Summer Painting

Summer / mixed media on canvas // 100x80 cm new work by Lena Kramarić part of project Ateljerija/Open studio in Gallery Sebastian, Dubrovnik, Croatia 22.7.- 22.8.2017 Here is text from catalogue, about exhibition and works: Ateljerija / open studio German philosopher Friedrich W. J. Schelling demanded from the beginning for the idea of beauty a central place because art is a depiction of the infinite in the final, the general in special. Subjective and objective indifference to philosophy is the subject of intellectual maturity, while in art it is immediately given - it is the indifference of subjective and objective, realistic and ideal. Art therefore stands at the same level with philosophy; they both show one absolute, they are the copies that in art become objective while in philosophy they are present as the archetypes of subjective identity. By the unconscious art production, the artist creates like nature, and exactly art, philosophy and religion are three aspects of the appearance of that spiritual in time and are closely interconnected precisely through art, which gives the form of infinite in the final. And somewhere on that trace, exposing the finished/completed paintings to those being created; practically still unfinished and empty canvases on which it that infinity will be transposed into final, finally a new exhibition emerged as well as still unfinished cycle of paintings by contemporary Dubrovnik artist Lena Kramarić. Lena Kramarić is a painter who, with each new cycle, surprises with the power of stylistic shifts and with just marked motive innovations, but also with great sensitivity to the freedom of creation prompted by the mother's instinct. With spontaneous honesty, along with romantic and somewhat nostalgic remarks, through the simpleminded playfulness of spontaneous and studious, Lena creates very emotionally charged works with the presence of life energy that combines all of her paintings into the world of cosmic thoughts (infinity) or just in some existential states. We are talking about scenes involving exclusively feminine sensual and almost fragile figures of girls and women who are sometimes rhythmically aligned to each other, enabling us to recognize them, while others are being thrown elsewhere in the stacks that, apart from giving us the freedom of sight, also emanate disorder and discomfort permeated with the feelings of motherhood and children's play. Figuration in her works is only attributed to some encrypted messages that simply radiate in the entire pictorial structure. The absence of direct communication with the observer introduces the narrative component into the scene that entails the need to paint the interior or exterior where the characters are located, which leads to the intimate dynamism of the reenactment. Looking at the new paintings and comparing them with those from the previous cycles it is quite clear how the characters in the paintings are just pulsating that dynamism, psychologically unattainable sensitivity and partial instability in the world of insecurity. But, what gives them a sense of security is the touch of the mother and her hug, which though invisible in the paintings, remains psychologically ubiquitous in spirit. In the exposed works in which female characters are seemingly removed from the safe interior to the outside space also exists escape of their eyes. Located in the woods, for example in the painting Under the snow - border, the female figure physically and mentally drags us in the whirl of trees in front of her, as well as in the painting the Under the sea, where the artist depicts the water surface and its surroundings, by making the human figure merely a silhouette - shadow of a creature that we are watching or who is watching us. Similarly, in each of Lena's paintings we are never sure whether we are looking at it or if the reality presented on the canvas it the one who looks at us, so it seems to us that the painting is metaphorically viewed as "painting in the painting". One of the things that can be immediately noticed by looking at the author’s paintings is her accentuated freedom and spontaneous character from which it the works derive unrestricted by a concrete motif, but as a whole act as a one vibrant organism, as an ever-changing poetical thrust that works in its fullness and strength on all artist’s senses with the aim of materializing with the movement of the creative hand in color and light of the painting. Kramarić also has a characteristic pastel shade, with which all paintings are rounded into a unique cycle. The color is transmitted from one motif to the other, forming a homogeneous whole in which there are no special divisions in the fields with the mild presence of graphism. Lena's creativity in general is defined by gentle colors, open moves, and peaceful and controlled crossings from topic to topic, from "painting in the painting“. Apart from the finished works that the painter exhibits with joy on the walls of the gallery, the artist fills that space with unfinished paintings leaning against the wall or placed on the staffs. From a thematic point of view, she remains faithful to her scenes of women and girls in somewhat unusual poses, as well as to her pastel shades in the presence of decorative elements, such as imprints from napkins that act like prints, or the magical gold color, shimmer and pearls with floral patterns that she glues to her works, giving them a sort of scenic and beautiful expression in a visual and psychological sense. Freedom by which she applies the layers of paint on unfinished works with decisive brushstrokes gives us the freedom of association in viewing and interpreting painted scenes. Finally, the artist with this exhibition tried out one more time an unusual exhibition - gallery aspect by exposing the empty canvas, respectively she transforms the gallery into her temporary atelier where she will during certain period work and create - create works of peculiar character, eruptive energy and works of "dreams" that will on a daily basis be observed by the curious viewers. Undoubtedly, the artist will fill the empty canvas with life-like female characters, colorful playful compositions based on the game of two elements - the stroke and the color. The experiment is the first word that comes to my mind when I think about Lena's exhibition. In addition to exhibiting already completed works through which she has realized the story of her own states and moods, and ultimately her life, the direction of the brush movement continues on the still unfinished works through which she wants to complete her story while the empty canvas remains a "story for themselves" - they will include new characters, new colors and new, amazing compositions, a whole new world waiting to be told. And this is also an important feature of the whole exhibition - along with the traditional exhibition to present a completely new experiment and to point up the importance of the changes in the deeply rooted painting practice and the society in which we live. And precisely Lena Kramarić, the artist of deep and gentle soul, and a powerful creative spirit that is subject to change, in the light of the day, brings us a completely different concept of the exhibition that will arouse in us interest and sensitivity to the realization of artistic spark, proving that art and life are one, as well as she is, one and unique. Andrea Batinić Ivanković, Art historian