"Lava" Painting

Irena Bijelić Gorenjak (b. 1972, Belgrade, Serbia) I am a contemporary abstract painter and art educator based in Belgrade, Serbia. I am an active member of both major national art institutions: the Association of Fine Artists of Serbia (ULUS) and the Association of Fine Artists of Applied Arts and Designers of Serbia (ULUPUDS). Alongside my studio practice, I have a prominent career in art education, including serving as a Professor of Drawing and Painting at the School for Design in Belgrade and leading numerous contemporary art workshops. I am also the founder of a highly regarded preparatory art program for emerging talent. My artworks are held in numerous private collections both nationally and internationally. I live and work as a full-time independent artist in Belgrade.

My work explores the subtle boundaries between the natural world and fluid abstraction, creating aerial-like earthscapes that appear both familiar and surreal. Inspired by the raw, untamed forces of nature: volcanoes, geothermal springs and mineral deposits. I create imagery that intertwines the physical world with the imagined. Rather than simply reproducing nature, I seek to capture its internal dynamism, tension and unpredictability through rich, organic layers of color, built-up acrylics, and fluid resin textures.
Characterized by a striking tactile contrast between rugged, heavily textured, cracked earth surfaces and glossy, fluid elements, these paintings invite viewers on an introspective journey. They act as visual metaphors for inner emotional states and moments of deep contemplation. By meticulously painting the sides of the supports, each artwork functions as a three-dimensional sculptural object that can be exhibited without traditional frames, designed to bring a sense of natural wonder, contemporary luxury, and sophisticated architectural harmony into modern interior spaces.