Iz cikla Vmesni prostor | From the series Intermediate Space
Iz cikla Vmesni prostor | From the series Intermediate Space
2012, mešana tehnika, platno | mixed media, canvas, 30 x 30 cm
2013, mešana tehnika, platno | mixed media, canvas, 30 x 30 cm
na that surround us, and at least some of them can be read as landscapes. The interpretation of visual space is partly based on our experience of real space. Above this “terrestrial” part of the compositions lies an intermediate space, which the artist describes as “a space of actualisation, a sort of in-between space, a space of transition”, centrally occupied by symbols and signs accentuating various psychological and physical states, while the upper part of the painting holds “a space of transcendence, a spiritual space”. The carefully designed geometric drawings function as a counterpoint
the contemplative nature of her art. The spatial concepts of compositions, centred around a core, have a distinctly introverted character, which we can indirectly link to the artist’s focus on her inner world. One of the central iconographic elements used is the mandorla or the inner eye. The introspective design that the painter seeks to establish through her constellation of techniques is also signalled by the spatial depth (the impression that the gaze can reach to infinity), which is most intense at the centre of the compositions – designed, in Golija’s own words, as an “inward gaze”, that
to the expressive black drawings in the centre of the paintings, which are always subconscious, spontaneous (K. Golija, notes for the exhibition Step to the Sky, Jožef Stefan Institute Gallery, Ljubljana, April 2019). A different spatial concept is employed in the series Travel Through Time, where a vertical strip of dark colour on the left side of the painting orients the gaze to read the motif from left to right.
is, as an immersion and journey within, into one’s own interior world. Circular shapes resembling fingerprints can also be read as a visual labyrinth. The upper part of the compositions occasionally features larger, clearly conceptualised geometric shapes drawn in thin colour lines, whose rational organisation denotes immutable worldly relations. Golija’s visual vocabulary is carefully selected, enigmatic, and relatively varied. Our interpretation of this vocabulary is guided by the titles of the series (Geography of Memory, (In)sight – an Eye into the Soul, Intermediate Space, Step to the Sky, Travel Through Time), as well as those of the individual paintings.
Golija’s compositions arise primarily from the author’s inner experience, feelings, and emotions. Paintings act as autonomous artistic worlds, since the painter always foregrounds intuitively motivated shapes, symbols, and patterns. The aforementioned horizontals indicate
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