The drawing has always been the basis of the figurative design and the composition of paintings, while in the case of Lena Kramarić it also seems to represent the final stage in the process of creating a new painting. Although she starts off with a drawing, by applying paint, making collages and using other applications in creating the structure of the painting, the drawing slowly disappears, making it necessary for her to use a grease pencil in order to retrieve it before applying the final coat of lacquer or any other fixative. It appears quite meticulous, while in fact it is a sketch in the making, carried out in the same way as the human figure is transferred onto paper. It is the drawing that represents the most expressive element of these paintings, as it fills the outlines of the figures and body parts, gnarled knuckles, dis­located knees, staring eyes and vestigial arms with the strength of a realistic motif interpreted in an ex­tremely unusual way.

In terms of composition, her paintings always in­clude complex and unusually positioned, sometimes even strained (a ballerina with her head tilted all the way back) individual figures or groups surrounded by an abundance of superimposed animals, ob­jects, plants and undetermined patterns. The pos­ture and the positioning of the arms, as well as the open frame in which they are only partially accom­modated represent the way in which the paintings flirt with the constant tension of the beholder. The wide open, yet gloomy eyes, as well as the lowered or completely closed eyelids, are in contrast with the elaborate dynamics of the composition. The space in which the figures are placed is vague, while its orna­ments sometimes resemble a dollhouse (the figures themselves irresistibly evoke very gestural move­ments of puppets on strings), except in cases in which the author incorporates recognizable symbols of Dubrovnik, such as the church tower, the Rector’s Palace and the Sponza Palace into the painting and, thus, identifies the surroundings.

Lena Kramarić is undoubtedly anything but an artist with a plain and unoriginal artistic expression. Although her paintings include many sparkling and intense colors, cheerful patterns, lace, lollipops and flowers, they manage to retain a sort of unfathom­able detachment. They abound not only with inno­cence, beauty and childish playfulness, but also with unbearable anxiety, oversized body parts, flamingos, geese and rats, unusually positioned figures (apart from the aforementioned ballerina, they include an equally tilted girl, a child hugging her knees and a woman positioned horizontally so that we can look up her skirt), and it is this dichotomy that makes the paintings interesting, visually rich and masterful. At a time when (photo)realism makes its way back into visual arts, Lena Kramarić refuses to engage in it lit­erally, but finds an authentic way of amalgamating traditional painting techniques with contemporary artistic aspirations.

Marin Ivanović