DARK BLOOM SERIES
@ Walker Fine Art in Denver
"Enchanted Garden" exhibition

Last year, I started the Dark Bloom series. There are probably several unconscious reasons that lead to this series, and what is atypical about it is that it has distinctly botanical features. I feel like I am always expressing myself in the realm of abstraction because it comes most naturally to me. And this series also, "came naturally to me", though a bit out of my typical character.

I was always deeply intrigued by the life of plants. In Croatia, my home country, I went to a biology-focused high school, and then, in college, I studied horticulture for a couple of years, before finally enrolling in art school. 

I must admit I get the most thrill when working with soil and plants in my vegetable and flower garden at Fermilab, in a community plot my family and I have been keeping up for many years. The feeling of excitement when I am in my garden is only matched by my art practice.

Like life, and like gardening, painting is not fully controlled. There are actions that are planned and there are actions that happen spontaneously. Painting, as well as gardening, is an intimate conversation. 

The series of paintings, titled Dark Bloom, arose inspired by the interesting shapes of the dry plants my son collected on our walk, inspired by the love of plants, and by the memory of my dad, and my time spent with him; always looking at nature and always being amused and curious about it.

The vitality of painting in this series took a shape of plant-like forms, almost as a wish to breathe vitality and life to what's impermanent, a continuation of the everchanging and self-renewing cycles of life.

 *Dark Bloom series pictured above, all 40"x25.75" on Arches

TRANSPARENCY

Eye of The Beholder
May 10-June 8, 2019

Water Street Studios, Batavia, IL

I am showing my new series "Reef" at "Transparency", the fashion show and exhibit, coming up at Water Street Studios. The event is on May 10th, while the 2D and wearable garments will stay on display in the gallery for almost a month after.

Growing up in Croatia, my childhood summers were spent on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.

I have the most vivid and fantastic memories spending hours on end diving with my dad, and exploring the underwater wildlife, marveling its beauty, and enjoying the peaceful quietude of the sea. 

The love for water has always been with me; whether through connection with the sea or through my favorite medium, watercolor.

After watching the striking documentary "Chasing Coral" a few months ago together with my nine-year-old, I was deeply touched and saddened, witnessing the sickening truth of our current devastating impact on the environment. 

My "Reef" series is dedicated to the beauty of our seas and oceans, and all nature. 

We need to wake up from our lull and start acting responsibly and lovingly towards our planet.

It's the only one we got.

*all the images pictured above are from my Reef series, 9"x9", watercolor on paper, 2019

Eye of the Beholder is a juried 2D and 3D exhibit featuring various mediums with a concentration on wearable art. This year’s curator, Andrea Reynders, fashion designer, and Professor Emeritus at the School of the Art Institue in Chicago, shares:

“Artists were challenged to clarify and translate what Transparency meant to them and to create a work that is either worn or observed. From garments that capture emotions we cannot readily share, moments that capture chrysalis transformation, to paintings that capture light in transparent layers of color, the work included here bridges the divide between poetic reflection and political comment and from dynamic movement to quietude. The results are both serious and whimsical—an amazing cross-section of personal interpretation. From sophisticated couture and hand-crafted assemblages to paintings --all as a response to the idea of Transparency. Come and be transformed.”

 *with Andrea Reynders

*Claudia Canon and Katherine Kratzer, with their models

This year’s exhibition features the following artists: Victoria Belz, Andria Burchett, Claudia Canon, Patricia Davoust, Morgan Donahue, Maureen Gasek, Sue and Katie Holzkopf, Lisa Holzl, Madeline Jenkins, Katherine Kratzer, Emy Krauspe, Ellen Jo Ljung, Anke Loh, Michele Norman, Gretchen Schreiber, Madelyn Schuster, Preston Williams, Lisa Youngdahl, Dawn Zalkus, and Ana Zanic.