Zdenka Rusova came to Norway in 1967 on an exchange scholarship. In 1970 she settled here permanently and was granted Norwegian citizenship. At her first solo exhibition in Norway, at the Artists' Association in 1970, she surprised her new audience with abstract works. Despite the emphasis on parallels with the earlier paintings, it should be emphasized that the new, non-figurative paintings testified to an impressive new orientation. During these years, she laid the foundation for her formal vocabulary. Central to this is a swelling form that can be seen as a promising potential for power. In connection with this symbol, it is natural to associate elongated, budding creatures. The contrast between the organic, fin-like structures and "geometric" cuts was exciting. This must be seen against the background of Rusova's feeling for the mannerist art form. The spatial ambiguities were also continued in the new abstractions.

From the first crystal-light graphic works from the early 70s, where the paper surface played a major role in the expression, and with the background I have outlined above, Zdenka Rusova has further developed her unique style into today's large acrylic paintings. The path has been towards greater dynamics, and monumental weight of an almost sculptural character, paired with a nuanced feeling for material effects. Rusova has become increasingly adept at transforming her fantasies. She works with an undefinable light, unreal, transparent structures and forms that express powerful currents and forces. Under the influence of Norwegian nature, it may seem that sea and landscape visions have come more to the fore in recent years. Rusova does not see the sea above all as a surface, but as a life-giving substance with burgeoning growth and eruptive bottom forms that merge into land masses.

What artistic vision underlies this abstract visual world? Rusova stands for an anti-rational art. She tackles the largest formats directly without any other preparation than the ideas she has formed in her head. She works with organic forms that are difficult to describe rationally and capture in known categories.

Text by Svein Thorud