Irena Kazazić (born 1972) is a Serb-Slovenian visual artist,[1] based in and mainly operating from Ljubljana, with many of her works being presented abroad at international events in Croatia, Italy,[2] United States[3] and Austria. In 2017 she founded her own visual arts vehicle and brand Finer Side of Pop (stylized as Finer Side 0f Pop) – phrase coined by Serbian writer and art historian Marko Dabetić, and it became a title of subsequent monograph dedicated to Kazazić's work, which saw release in 2020.[4] Currently very active within the artist community of Ljubljana, Kazazić also collaborates with designers (Nelizabeta, JSP Fashion), alternative music labels (such as Belgrade's 93DOT93) and is known locally for her engagement in cultural and civic activism, including work with refugees and volunteering during 2014 Southeast Europe floods in Obrenovac, Serbia. In 2015. she curated a public exhibition of urban artists for Ulična galerija, which utilized public spaces as exhibition sites.[5] She was admitted into Ljubljana Fine Artists Society in 2021.[6]
Irena Kazazić | |
|---|---|
 Irena Kazazić | |
| Born | 1972 (age 52) |
| Nationality | Serbian |
| Known for | Painter and writer |
| Movement | Pop art |
| Website | www.irenakazazic.com |
Biography
editKazazić was born in 1972 in Belgrade.[7] Her first academic choice were studies of architecture – she dropped out, but as she pointed out, it was drawing classes on weekends she attended while preparing for the entrance exam that made her realize she wanted to pursue career in visual arts. It was visits to US in her youth, among other things, that additionally informed her affinity towards pop art.[4]
Career
editActive from the early 1990s (first exhibition took place in 1990 in Las Vegas), Kazazić started her first studio in 1994, in Ljubljana.
She holds a degree in fine arts, which she got at Arthouse – an art school in Ljubljana, in 2003.[8]
In her student days, she shared a studio (dubbed M. I. K. S.) with fellow artist and partner at the time, Matjaž Stražar.
After her breakthrough series Shoes (Čevlji, 2001–2009), Kazazić primarily focuses on (and is mostly known by) extensive series of intimate portraits of friends (notably Portraits of Time), acquaintances, pop culture figures or even fictional characters (Pippi Longstocking being just one of them).
She mainly chooses independent ways of advancing her career as an artist, and is self-managed, relying on word of mouth and – with expansion of internet – presence on social networks rather than on any form of institutional support.
Style and influences
editKazazić mainly works in the tradition of pop art. Her style has changed over time, but since around 2010, she established her trademark use of white space and vivid colors that at times are bordering on psychedelic art. Her art is often an open celebration of eroticism.[9] Although she mainly keeps her work from being overtly political, there are often strong feminist messages present.[10]
She mainly utilizes mixed technique in her work, combining watercolor, drawing and collage.
She cited Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and a wide variety of artists and pop culture figures as her personal influences.[4]
Exhibitions
editKazazić's work has been on display in Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Austria, Italy and US.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Irena Kazazic - Biography". Irena Kazazic. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Pallazzo Cappello Venexia Ex Convento dei Servi di Maria, Venice, 2005". Irena Kazazic. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "The Arthouse Bluebird Gallery, Whittier, California, 2006". Irena Kazazic. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b c Dabetić, Marko (2020). In Search of Finer Side of Pop: Art of Irena Kazazić. ISBN 978-961-07-0143-9. OCLC 1267961306.
- ^ "Ulični katalog del za leto 2015" [Street catalog of works for 2015]. Govori.se (in Slovenian). 25 April 2016. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "Seznam članov društva" [List of association members]. Društvu likovnih umetnikov Ljubljana [Society of Visual Artists Ljubljana] (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "Kazazić Irena". SloArt (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Irena Kazazic ➤ About". Irena Kazazic. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "Past events and exhibitions :: Irena Kazazić, Kratke Zgodbe: Razstava". Galerija Hest (in Slovenian). 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ Slak, Majda (23 June 2021). "Z vsakim dihom me je manj – Irena Kazazić" [With every breath I am less - Irena Kazazić]. Mestna knjižnica Ljubljana (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on 26 May 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "Irena Kazazić" (PDF). Art Quarterly Galerija. Summer 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
External links
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