The image created by a single one of our eyes is not enough to paint the full picture of reality. For that picture to be faithful and complete, it must be viewed using both eyes. An analogous principle can be applied to the consideration of ideas. Today we hope to gain a more exhaustive insight into the role of artistic painting in our lives by analysing two artists’ conception of this art form. The plurality of perspectives is one of the trademarks of art, so there is more than one truth of creation. This can serve as an encouragement to briefly follow a pair of life and artistic paths and re-examine our attitude towards art.

Textbooks sometimes describe the way in which we experience the sense of sight with the formula “we use our eyes to look and our brain to see“. This expression seems like a good introduction to the work of the Zaprešić-based artist Vlasta Pastuović Aleksić. Her paintings, collages and pottery explore not so much the appearance of a particular subject, as ways in which it relates to her, the thoughts or emotional reactions it induces. Appearances are flickering or shrouded in layers of meaning that, like the vegetation often present in Vlasta’s images, obstruct our view.

Photo: Marko Prpic/PIXSELL

The author’s own artistic horizon is filled with fantasy worlds by Henri Matisse, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky and Joan Miro. She strives to encompass the visible and the invisible with compositions that transform her environment into pastel surfaces, aims to disintegrate the subject and reconstruct it in her mind’s eye. The results of this individualistic approach may be viewed occasionally in the Zaprešić City Library, and regularly on Vlasta’s website – Vlastaart. Organizing painting workshops is another aspect of her work. Her immediacy enables her to impart not only technique but also passion for painting in the course of the regular two-hour classes. Anyone looking to take their first steps in painting is welcome to attend, and a pass is also available in the form of a gift voucher.

Olivera Cavrić, an academy-trained painter based in Zagreb, has a somewhat different view of painting. While not denying the value of painting as the visible manifestation of our most peculiar inner workings, she is still primarily interested in the reverse effect the work can have on its observer. Her artwork serves as a reminder, a motivator, aimed at raising one’s mood and cheering them up. In this scheme, the role of the gaze is to stimulate the brain into action against anxiety and paralyzing thoughts. You can even test if this kind of magic affects you in the same way on the Olivera Cavric Studio web page.

Photo: Goran Stanzl/PIXSELL

In the exact way that self-expression seeks a wide variety of colours and techniques, and sufficient space to describe a rich inner experience, a wealth of forms has the capacity to trigger positive emotions. Hence Olivera’s drawings have found their way to T-shirts, items for everyday use, prints in a small or medium format. Her acrylic, dry pastel, marker and pencil have left their mark on paper, as well as canvas.

This is the point where the two viewpoints converge. Vlasta’s freeform compositions strain against the borders of smaller formats, forcing them to an increasing level of abstraction and releasing their expressive potential. The freedom afforded Olivera by her philosophy consistently allows surprise to be a factor in how we respond to her brand of art. Taken together, they invite us to keep all of our visual senses alert while engaging with their work.