English
Slovenian
About
BIOGRAPHY
Karmen Bajec studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana, Slovenia under the mentorship of prof. Metka Krašovec. In the second year of her Master study she participated on exchange program in Tallinn, Estonia. In year 2010 she accomplished pedagogic education at the University of Philosophy in Ljubljana. She is qualified for cooperation with disabled person in the field of culture. She is engaged in painting, art
criticism and art education. Karmen is living and working at Stari trg pri Ložu, Slovenia.
Extended Biography
Karmen Bajec was born in 1981 in Ajdovščina, Slovenia. She graduated on High School of Photography and Design in Ljubljana and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana under the mentorship of established professors Metka Krašovec and Bojan Gorenec. She participated on exchange study program in the second year of her Master study in Tallinn, Estonia. In year 2010 she accomplished pedagogic education at the University of Philosophy in Ljubljana. She is qualified for cooperation with disabeled person in the field of culture. In the year 2012 she attended an art education programme CO- operate (EU, ESS fonds). In 2013/2014 she was a coordinator of project AKTIV ((EU, ESS fonds), ŠKUC Gallery, Ljubljana). In years from 2014 to 2019 she was an assistant of Creative Buroeau COoperate (Zavod Ustvarjalna Pisarna SOdelujem). She is engaged in painting, art criticism and art education. Karmen is living and working at Stari trg pri Ložu, Slovenia.
AUTHOR's NOTE
Cyclicality of Forms:
Between Geometric Abstraction and Figure
The paintings of Karmen Bajec are composed of vertical planes in various colors and tonal variations. The backgrounds are based on a minimalist treatment of light and space. As the foundation of her works, she employs vertical color fields, which she describes as transformed glimpses of nature. Through the layering of translucent color glazes, she explores the interplay of light and color as they permeate the painted surface. Circles, simple shapes, and other elements frequently appear within these compositions, often functioning independently from the background. Through her abstract visual language, she turns to the expressiveness of inner reflection, seeking to capture the intimacy of a particular moment, place, and quality of light encountered in different parts of the world.
At other times, she incorporates representational forms into the geometric structure of her paintings, including figures, objects, motifs from nature, and interior scenes. These elements are composed with the intention of altering the rigidity of the geometric framework. Through the depiction of figures, she addresses relationships between different social positions and cultural backgrounds, Indigenous peoples, representations of marginalized or privileged groups in contemporary society, as well as themes of freedom and collective female identity.
Some forms evoke recognizable images from the visible world, while others return as symbols rooted in the artist’s personal memories and inner experiences. As a researcher of color and light, the painter continually re-establishes her own geometric and abstract order, within which she reflects, recognizes, and discovers the natural world around her. In doing so, she reveals values of peace, social myths, and hidden forms of knowledge that contemporary society persistently seeks and repeatedly returns to.
Her paintings are simple, solid, and rigorously structured, yet they simultaneously offer insight into the intimate expression of delicate emotions. As one of the last generations of students of Professor Metka Krašovec, she remains faithful to the classical figure as a narrative element throughout recurring cycles of her artistic practice. Between figuration and abstraction, a connection emerges through the optical illusion created by layered applications of color and the linking of open visual fields.
Karmen Bajec, MA Artist