Ana Pušica Krämer
Based in Germany, Ana Pušica Krämer is a Serbian contemporary artist who explores light and colour through her abstract paintings.
Words: Emma-Kate Wilson | Photography: Kilian Blees
‘At the moment, it’s a very exciting time in the world. I can smell how conventions are changing, the rhythm is getting faster, and the world is becoming smaller,’ says Ana Pušica Krämer. Photo: Kilian Blees
Photo: Kilian Blees
Self-describing her paintings as a “beautiful fluorescent thunderstorm”, Ana Pušica Krämer captures the energy of life in her artworks. Now based in Germany, the artist grew up in Serbia surrounded by an organised, corrupted society that divided the population into “wealthy” and “poverty”. When she was in high school, war erupted with Bosnia; ‘the NATO airstrikes bombed us from March to June day and night,’ she shares in an interview with A.L.U Magazine.
Instead, art became her escape, and the composition and palette are void of any kind of political or social commentary — rather, they are a place to seek respite from the overwhelming news. Ana’s artworks present a form of organised chaos that admits defeat to a world we cannot control, working on multiple canvases at one time.
‘I believe that working on multiple paintings at the same time frees you from all the unnecessary factors that are interrupting the act of painting to become more instinctive and intuitive,’ the artist reveals. ‘To the point that it is converted to something almost spiritual, seductive, or psychedelic.’
‘The artworks become a diary of pure energy. I work on the floor, so I go around the paintings; I step on them, I flip ’em around, put them in the air,’ says Ana. ‘Most of them are 3, 4 m high. It’s exhausting! I’m throwing paint directly from the bucket, using splashes of water, pigments diluted with Plextol; I paint with hands, legs, toilet paper, brushes, wooden sticks.’
‘From time to time, I need to put myself together, shortly accumulate the energy and clear up the vision. I’m doing that in the bathtub, on Sundays. All the decisions I make, are made in my bathroom,’ says Ana Pušica Krämer. Photo: Kilian Blees
‘To me, it was very clear that I was better with colours than other kids, and that gave me a responsibility to make something out of it! says Ana Pušica Krämer. Photo: Kilian Blees
“Creativity is a product of my enormous passion for colours and the ecstasy of experience I’m making during the work. I only feel alive while painting!”
Dirty Banana by Ana Pušica Krämer. Photo: Kilian Blees
Flaming Gorilla by Ana Pušica Krämer. Photo: Kilian Blees
Working fast and dynamic, Ana refers to her paintings as “one breath” artworks. ‘There is a constant, ongoing conversation between the controlled colour-slathering and fully accidental splashes,’ she shares. ‘It’s a game, it’s insane! It’s a beautiful colour storm in front of your eyes! What I do is literally organising the chaos!’
Beyond this chaos, Ana’s medium is practical — using fast drying acrylic pigments on canvas, so she can apply the layers quickly. However, how she picks her colours is instinctual; green a no-go and a blue experiment in 2020 — that didn’t go well.
‘But in the same year, I revealed paintings infused with a new and vibrant palette of Magic Blue, Space Indigo, Perglanz Blue, Space Turquoise, Magic White, and Space Red. That opened up a completely new window for me. The logic I’m using is a tendency of fitting together colours that you normally avoid combining and make peace between them.’
Drawing inspiration from her studio, Ana generates her own work, determination, and focus — with an occasional bath on Sundays to re-spark energy. As an artist from birth, this is her only driver, to seek out creativity. ‘Since always I was hot on art!’ she laughs.
Sending work from her European studio, Ana is now showing with Studio Gallery in Australia. ‘At this point in my career, it would be stupid not to go more international over the boundaries of Europe. I want to feel other markets and continents, I am hungry, and I want to learn! But most importantly,’ she concludes, ‘I have received a very warm welcome here.’
‘My paintings are a beautiful fluorescent thunderstorm! Especially the new sequence of work, Cosmic Latte. I’m truly in love with this one! A mass of pink exploding in front of Space Turquoise. My technique is fast, dynamic; my breath is caught in that paint,’ says Ana Pušica Krämer. Photo: Kilian Blees