ELKA EXHIBITED HER PAINTINGS
 

The support that artist Elka Vukojević received last night, on the occasion of the opening of her first solo exhibition, speaks volumes about her personality and how others perceive her.

A selection from what she has created in the last few years is on display in the City library in Slavonski Brod, Croatia, at the exhibition called "In the Colors of Life" that opened last night.

"I started painting a little in 2016. At first, even my closest friends didn't know about it. Then I slowly freed myself, and my husband Josip was a great support, pushing me forward, saying that I can do it. I can't choose my most beautiful or most special picture; they are all equally mine, and in each one, there is a part of me... sometimes more colorful, sometimes simpler, sometimes with traces of black. I think my paintings would fit into many contemporary homes because they are modern and abstract," said the artist Elka Vukojević, admitting that she feels regret because she did not dare to take this step in public earlier. But, like many women, other people's needs have come first for her.

Although he first observed her works with the affection and devotion of a spouse, the expert and analytical eye quickly "worked" with the famous artist Josip Vukojević.

"I chose 25 pictures from a rather wide oeuvre. I think I managed to showcase every aspect of her creativity, without unnecessary duplication. I was somewhat limited by the exhibition space, but I think it is quite enough to show the character of the painter. I am extremely satisfied with the exhibition, and as a husband, I am indescribably proud," Josip Vukojević told us about the exhibition, which can be viewed until March 11. The host's lack of hearing and the difficult speech of the guest artists were not obstacles for this collaboration. At the end of 2022, the Director of the Library arranged this special exhibition directly with Elka and Josip.

"During the conversation, I felt that Elka is full of warm, beautiful colors of life, so much energy, exuberance... I felt in her all the beauty of a bird's wing that seemed to be waiting to jump out of her. She worked patiently, painted, supported her husband in his work, was the best mother who quietly, self-effacingly painted. Fortunately, she decided to transfer her colors of life to the canvas with these beautiful acrylic paints. Now we can all enjoy them," said director Ružica Bobovečki in her own style.
 

Friends, other family members, and interested people from Brod brightened last night's opening ceremony with their arrival. However, no matter how sentimental you are about this beautiful story, the last word was given by the profession. "Expressive gesture, abstraction, and the expulsion of inner impulse - that would be the shortest description of Elka's creativity. Ultimate intuitiveness without a thought-out concept, which is common for figuration. This style is not something new in the history of art; it was founded by Jackson Pollock - it is called action painting. The painter performs a dance, an action... In the end, the painting is the result of the dance. The process is important, and the image is only the result of the process. It is unusual in the whole story that she has an academic painter in her house whose work is completely different from hers. That is their value," said the doctor of art, Zlatko Kozina.
 

Although many would have liked to see the exhibited paintings in their homes, her husband Josip jealously decided to keep the first works for himself. Every trace of her first steps in the world of art means a lot to them, but we believe that we will soon see the 'colors of life' of Elka Vukojević much more often in public.