Hest 35, Ljubljana, 2006

Short cuts or short stories - a genre which has found its place in literature, has been ever expanding in art. Short cuts in a life are a red light in Irena Kazazic's painting. The young artist has built her image painting human legs in shoes, which are not fetishist icons ala Andy Warhol, but rather intimate, romantic, and sometimes erotic scenes, if not portraits. Stories about shoes are painted with extreme realism and are very detailed . Details of netlike stockings, lace-trimmed edges of skirts or gloves reaching for shoes are very visible. All together, the tacit narrative says tell me what kind of shoes you wear and I tell you who you are.

Intimacy in every way and narration are the main tools of the artist Irena Kazazic. In the last period we feel in her work an eruption of energy and feelings. Under her paintbrush literally erupt stories, which originate from her personal world. Though we are talking about stories which are the part of the painter's reality, or stories which are shaped in her head. Iconography is personal confession and looks like the painter's diary appears on the walls. Sometimes she divides the canvas into different abstracts, like she is following short stories. Irena writes a story and then abstracts or the main points, put them on canvas and in front of us where they become vivid in their expressive coloration. The craving for writing is so strong that she carries it over to the canvas and feels it as a kind of relaxation in the midst of her artistic work. Why to divide two artistic passions when contemporary art gives a possibility to unite something which, once, was incompatible. Some of her large paintings, which are full of symbols and expressions, glow in the manner of street art. We can recognize that Irena's artistic language is derived from the art of '80's and pop art. Coloration is connected with the story is mostly passionately coloured, and suddenly it becomes calm, and with its whiteness starts showing innocence when Irena's kitten appears on the canvas. The artist gets out of distinctive accuracy, the line becomes quick and bold, and at some point, with a certain detail, she slowly calms it down. This represents the subconscious heritage of painting shoes. Portraits of legs shaped by classical portraits of people or animals which surround her. You can still feel a romantic and erotic charge which, because of more expressive strokes, acts more aggressive.

Maybe an observer who started to follow the development of the artist when her opus of shoes was formating, will be a little confused standing near those paintings. That is the way it should be. Irena Kazazic is a young artist still walking towards her evolution, and it is normal to step left and right to clearly understand the aim. To those who don't understand Irena's paintings, they still can read her short stories.

Accompanying text for the exhibition Short cuts, written by Petra Skaberne