Open Studio Exhibition Review 1990

“ The second studio visit was to what seemed like a cave of delights. Klara Elek’s studio is pulsing with colour, I hate cliches but vivid, extravagant, are the only adjectives I can find to do justice to the overwhelming vigour of these paintings. I immediately saw Gauguin, Rousseau and Matisse in my recollection of gallery viewing. Her jungles excite me just as they are, involved, convoluted, steaming out at me from the wall, yet as we talked Klara pointed out the Shamanic and mystic nature of her paintings. Here are portrayed many tales, colourful evocations of Jungian subconscious theory using all the archetypes and incorporating visions and elements of the Tarot. There is “Hero”, there the “the Riddler”, there “the Raven” and “the Moth”. In each lush and strongly allusive painting there is another progression.

Two Drawings of the dense verdure of tropical plants shows mastery of the basic control of the artist’s craft, the detail before the painting. Drawing needs to be mastered well, indeed Klara has been awarded prizes for just this talent.

I turn and turn, overwhelmed by the symbolism, the emotion of The Bone Forest, the Animus and the Daemons. Now I see the Anima, the Garden of the Goddess; this painting is dominated by a figure called   “The Chatelaine” who is there to effect a transformation, effective in design and implication. In a more conventional style, Klara has designed a lovely screen in four panels, very reminiscent of classic Chinese art, with all its gentle traditions and a more restful return to the garden away from the tumult of the jungle.

I leave stunned by the reach of the human imagination.
Jean F. Walker, writer, poet: The Arcadia Rag December 1990

Soul’s Code Online Magazine

Claire Elek’s paintings have names like, “The Hero’s Journey into the Bone Forest”. In a Soul’s Code exclusive, Elek reveals her own heroine’s path of self-discovery.
The colour - infused canvases of Toronto based artist, Claire Elek will float you into a world resplendent with dreamy, mythical images.

She has the depth of a spiritual teacher when talking about Shamanism, Jungian theology and female archetypes - and not surprisingly, they are powerful influences in her paintings. A catalyst for Elek’s highly collectible art, (one of her works ended up in the private collection of Margaret Atwood), were her Gauguin like travels through South America and Southeast Asia.
Soul’s Code Magazine April 2009