Petra Varl
Sewn portraits (thread, canvas)
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Pas de deux, 2005 (acrylic and thread on canvas), several works,
10 x 10 x 29,7 cm
The work of Petra Varl is based
on drawings printed on canvas. Thread is used as a painting
stroke; according to the principle of a children's colouring
book, it fills up larger surfaces or it is used to delineate
main contours. The drawing – the expressive layers of the machine-sewn
strokes – delineates portrait images. The artist has realistically
captured different people, extending from the image of a dreamy
young girl to the proud owners of new kitchen furniture,
a young coquette, and a lady holding a cup of coffee and introspectively
gazing into the distance. In this series, Varl has created portraits
of people near and dear to her, and they subtly express the
fascination and dreams of contemporary human beings. Actually
this is a work in the form of a diary containing inscriptions
about people dear to the artist. These portraits reflect everything
that the traditionally understood genre of portraiture is supposed
to reflect.
In addition, Petra Varl exhibits four works made in collaboration
with Eduard Lesjak. These
works present a dialogue between the two artists, which resulted
in the confluence of two quite different visual languages and
explorations. These works are a juncture of the so-called Lesjak
modules, in which he explores abstract structures, and Varl's
realistic images executed as prints on canvas, featuring her
daughter and her friend as symbols of the current generation
of adolescents with their fragility and determination.
Born in 1965 in Ljubljana. Between
1983 and 1987 she studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts
in Ljubljana. She graduated in 1989 and completed her postgraduate
studies under Professor Metka Krašovec in 1997. Since 2000 she
lectures drawing and graphic art at the department of fine arts
of the Faculty of Education in Maribor. She lives and works
in Ljubljana.
Solo exhibitions (selection):
2006
Pas de deux (with Eduard
Lesjak), Galerija Kresija, Ljubljana
2001 Portreti,
Galerija Loža, Koper
1997 Zvezda
in Odeon, Galerija RIGO, Novigrad
1995 Pita
moje mame, Mala galerija, Ljubljana
1994 Nos
ob Nos, parking Metelkova, Ljubljana
Group exhibitions (selection):
2005
Prva linija,
20. grafični bienale, MGLC, Ljubljana
1997
Biennale d Arte Contemporain Internacionale Selest Art 97, Selestat
1996
23 Bienal International Sao Paolo, Sao Paolo
Občutek za red,
Moderna galerija, Ljubljana
1994
Esprit d amusement,
Grazer Kunstverein, Graz
www.ljudmila.org/scca/petra