Artworks

In Helena Janečić's work, the figure is always in relation – to another person, to space, or to its own inner stillness. Her painting begins with everyday scenes: conversations, moments of rest, gatherings and quiet pauses that at first glance seem unremarkable. Yet it is precisely in these situations that a tension arises where the intimate and the social continually touch. Janečić does not record events, but states. Her figures are often caught in the moment between action and thought, between presence and withdrawal. Glances, bodily postures and the distances between figures create a subtle psychological dynamic, while interiors, landscapes and urban spaces become more than a backdrop – they actively shape the scene and its meaning. Her painterly expression is built on a free, gestural stroke and a strong palette. Colour is applied in layers and remains visible as a trace of the process, while form is deliberately opened and, in places, broken down. In this way the clear boundary between figuration and painterly impression, between motif and the feeling it carries, is blurred. This gallery brings together works that offer no ready-made interpretations, but instead invite the viewer into a personal experience – a sense of closeness or distance, unease or intimacy. These are scenes that are not read as a story, but as a state that lingers long after looking. Helena Janečić is a contemporary Croatian painter. She graduated in painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. She exhibits in solo and group exhibitions in Croatia and abroad. Her work is dominated by scenes of everyday life, interiors, landscapes and social situations, shaped through expressive colour and a gestural painterly hand. The figure in her work carries emotional and psychological weight, while space acts as an extension of inner experience. She lives and works in Zagreb.