| P E T R A V A R L eng | slo |
Petra Varl is one of the most original, interesting and notable Slovenian artist of the recent time. The starting point of her work is seemingly simple - drawings in a characteristic and simplified style that is immediately recognizable. Out of these minimal drawings emerge broader projects that are often very complex. Petra Varl’s drawing is never self sufficient. It is always an element of an explicit or just an implicit narrative. It is frequently part of a series that is not defined ahead of time but develops along with reactions to diverse initiatives and circumstances. A schematic drawing establishes a figure that, in time, acquires its own destiny and an ever more profiled personality. Her figures do not only exist in a “fictional” world of art, separate from reality but reach into our world as well. Precisely because their fate is undefined and develops through sometimes unforeseen events, they are very communicative and always ready to interact with viewers or just passerbys. A drawing with its implicit story can also grow into a complex spatial setup, which, as a total installation, occupies the entire gallery space and establishes a true context for the original drawing, which in itself is actually a symbol from which the entire text (or literally context) follows. The two aspects of Petra Varl that I would also like to stress are playfulness and humor - characteristics that are not very frequent in Slovenian art. Due to a basic and direct sincerity that finds its genuine expression in the author’s schematized drawings, her work never strays into the decorative or banal. On the contrary, these two dimensions are key qualities of her art. The work of Petra Varl is actually an unusual union of fine arts and theatre, albeit one where the theatrical scene, the figures and their relationships are eminently from the world of fine arts, while, on the other hand, they are closely intertwined with the real context and the everyday circumstances of the author’s work and open to the real world. This in no way means that the author neglects, on account of the narrative or the process, the narrower fine arts qualities. On the contrary, her drawing itself has a precisely thought out artistic significance, just as the mise-en-scenes she constructs are at the same time autonomous artistic entities – only that with their interactive, developmental and sometimes multimedial character they deepen this autonomy. The work of Petra Varl is thus above all an open, interactive process that occurs through the basic elements the artist establishes – drawings and artistic signs. This innovative, complex and attractive procedural and specifically “theatrical” work has established the artist as a key figure of Slovenia art in the nineties. The author’s shows in some of the most important Slovenian showplaces, her participation in significant group shows and international presentations can attest to that. Her work has also surpassed her local significance as it was featured in several important and notable personal and group shows abroad. Igor Zabel,
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