna, Rome, and Venice. Her early career in theater and set design deeply influenced her work, infusing her large-scale textile installations with theatricality and spatial complexity. By abandoning the traditional loom, Buić pioneered immersive "textile environments," integrating materials like wool, hemp, and metal to create dynamic, three-dimensional art forms.

Throughout her career, Buić gained significant recognition for her innovative use of fiber and metal, particularly at prestigious exhibitions such as the Lausanne Biennial and the Venice Biennale, where her work received widespread acclaim. She represented Yugoslavia at the São Paulo Biennial in 1975, earning the Grand Prix Itamaraty, a landmark moment in her career. Buić's pieces were included in the groundbreaking Wall Hangings exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1969, which helped establish textiles as a legitimate medium within contemporary art. Her installations are celebrated for their rich textures, cultural references, and often grand scale, which blend architectural and organic elements.

Examples of Buić's art are displayed in numerous international venues of note, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. She received many accolades during her lifetime, such as the Herder Prize, UNESCO's Picasso Golden Medal, and Croatia's Vladimir Nazor Lifetime Achievement Award. Buić helped elevate textiles into a medium capable of conveying profound, immersive experiences. Her work remains a testament to the possibilities of fiber as a sculptural and expressive force in contemporary art.