Phenomena-Lena

It's hard that any art historian can describe a painting precisely. More accurately, there is no one who can put into words the artist's feelings and thoughts that led to the painting. Describing this process is sometimes difficult for artists themselves, whilst some cannot do it at all. This is why we sometimes feel so utterly helpless, yet, something forces us to think, speak and describe artists and their work. And we do our best to do them justice. It seems to me it is no coincidence that “plunging” and “plunge” sound similar and have the same root; namely, to turn to oneself, plunging into one's inwardness, can sometimes lead straight to the abyss. Or it could, instead, take us away from the brink of the abyss. If we think of another similar word – “immersion” - we get the first associations of the artwork by Lena Kramarić’s, a young Dubrovnik artist.

Almost exclusively female characters (little girls, young ladies and women), who sometimes find themselves in awkward or uncomfortable positions, with their gaze hidden or eyes closed, mostly turned away from the viewer, tell a story of their own, personal “look from within“ – which is the name of Lena’s cycle of paintings. Daydreaming or contemplating, they are far faraway from “here and now” and turned to themselves, although the impulses for their departure have come from the outside world. This seems to be more about plunging into oneself, than directly perceiving and reproducing the world around oneself, which is suggested by the fact that there are little, if any, special markings of the space these fragile female characters occupy. The form elements – strong drawing, lively colors – certainly contribute to the dramatics of Lena’s paintings. And whilst the depicted characters are meditative, melancholic and distant, their form firmly sketched, the lively colors, ornaments and collage that fill the canvas are in sharp contrast not only with the drawing, but with the static of the characters. This contrast adds the element of playfulness and warmth to the overall impression, felt regardless of the distant feeling characters emanate.

Looking at her work, I find it difficult to imagine the paintings coming to life impulsively, through automatic burst and transfer of the artist’s feelings and/or thoughts to the canvas. They seem introverted to me, they are drawing the viewer in rather than expressing. I imagine this to be a long contemplation... Well, maybe not contemplation, but continuous internal life of various spiritual processes which end up being materialized in a painting. Even the artist herself, probably partly paraphrasing Vincent van Gogh, says she dreams in paintings, and paints every day. And so the painting becomes only a reminder of something far deeper and more important that Lena Kramarić carries within. A memento of fleeting mood, the tip of the iceberg. The only thing left to do for us, the audience, is use those reminders shown at this exhibition and allow ourselves to be drawn into what her world, as gorgeous as Alice in Wonderland, offers.

Ivan Viđen