Eva Petric (b. 1983) is a Slovenian multimedia artist based in New York, Vienna and Ljubljana.

Petric’s international multicultural background is reflected in the impressive body of work ranging from photography, video, performance and installation art often involving scent, writing, and most recently her EVAcuate project; art installations translated into sound waves.

As Petric states, using various media seems indispensable to me. When moving from one cultural space to another, which has been my way since I can remember, I spontaneously reached for the media at hand to be able to communicate and be understood.

Petric creates a unique atmosphere with the aim of communication, as with photography where there is an exploration of the past and future into the present by using the imagery of shadows as an installation; creating a new space immersing the viewer into the artwork.

The series, Earthlings and Webs, currently on view at Newel, are a series of plexiglas figures with Idrija lace etchings after the artist’s human shadow. These series serve as a catalyst and reminder of one’s connection to our surroundings and our human interconnectivity.

These artworks are the result of both an artistic exploration of artistic mediums and originates from Petric’s work with astronauts for the ESTEC ESA moon mission; Want it or not, being aware of it or not, everything in this universe is interconnected- meaning, that the extreme isolation I felt during the Moon Mission Simulation, does not exist in this universe.

Petric holds a BA in psychology and visual arts from Webster University Vienna, and an MFA in new media, from Transart Institute (New York /Berlin) and Danube University Krems. Petric art has been shown in over 100 solo and 140 group exhibitions all over the world.

Shop Eva Petric at Newel

Eva Petric Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media Sculptural Artwork, Titled: Web #3

Eva Petric Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media Etched Artwork, Titled: Earthling #20

Eva Petric Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media Artwork, Titled: "Siren Song 2" (2017)

Eva Petric Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media Artwork, Titled: "Siren Song 1" (2017)

Eva Petric Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media Artwork, Titled: XY Chromosome. (2016)

Eva Petric Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media Artwork, Titled: Shadow Blueprint. (2016)

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Our Interview with Eva petric

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What inspired you to become an artist, and what motivated you to pursue this career path?

A.

Ever since I can remember, I have always been interested in creating things, materializing them, whether this was a present for my mother, being a little girl or whether it was a song for someone i cared deeply about… I had and still have the wish and need to materialize my emotions into something concrete, something that teleports and conveys what I feel to the one receiving the gift, or listening to the song, whatever it was that I created and whoever was the audience/recipient of it.

Really, it is the presence of these inner feelings, which motivate me to communicate and wish to make others happy, to transform things for the better that inspired and still inspires me to create; the wish to transform a certain situation, view or material thing, or location for the better!

Q

Do you have a favorite artist and why?

A.

I have four: Leonardo da Vinci, Yves Klein and Ana Mendieta and Bjork.

I respect so much Leonardo da Vici, who is for me a genius who had a truly wholistic approach and saw art also as a form of science able to transform our lives for the better. He saw the connection between religion, art and science which is so much missing in today’s world. And his focus was on the human and humankind in all aspects of the word.

Yves Klein, because he was really a very avantgard individual being one of the fathers of art happenings which then opened the doors to the media of performance for artists. His artistic vision was also without limits, being very authentic and translating from one medium of art to another, really also exploring art as a way of life, especially in his fastinating archtectural city scapes which he planned twoards the end of his young life.

Ana Mendieta, because her work is HER and she is her work. I truly adore her performances which are so sincere, so authentic, raw and utterly poetic. It is hard to find this sincerety and authenticity in the work of artists and in gernal in people now adays. I feel sad and sorry that we could not have her and her art for longer with us.

And most recent, Bjork, has always been an immense inspiration for me, since her onset. I admire so much her passion and energy and again, new visions of reality and authenticity. She also works in all medias and influences them, not just music, but also fashion, set design, dance…having no limits really and always being closely connected to nature and sharing with us its emotional dimension that many cease to observe nowadays.

Q

How would you describe your creative process, and what techniques or mediums do you enjoy using the most?

A.

I would say that my creative process is constant and fluid, meaning that I am always creating and always being influenced by everything around me whether this is conscious or unconscious. I also have the tendency to search for the overlapping of ideas, feelings, and the wish to also create overlapping points in art, which brings about the possibility for the greater whole than, just the sum of all the parts. That is also why I like to integrate more media at once and, or flow from one media to another and back again, as this enables me to create various atmospheres and connections, and enables better to bring the emotions that were present as the initial catalysts of the end works, in a more potent way to the audience. I could not really choose which media I like most, it is more a combination of them. Perhaps the media of performance would be the best choice as it combines sound, movement, poetry, film and installation all collaborating and overlapping to help create the particular end atmosphere.

Q

What themes or messages do you hope to convey through your art, and what kind of emotions do you want your audience to experience when they view your work?

A.

I hope that my works are authentic and therefore sincere, and that my viewers are captured, touched by them, and inspired to think and question further. If my work can touch people in some way and make them question, I am already half satisfied. If my work can even further fill them also with some sense of hope, felt as enthusiasm or will for life, curiosity, energy, then I am fully happy.

Q

Can you share a specific project or piece that you are particularly proud of, and what makes it meaningful to you?

A.

Every project occupies a special place in my mind and emotions, and is dear and important to me. But if I have to choose, I would say that my collaboration with the Moon Gallery is truly an unforgettable one where my EARTHLING Tattoo Seal art work was chosen to be at the ISS (International Space Station) for an entire year, looking for ways to help astronauts combat feelings of isolation. The fact that this little art work in the size of one cubic cm and weighing no more than 3oz was looking down at all of us on planet Earth and “seeing” at once all that is happening here and now is very spacial to me and makes me really curious to know in which way it observed us from this one and only collective point of view of the ISS, through its one and only collective window to Earth, the ISS’s Cupola. What did it feel when it was able to observe us and what would be its advice to us?

I remember really well, when i watched the Antares Rocket zoom away up up up into the sky, I felt the strange sensation as if a part of me is also leaving the Earth…after all, the art work EARTHLING Tattoo Seal is my shadow captured in black and white photography and translated in to the web network of idirja lace (typical Slovenian lace, the country in which I was born), so a part of me, my shadow truly was going away from me at intense speed and watching down, over me.

Q

How do you stay inspired and motivated, and what advice would you give to aspiring artists who are just starting out?

A.

I really do not have a problem with remaining inspired as I am a very curious person and full of energy. So I am also almost always motivated…though sometimes this motivation also lessens as the life of an artist really is not so easy and requires immense amounts of work and energy. It is also not always fair and this is what often demotivates me, as art is not something you can measure the quality of as you can measure speed or strength in sports. So it is always very relative and ungraspable to a certain extent which can also often be discouraging. That is why it is so important to keep your center, your core of feelings and sensitivity for them, which is the sacred sanctuary from which we get our energy, inspiration and motivation! If I would dare to advise anything to younger artists, it would be to be authentic, to be true to yourself, your so called inner feeling or voice and at the same time always also be respectful…this world is a place of multitude of ideas and different ways which crossover and layer with one another…so please be aware that in your work and mind’s view you are productive and constructive and not deductive and destructive.

Q

What was the first project you worked on?

A.

My first project that I worked on was being part of the classical ballet Swan Lake production in New Delhi, India where I lived at the time when i was 6 years old, but this is before I dedicated my work to visual arts…If it was visual arts, then my first exhibition: “Now you go on with the story”… outside of university in Vienna, Austria where I presented both my paintings as well as photography, and what I liked most, their overlapping.

Q

What do you like to do in your free time/ outside of work?

A.

Hmmm, well I do things closely related to my work, as I like to go to exhibits, poetry readings, performances, but I also appreciate so much to go for walks and observe new things that I did not yet notice in the city that I have walked though already so many times. And when I have the chance to be in nature, this is really something I truly love as it recharges me and grounds me and gives me the context of knowing that I am only a very small part in a greater whole, but nevertheless grateful to be this small, yet authentic and significant part.

Q

How would you define your work in three words?

A.

Fragile, Human, Hope

Q

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A.

A singer, astronaut, flower shop owner, ballerina and artist all at once…

Eva Petric's Favorite Newel Items

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306 east 61st street, 3rd floornew york, ny 10065(212) 1970

306 east 61st street, 3rd floor
new york, ny 10065
(212) 1970