804-352-3694
DRAGANA CRNJAK, hello, 2023 [Cover]
DRAGANA CRNJAK
Artist Statement
The latest paintings in the body of work First Sight reflect my post-pandemic mind with a deep need for beauty and silence as well as recognition of ordinary as vital. Inspired by daily nature walks near a lake and neighborhood park, the paintings suggest organic forms and patterns of leaves, flowers, and water. Recognizable yet loose and fragmented, these abstracted images of nature reflect my need to engage and retreat at the same time as well as my desire to suspend meaning for a deeper experience of time and presence.
My creative process is essentially based on a strong dichotomy between systematic strategies and intuition, control and mistakes. Through layering of charcoal drawing and acrylic painting, I seek to discover new dynamic relationships between the surfaces and visual movement to stimulate closer and slower viewing…as if seen for the first time.
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Opposite Page - Dragana Crnjak, in her studio
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FIRST SIGHT I, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
46 x 50 inches
$8,600
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16 x 20 inches
$3,200
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DUSK BLOOM, 2023
Acrylic, charcoal on wood panel
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10 x 10 inches
$1,400
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ZORA (DAWN), 2023
Acrylic, charcoal on wood panel
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10 x 10 inches
$1,400
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FIRST SIGHT II, 2023
Acrylic and charcoal on wood panel
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WARMING, 2023
Acrylic, charcoal on wood panel
10 x 10 inches
$1,400 SOLD
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INDIGO MORNING, 2023
Acrylic, charcoal on wood panel
36 x 36 inches
$6,800
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LINING, 2023
Acrylic, charcoal on wood panel
16 x 20 inches
$3,200
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CLEARING, 2023
Acrylic, charcoal on wood panel
36 x 36 inches
$6,800
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WATERS, 2023
Acrylic, charcoal on wood panel
12 x 12 inches
$1,800
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36 x 36 inches
$6,800
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DUSK TIDE, 2023
Acrylic, charcoal on wood panel
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20 x 24 inches
$4,200
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BLUSHY INSTANT, 2023
Acrylic, charcoal on wood panel
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NORTH WIND, 2023
Acrylic, charcoal on wood panel
20 x 24 inches
$4,200
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Dragana Crnjak
Abbreviated CV
Lives and works in Youngstown, OH
EDUCATION
2002-2004: MFA in Painting and Printmaking, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
1998-2002: BFA, Painting, minor in printmaking, Myers School of Art, University of Akron, OH
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021 Randomly Today, Rosefsky Gallery, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY
Peripheries, Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
Vezovi, Cultural Center of Trebinje, Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina
2018 Fields and Folds, Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
2017 As if Staying, The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
2016 Tacit Aligning, M Gallery, Youngstown, OH
2014 Webs and Roads, Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
2013 Pulse, Simon gallery, Morristown, NJ
Spaces, Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
2012 New Work, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI
The Day It Rained Silver, 1st Exhibition, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids
One to Another, ROY B GIV gallery, Columbus OH
2010 Dust, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
2009 Recent Paintings, Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
2008 Slow Reveal, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
Tilt, Mount Union College Art Gallery, Alliance, OH
Villages, Kent State University Trumbull Campus Gallery, OH
2007 New Work on Paper, Gallery at Porter, Art Institute of Boston, Boston, MA
What I Talk about When I Talk About Love, Kathryn Markel Gallery, New York, NY
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 Summa Health January Exhibition, Summa Health Gallery, Akron, OH
2022 Density / Scarcity, Virtual exhibition on Spatial.io, curated by Nicole Lenzi and Joana Fischer
Art in Embassies Program, US Embassy, Belgrade, Serbia (through 2025)
Fine Art Invitational, Hope Center for Arts and Technology, Sharon, PA
Mother’s Day, Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
Wonder Women, Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA
2021 Art Basel Group Show, online group exhibition, Alfa Gallery, Miami Beach, FL
Inaugural Exhibition, The Gallery at the East End, Akron, OH
2020 Enigmatic Reflections, McDonough Museum of Art, Youngstown, OH
2019 Geometry, Site Brooklyn Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, curated by Phyllis Tuchman
20/20, Page Bond Gallery, OH
Reunion, ROY G BIV gallery, Columbus, OH
Art in Embassies, U.S Ambassadorial residence, Sarajevo, Bosnia, 2019-2022
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Dragana Crnjak
Abbreviated CV
2018 Frameworks, Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH; three-person exhibition curated by Ellen Rudolph Full Fathom Five, Progressive Art Collective, Mayfield Village Campus, Cleveland, OH
Artbelt: New Art from Rustbelt, Lakeland Community College, Kirtland, OH
Adrift: a Dream, 215 Gallery, 78th Street Studios, Cleveland, OH
Immersion, Faculty biennial art show, McDonough Museum of Art, Youngstown,OH
2017 Artist Trust, MOCA, Cleveland, OH; curated by Liz Maugans
2016 Domesticity of Abandonment, SPACE gallery, Pittsburgh, PA; curator Carolina Loyola – Garcia
PUBLIC ART PROJECTS
2023 Permanent site-specific wall drawing, Behavioral Health Pavilion/Summa Hospital, Akron, OH
2022 Permanent site-specific painting installation, Commercial Metal Forming, Youngstown, OH
Downtown mural commissioned by city of East Liverpool, OH
2021 Andrews Avenue Memory Mural, Youngstown, OH
2015 Southwoods Mural, Southwoods Medical Building, Boardman, OH
AWARDS AND HONORS
2023 Individual Excellence Award/ Visual Art, Ohio Arts Council, Columbus, OH
University Research Grant, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH
2022 Distinguished Professorship in Teaching, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH
2019 Faculty Improvement Leave - Spring 2020, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH
2018 Distinguished Professorship in Scholarship, Youngstown State University, OH
2017 Summer Faculty Innovation Grant, Cliffe College of Creative Arts and Communications, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH
2015 Individual Excellence Award/ Visual Art, Ohio Arts Council, Columbus, OH
Faculty Sabbatical Leave/2015-16, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH
2012 Research Professorship Award, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH
University Research Council Grant, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH
2011 Individual Excellence Award/ Visual Art, Ohio Arts Council, Columbus, OH
2008 Individual Excellence Award/ Visual Art, Ohio Arts Council, Columbus, OH
2006 First Place, Drawing No Conclusions, Urban Institute for Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, MI
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SEPTEMBER 8, 2023 - OCTOBER 3, 2023
Catalog Design
Registrar Rachel Crawford
Opposite Page
BLUSHY
804-352-3694
pagebondgallery.com
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FIRST SIGHT NEW WORK BY DRAGANA CRNJAK
INSTANT (Detail), 2023 PAGE BOND GALLERY
