Long cuts

The exibited cycle of paintings by Jasna Barišić gives an insight into a personal experience of ups and downs and tells us the story of struggle, hope, confrontation and reconciliation. By sizing and priming paper on wooden panels the author forms various structures offering an intimate summary of an inspiring story. Jasna Barišić chooses the material that emphasises the physical substance of its structure, which is fragile and stable at the same time.

Thus, the painting support becomes a durable body with open wounds and scars. Although being marked and left exposed, it is still a very resistant body. Jasna’s long cuts seem to serve as a record of her lyrical painting which is imbued with gentle but also powerful poetry. The symbolic meanings of red, white and grey become an intrinsic part of the pulsating centres on the organic material giving them a chance to live on their own. The intensity of red colour in the blindingly white and sterile space embodies the dignity of survival, victory and re-elevation. Under the skin and through matter crevices comes the essence of expression – through the body that remembers, testifies and transmits.

Jasna Barišić deeply immerses herself into her paintings by marking the body of the painting with long cuts. Being totally exposed, she finally wins a victory. The accents of bloody red on a white background reveal traces of vulnerability like an imprint of the author’s authenticity, pain, courage and power. Empty inner spaces have been filled with symbolism. It has been implemented in each and every long cut, line, and colour shade on the canvas where a brand new life – prouder and stronger than ever – has been created.

These fresh cuts and scares as well as the process of recovery are inspiring elements from which Jasna Barišić creates new forms on the paper and displays a kaleidoscope of her emotional layers. The balance of expression on her abstract compositions stems from the balance of the art forms she uses. Here, processuality, as a very significant element of Jasna’s artistic method, goes hand in hand with her steady growth as an artist. Physical structural agglomerations contribute to tactile painting powered by the author’s specific signature not recognizable as forceful but as stable. This sensibility to transmit the most inner parts of one’s being to the surface without exaggeration becomes visible by means of texture layers and layers of impasto.

The titles of the paintings (Flaws, Empty/Full Space, The Signs of Life, Flowers for N., Long Cuts, Echoes in the Space), among other things, imply meaningful completness of what has been done. Such a presentation allows us to reconstruct the ethnography of a very personal and intimate confession. Consequently, we are able to look through the crevices of depth and wholeness and see the wounds turned into permanent symbols of life experiences. They become a record of effortless optimism and serve as a testimony to life celebration and creativity. While the body and soul remain inetrixably interwoven, the process of healing (both on the surface and at deep level) is to be continued.

Curated by Marijana Paula Ferenčić, Art Historian