Page 104 - Art-Addiction

CLara BLeIBtreU

1964 born in in sarajevo, Bosnia-herzegovine
lives and works in France and in croatia

The base and structure of art of Clara Bleibtreu is ‘krpara’, - a traditional folk practice, a particular way of
making rugs or quilts out of old rags. she made of that displacement the expression of the reality of her own
life which was made possible by her position as a contemporary artist and her title as doctor of science of arts,
but above all by her courage, dignified bearing and creativity. she enriches her approach to her basic material
by engaging with and identifying the most dominant motif via her own choices and inspirations, the one that
is repeated from rug to rug. The forms of old ‘krpara’ - deformed, reformed and formed - reveal the richness of
the lives of those who walked on them, their history, but at the same time show things which they were never
able to express themselves.
The ‘krpara’ tell us of the lives of ethnic minorities, the experience of forbidden speech, the unspoken,
when the visible shape is the last chance to transfer feelings - of good times as well as hardship and destruc-
tion. The attempt to rescue from oblivion that humiliated, repressed and neglected culture, treated as vulgar, is
immensely valuable. Clara Bleibtreu, with her deeply authentic work, feels the importance of the moment and
place the ‘krpara’ in new context - in Paris at the most elite international exhibition where it will be respected
and admired.
With this unbelievable creative power, as sole weapon, Clara Bleibtreu will win respect for the innocence
of the thwarted peasant woman, and her trodden on, abandoned, forgotten, cast aside, seemingly worthless,
torn, faded, dirty piece of customary handcraft. now, the observer will admire every hole, every greasy stain,
every torn rag woven into it, the labor of the craftswoman who cuts and weaves because she has no other
creative outlet, and because she is stronger in her ignorance and innocence for one reason alone: the memory
of her own creative experience that which is carried from generation to generation, without image or word.
Through her work, Clara Bleibtreu has shown our cultural heritage and at the same time places us among
the acknowledged cultures and art of the world.
(IVAnA KOKIC, senior CUrator, town galery goJak, Makarska, Croatia)

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