“Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way” – this quote by Walter Hagen has stayed with us till today, yet what does it actually mean to smell the flowers? Maybe it means to take time to appreciate the small things, or to find solace in nature. Ana Tazrev, explores some of the answers to this question in her upcoming exhibition, Postcards For The Future.
Croatian female artist Ana Tzarev, is proud to present Postcards For The Future, a solo art exhibition featuring 47 new paintings, which is taking place in Art Space @ Helutrans from 19 to 27 November 2022.
Her paintings are known to immortalise time and tide with rich colours and bold, organic strokes, often depicting elements of nature from flowers in a field to the setting sun in vast watercolour skies. Being a world nomad and an avid traveller, Ana draws her inspiration from various cultures. Her works each hold the key to the secrets of the cultures she draws them from, distinguishable by the Sakura blooms of Japan to the wheatfields of China.
Born in Trogir, Croatia, right before World War II, Ana grew up amidst upheavals and uncertainties. To cope with the distressing circumstances enveloping her early childhood, Ana always looked to nature for solace. “Nature is a great healer. The silence in nature comforts me. The passing of seasons is also a way of life, and I try to reflect these fleeting moments in my work,” she says.
While she was always inspired by nature, representing it through art was not her first endeavour. She moved to New Zealand and became a fashion entrepreneur first, before selling the business and devoting her time to travelling around the world. Then, in her mid-fifties, Ana found her calling as a full-time artist. Since then, Ana has poured her visions on canvases and moulds to form captivating paintings and sculptures.
Since her first solo exhibition at London’s Saatchi Gallery in 2012, her works have been shown at the Russian Museum in St Petersburg, the National Museum in Rome, Cite des Arts in Paris, and the Today Art Museum in Beijing, while her sculptures have been installed in cities worldwide, notably at the 55th Venice Biennale, London, Singapore, and New York.
Her solo show in Singapore seeks to alert the world to what it very soon stands to lose. Over the past three decades, her colourful palette of artwork unveils the richness of little things in daily living and sheds light on their inner meaning.
Depicting the daily details of life around the world, she relentlessly highlights both the differences that divide our human family and the underlying sameness that unites all of us. Ana Tzarev’s art is the mirror of a changing world. “I gather these garlands of culture and leave them behind. They are postcards for the future,” she says.
To Ms Tazrev, nature is the best artist. She mentioned, “I am always intrigued by the tiniest detail a flower or leaf carries. It makes me want to capture it on my canvas, and I hope my viewers can see the details and observe them more when they are in nature”.
Alongside the paintings are three sculptures that are part of Tzarev’s Love and Peace Global Sculpture Campaign, consisting of 15 monumental sculptures that circled the globe from 2012 to 2017. Sharing the ennobling belief that art and flowers speak a universal language that those with an open heart can understand, her flowers are part and parcel of her love letters to future generations.
While traversing the globe is Ms Tazrev’s source of inspiration, when asked if it’s important for artists to be well-travelled to have a better understanding of the human condition, Ms Tazrev answers: “travelling helps as the sceneries vary from place to place, but sometimes you don’t need to go far to see what’s in front of you. Anyone can start from where they are”, suggesting that inspiration can be found anywhere, as long as one looks close enough.
Ana hopes her exhibition will inspire viewers to reflect and slow down. “Like the title suggests, this exhibition captures memories like a postcard for my viewers. I hope everyone can get outside more, slow down and not hurry by a flower or leaf”, she says.
To see Ana Tazrev’s works, head down to Art Space @ Helutrans from 19-27 November 2022. If you would like to see more from Ana, do visit her official website or follow her social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.
Visuals courtesy of Brand Cellar Pte Ltd.
