BA&MA Fine Art Manchester Metropolitan
University(2008). Jelena makes highly coloured, vivid
abstract and representational paintings that draw on and develop a variety of
formal, painterly motifs. Common to all her work is the
self-conscious juxtaposition of flat areas of colour with
dragged, daubed or scumbled paint marks. Although her floral
compositions can appear accidental, almost arbitrary, close
inspection reveals a highly controlled handling of paint and
style and a tight underlying structure. The stillness and
formal calm of some elements play off the chaos of their
surround, an instance of juxtapositions that Jelena often
employs. Her approach to painting is based on a playful
engagement with historical painting like an abstract
expressionism, using both quotation and her repertoire of
surface effects in her act of painting.
