Lorette C. Luzajic V. 2
- Editor at Titan Contemporary Publishing
- Jan 19
- 3 min read
Lorette C. Luzajic is an assemblage artist who has exhibited all over the world and particularly in Canada. Her work has been collected by collectors from over forty countries and recent exhibitions in Toronto include Propeller Gallery, 21 St. Clair Ave E, Gerrard Art Space, Northern Contemporary Gallery, and Blue Crow Gallery. Recent international exhibitions include Menil'8 in Paris and Black Box Gallery in A Coruña, Spain. Lorette is also a writer and founding editor of The Ekphrastic Review.
Recurring motifs we will find in the assemblage work of Lorette C. Luzajic would be themes on religion, pop culture references, vintage women, kitsch, and elements associated with cuteness and comfort such as candy and kittens. These assemblages come in several sets of series and subseries such as Signature Squares, The Shrines, Retro Beauty, and Treasure Boxes. In The Shrines, there is a specific homage to Mexican churches and segments of worship, which are often contained in colorful collage arrangements and symbolism through rosaries and lockets. Retro Beauty is a subseries which specifically portrays elements of smeared textures with portraits of vintage female celebrities from the early and mid 20th century. Containing texts, splashes of color, patterns, polka dots, and linearity, the assemblages are infused with classic photographic cutouts and perfectly integrated in a harmonious display of controlled chaos.
In this universe of cuteness, beauty, and urban grit, the works of Lorette C. Luzajic reveal our passion for symbols of reverence. Some of these devices contain images of retro nostalgia such as depictions of Vegas Showgirls from the 1950s or actresses from the golden age of television and broadway. These constructs, although having the appearance of lovely chaos and heightened visual stimulation through many components, are assembled together with precision and professionalism of grand harmony and performative substance. The theatrical presentation of these motifs, patterns, texts, and smears of color represents a mythological presentation and idealization pertaining to the figures who have shaped our concepts around beauty and morality. Passionality, the assemblages (particularly The Shrines series) may remind the viewer of the song One of Us by Joan Osborne. The reason would be because through comforting iconography (such as candy and kittens), attractive and enticing colors as well as patterns, and ambiguous texts, the audience is induced into a state of relatability. These icons of greatness, whether they be celebrities or religious icons are created to be on an informal visual level with us. The monumentality of the figures is meant to comfort us rather than impose a greater will. In a way, the best way to describe the assemblage works of Lorette C. Luzajic would be to paraphrase Depeche Mode, as she creates image which are a reflections of ‘our own personal Jesus’, or rather individuality regarding any other motif she touches.
Sweet Love Marilyn (pictured above) depicts the goddess of the golden era of pop culture in an informal pose with texted candy superimposed on her chest and a cute kitten and rabbit exemplifying her good and wholesome character and presentation, according to the artist. A series of X’s and opaque smears of color with ambiguous text patterns highlight the composition. Marilyn Monroe in this depiction is a grand spectacle to comfort and nurtures us rather than as act an imposing figure far beyond our reach. Lorette C. Luzajic presents Marilyn as a completely relatable and consoling character.
With a keen eye for a torn subway poster urban aesthetic and vision for integrative techniques, the creative assemblage works of Lorette C. Luzajic elevate icons of beauty and reverence on relatable terms rather than through imposing optics. The pop candy-like aesthetics of her works reveal characters which are personalized to create an individualistic mythology. Through these comforting presentations in bright neon color smears, splashes, and drips, cute collage elements and symbolism as well as ominously descriptive and ambiguous texts, these grand unveiling displays render us helplessly personalized of what would otherwise be unobtainable characters and narratives. Lorette C. Luzajic has a gift for bridging the viewer into a personal relationship with the iconic subjects she chooses. We are transported into a plane or dimension where we become elevated onto an accessible approach to vintage and religious iconography.
