On the works of Suzana Stojanović, made in the style of hyperrealism, one can easily notice the third dimension and warmth that springs out from the eyes of beautiful and intelligent, noble four-legged animals and thoughtful portraits. Her skills lead the observers to the dilemma whether there are hand-made or photographic works. Nevertheless, the splendor shown on them distinguishes them from camera shots because “the camera always sees everything in the same way, and the human eye always looks at the same scene differently”, she says. Relief and tangibility of the artwork fully and faithfully expresses and preserves the essence of the being and its attributes. Suzana does not ignore the decor. She expresses herself through hyperrealism because she thinks that is the best way to make alive the objects of her interest. With her exhibitions, she gifted the public a different way of watching life and some forgotten scenes of the nature and beauties that surround us, but which, due to an accelerated lifestyle, we often renounce. Her exhibitions were visited by thousands of people. Their impressions are full of strong emotions. All of them are amazed and simply stoned as they stand in front of her wonderful works. Suzana’s affinity toward hyperrealism came up pretty early, and she remained faithful to it whole life. Everything that surrounds her, she presents precisely because she thinks it is the best way to approach certain concepts and appearances to observers. Each of her works is a rich description of one stage of mankind. Known for her riders, she, with her narrative works, shows the inviolable bridges that connect living beings and their roles in society for centuries. Her subjects of description are constantly on the verge of exaggeration, and as far as their beauty and their meekness because she experiences and sees them so. Suzana Stojanović, an artist-philosopher and great aesthete, through her works unobtrusive pervading various messages, which are sometimes very serious content, and sometimes sprinkled with mild humor. Her work originated from traditionalism, went through genuine and independent development and stopped at the threshold of hyperrealism, which is often the subject of debate and confusion by many authorities, experts and curators. Perhaps, just because of all this, it is interesting and survives for decades. It becomes a great global show that deletes tradition and imagination and stops only at the present. Perhaps it is a clear message to mankind that it does not expect much from the past or from the future, and that we are all fragile children of the moment that will definitely disappear once. There are no warnings or remorse in this scene. It looks like it’s all floating in an unspecified cosmos, to which we still need to give the name. This manifest of new art has the character of easily understood superficiality and universality. Nevertheless, despite many contradictory opinions, the possibilities of hyperrealism are high. It is a reality that captivates with its exhibitionism on sidewalks, murals and huge sculptures that aim to attract the attention of a larger number of observers. With these works, creators show that liveliness is sometimes much more accomplished by texture than with a smoothness that is characteristic of hyperrealism (some of them go to these extremes of equalizing the layers that all beings resemble porcelain figures in their works). To avoid plasticity is very difficult considering that the attribute “real” constantly strives to build strong connections between artwork and reality. Absolute obedience to “real and existing things” results in almost photographic representation of people and objects. Sometimes, besides demonstrating skill and technique, this obedience does not offer anything more. It only deepens the gap between the creator and the nature. Suzana sometimes reproduces what she sees without embellishment, but insists on the details that may be neglected when we observe what surrounds us. She wants to show us that in these details, many links, for which we are searching for centuries, are hidden. “They are in our vicinity, we just have to see them”, she says, constantly striving to convey the state of things just as sophisticated as the nature itself does. Everything is in that sparkling light that depends not only on talent, but also on observations, moods, traces of soul and perceptions. By her way of working Suzana Stojanović tries to describe the beauty of simplicity from which everything in our universe has begun and to which everything returns and the way, which all the beings of this planet pass through to reach this simplicity. She thinks that everything around us is subordinate to colors and that from their layout it depends on how we will see and experience it. The lines and colors in her works are meaningful because she thinks that all elements of the artwork are equally necessary and important for its integrity. “The origination makes sense only if it leaves a lot of space for observation, study and analysis”, she says, “and hyperrealism allows our way to that sense to be shorter and more explicable. On the other hand, no matter how much they try to perfect their technique, artists are never completely satisfied with their knowledge and skill because they always find what they need to get better. Their continuous pursuit of perfection sometimes leads them to a nonsense in which the value of their work is lost. In everything, both in life and in hyperrealism, we need to find the balance and preserve the nature of the subject we present, while at the same time avoiding the plasticity, to which any overstatement turns us very quickly. This balance is not easy to achieve, because the constant tendency to overcome one often swallowed great talents and dragged them into an abyss from which they hardly come out. Creation is a pleasure while it is the product of their wishes and emotions. From the moment they begin to work to please society and others, they become their slaves. They do not dream anymore. Their creation becomes a work just like every other, because hyperrealism, although in many ways different from other movements, to be called art, and not just imitation of photography, must carry at least a bit of poetry in it.” Suzana finds that poetry in everything that surrounds her and, with her works (which can also be viewed in DeviantArt, Behance and ArtStation gallery), tries to present to the viewers that universe that is sometimes impossible to see by sight, and exists in every living being, in the whirlwind of its hidden emotions and experiences, which sometimes cannot be explained by words but only in colors. “The creator’s greatness is in his power to resist the influences of authority and to throw out his own truth through his work, the one that always waits for him behind the horizon”, she says. In her opinion, “use portraits of popular personalities in creating hyper-realistic pieces, is the same as engaging an actor to play a role that is not appropriate to him only because he is popular. An unceasing tendency towards popularity is one of the main features of contemporary society, but it can be fatal for art because it leads to similarity, universality and lack of creativity. The tendency to popularity and greatness is often the cause of the competition among contemporary creators. They, often forgetting the essence and purpose of art, are struggling to better display all those pores and wrinkles that can be seen on the human face. All those huge heads, glued to an empty background, sometimes look eerie. The aspiration for large formats (where the whole battles once played, and today voids), reflect the ambitions and desires of the contemporary man to impose and emphasize. If you were to observe these works one next to the other on a huge wall, you would often not know which author they belong to. These days, hyperrealism is an unstoppable avalanche that overwhelms and that little rarity on the slopes. It becomes water that flows down the face and a large plastic bag that covers perfect bodies, rarely more than that. Creators avoid complex themes because to bring decoration into harmony with the main theme and to combine elements of traditional art with elements of contemporary tendencies is not an easy job. They sometimes cannot find a way to defend their independence and specialty. From the moment he first takes the ink, brush, or chisel into his hands until the last breath, the artist should fight for his place under the sun, and not run away of challenges.” With her hyperrealism, Suzana Stojanović defies realism and finds inspiration in interesting and unique models that cannot be met at every step. Even with each of her new work with riding themes, she always tries to be different and unrepeatable, seeking in each of these beautiful beings a thread that will completely separate it from everyone else because “these animals are perfect in all their manifestations”, she says, “and every new work brings with it new discoveries and opens new aspects. Technical innovations put heavy tasks to contemporary creators. They sometimes have to choose between rules and creativity in order to adapt to modern understanding. Hyperrealism is perhaps the only art movement that refutes the theory that spirituality is not measured by the level of economic development. The artists usually put their personality on a basis of one color. This is not a matter of restraint, but rather of avoiding (by them) superfluous details that would unnecessarily burden the work. Often, they choose only one subject of display to create something new as soon as possible. There is not even that deceptive depth of perspective that keeps the attention. Because of these similarities, today’s artist often remains anonymous. His creativity leads to minimalism and the impoverishment of the values that surround him. He leaves himself submissive to what is imposed to him every day as right and important”. Suzana’s subjects do not stay indoors. Relieved by the weight of modern life, they nostalgically talk about past times. With her timeless works, she takes us into the long forgotten moments that restore confidence in life and art.By way of introduction, we were recently graced with the new arrival of a well-known and accomplished artist, Suzana Stojanović. She is someone I have known outside these pages as a friend and as a truly master of hyperrealism. Her beautiful work can at times be extreme, and it is always compelling. I recommend that you take the time to get to know her and her captivating works, as she has much to share with all of us. Suzana is someone I got to know about a year ago and at that time I was drawn into her stunning work. Not unlike some masters you and I have discussed, her works just keep on bringing you back for more, not only on the basis of technical merit; they demonstrate a driving and robust visual declaration of her love for her subjects. It is at once a celebration of those living subjects that comes through all of her work with consistent brilliance and passion. Her sensitive and compelling art is an admirable reflection of her as a person. From my perspective, Suzana’s work is as good as it gets. And you will notice that her work, all of it, shares a common thread of humanity, passion and dignity, the veritable mark of a true artist. She is outstanding, not only in her brilliant ability to render but her compositional and lighting techniques drive the point home that she cares deeply about her subjects.
(Denis Peterson, hyperrealist, dA Journal)