Traveling through outback Australia, I was struck by the eerie, ghostly quality of the barren landscape inhabited only by abandoned buildings and rusty cars. I tried to convey this feeling in my paintings by using impressionistic, feathery brushstrokes and blurred edges to create a sensation of shimmering movement and an aura of mystery. I found the car wrecks especially poignant- missing headlights and doors hanging off their hinges. The rusty patina and peeling layers of paint on their carcasses were poetic images reminiscent of demise. As the vehicles rusted, vegetation growing up through them, sinking into the red soil, they appeared to be reclaimed by the earth. The abandoned buildingsmake soulful, lonely markers of time in the landscape, and as the vehicles rusted, vegetation growing up through them, sinking into the red soil, they appeared to be reclaimed by the earth.The abandoned buildings make soulful, lonely markers of time in the landscape, They too will disappear. I subsequently produced a large body of work
inspired by abandoned factories and broken-down buildings. The theme of who or what once occupied these huge, haunting spaces fascinates me. I’m struck by the architectural aspects of these hulking structures. I am always enthralled by the way light can stream in through holes in the ceiling or partly demolished areas, creating a dramatic chiaroscuro scene. There is an eerie quality which these deserted, forlorn spaces possess with their gaping hollows and rusting internal structures. This body of work explores the mysteries of the past contained within these empty shells of industrial buildings or old vehicles. And an uncertain future.How long will they be allowed to remain before being replaced by something entirely new?
BIOGRAPHY
Lara Ivanovic was born in 1967 and raised in London, England. She attended St Martin’s School of Art in London and then Rhode Island School of Design, in Providence, graduating in 1989 with a BFA in Illustration. After graduation, she moved to San Francisco and taught in a school for underprivileged children, then pursued her interest in book arts. She took a trip around the Australian outback in 1999, and was so inspired by the landscape and way of life there that she decided to move to Sydney. This was the first time she was able to paint full time and it was a revelation. Lara was represented in Sydney by several galleries who showed her paintings of abandoned rusty vehicles.
These works were very well-received and Lara sold almost all the pieces in three solo shows and numerous group shows, and gained a lot of favorable press coverage. Lara moved to the United States in 2005, and has exhibited her paintings in New York City and will next year show in two art fairs in NY and another in DC as well as several galleries online. Lara currently lives and works in Westchester County, NY with her family.
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