born in 1972, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
based in Saint-Etienne, France
member of La Maison des Artistes (French Association of Artists)
member of MAPRAA (Maison des Arts Plastiques et visuels Auvergne Rhône-Alpes)
Jelena is particularly interested in memory and the unconscious in the genesis of the abstract painting. She presents her work "untitled" leaving its interpretation and appreciation up to the viewer’s own imagination.
She explores colour using her favourite mediums of both acrylic and oil pastel on paper. It is a continuous process of interaction between artist and surface: painting and drawing right up to the edge of the paper, she adds, subtracts, scrapes or covers creating an almost archeological work that is clearly connected to her career path. She is also influenced by travel and long, slow walks where she allows herself to be submerged by nature and its moods.
Architect and urban planner, Jelena has always been drawing. In 2017 she attended classes at Martin Reyna’s studio in Paris where she began painting. In 2018, she lived in the studio of painter Mira Maoduš (former studio of Chaïm Soutine) in Cité Falguière in Paris, which strongly fueled her imagination. Thanks to a chance encounter in 2019, she became interested in the process of image creation and now considers nature and emotion as fundamental resources in her art. That same year, she attended Nuala Clarke's workshop at Ballinglen Arts Foundation (Ballycastle, Ireland), which deeply moved Jelena, confirming her path in abstract art and clarifying her relationship with nature.
Jelena exhibited for the first time in Paris, in 2019.
Education
2022 (Nov) Workshop A fresh approach to watercolours led by John Short
Artform, contemporary school of art
Dunmore East, Ireland
2022 SPARK
Course online
led by Nicholas Wilton, Art2Life
2022 The Creative Breadcrumbs Challenge Online workshop
led by Nicholas Wilton, Art2Life 2022 Several short workshops
(mindfulness and art, botanical drawing, historical building drawing) National Gallery of Ireland
IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art)
Dublin, Ireland
2022 Urban Landscape workshop
with Mary Burke
National College of Art and Design (NCAD) Dublin, Ireland
2022 Abstraction Workshop
with Nuala Clarke
Ballinglen Arts Foundation,
Ballycastle, Ireland
2022 | 23 Ceramics classes (long training)
Florence Bruyas' studio
Saint-Etienne, France
2019 Nuala Clarke's workshop,
Ballinglen Arts Foundation,
Ballycastle, Ireland
2017 | 19 Classes
Martin Reyna's studio
Paris, France
2004 Master's degree (research)
City and society
University of Paris Nanterre
France
2001 Master's degree (specialization)
Architectural and urban acoustics
Sorbonne University Campus
Pierre and Marie Curie
Paris, France
1998 Bachelor of Architecture
Faculty of Architecture
Belgrade, Yugoslavia