Staying at Home with Zbirka UGM / Petra Varl - Swimmer
Staying at Home with Zbirka UGM / Petra Varl - Swimmer
A constant, central feature of Petra Varl’s (1965) work is drawing – not only ink or pencil drawings on paper, but also large-scale drawings on building facades, as well as sewn and printed drawings (prints). With her clearly flowing line and simple motifs from everyday life, Petra Varl builds a personal and at the same time familiar universe in which she often touches on inter-personal relationships and roles, common clichés, glimpses into everyday life and people’s desires. To this mix the author adds a note of relaxed calm, humour, even a sense of irony.
In 2008 she focused on drawing on etched glass, which enables the artist to produce a precise contour line, while the milky glass surface adds a special softness to the work. The portrait of a young woman with a swim cap and goggles on her head is executed in grey monochrome tones and exudes a calm peace. “This is a portrait of my friend, but also a portrait of beauty and perfection," says Varl. The author also loves to play with meanings; she often takes images out of their context and assigns them entirely new meanings. Thus individual qualities become general, perhaps universal; and a friend’s portrait becomes Swimmer.
