[ TJAŠA ] RENER

Painting, Prints

Slovenian artist (painter/printmaker) now based in Ghana, Tjasa studied painting at Academy of Fine Arts and Design at University of Ljubljana and a printmaking at Academy of Fine Arts at University of Zagreb, Croatia. She was recipient of the Zois Scholarship, awarded to gifted and accomplished students by the Ministry of Culture, Slovenia (2008-2013). She received Special Achievement Award from University of Ljubljana in 2012 and she successfully launch her project »A story from Africa« on Kickstarter, in 2013. She particepate at many group exhibitions and solo exhibitions around the globe.

Since 2013 the artist is Self-Employed Professional in Culture (Academy-Trained Painter and Illustrator) by the Ministry of Culture, Slovenia.

Her art works are part of collection in MGLC (International Centre Of Graphic Arts, Slovenia), Asheshi University, Accra, Ghana, ArtielTigo Headoffice, Ghana and in many other privat colllections.

About Tjasa's practice:

I've always been interested in the interaction between the mediums of printmaking and painting.

I spent the last year of my studies in printmaking studio of International Centre of Graphic Arts (Ljubljana), where I had my first opportunity to experiment with large-scale screen prints. It was then that I first reversed the procedure by printing on an already painted canvas. Despite knowing that other artists have experimented with this approach, the addition of screen printing to my practice has completely transformed my previous perceptions of painting as an image, painting as a medium and painting as a process. Though the process remains the foundation of my artistic expression, the content of my work is influenced by the everyday life of people in Ghana and the relationship among home, family, and society in this region. Economic discrepancies, people's attitude toward rapidly developing technology and increasingly excessive consumption influence my thinking, and subsequently, my art. Recently, I have introduced new materials to my work such as Xerox, heat transfers and found objects. With each new work, I’m invigorated by the effects of the interactions among the new materials.

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ARTIST STATEMENT

Though the content of a painting is important, I am more interested in the technical execution of a particular piece: the medium the artist uses when creating art, how far he or she can go with the chosen technique, the possibilities the selected technique offers, and how he or she makes use of these possibilities.

I've always been interested in the interaction between the mediums of printmaking and painting. I first experimented with this combination by creating etching prints and woodcuts on which I later painted.

I spent the last year of my studies at International Centre of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where I had my first opportunity to experiment with large-scale screen prints. It was then that I first reversed the procedure by printing on an already painted canvas. Despite knowing that other artists have experimented with this approach, the addition of screen printing to my practice has completely transformed my previous perceptions of painting as an image, painting as a medium and painting as a process.

Before moving to Accra, the capital city of Ghana, I spent a few years living in a rural, isolated area by the shore of Lake Bosumtwi, Kumasi. Though the process remains the foundation of my artistic expression, the content of my work is influenced by the everyday life of people in Ghana and the relationship among home, family, and society in this region. Economic discrepancies, people's attitude toward rapidly developing technology and increasingly excessive consumption influence my thinking, and subsequently, my art.

Recently, I have introduced new materials to my work such as Xerox, heat transfers and found objects. With each new work, I’m invigorated by the effects of the interactions among the new materials. I want to explore these novel effects in each new painting, realising, of course, that I have barely scratched the surface of my artistic endeavour.

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Tjaša Rener