Henry Lehmann
The Gazette, May 05, 2007

Montreal artist Maja Vodanovic, who came here from Croatia in 1968, operates between two poles: the absolute present, expressed in the subtle seams dividing up her compositions, and a past, directly re-collected in drawn lines.

Indeed, Vodanovic is, above all and through and through, a highly skilled graphic artist. She is also, of course, splendidly gifted with a passionate feel for pure line and the uncanny way one well-placed line can both carve out the illusion of depth and transport us to an alternative time and place in the artist’s own life.

The intensity of past rubbing against present in Vodanovic’s art is brought to high visual pitch by the inclusion of actual old letters in some of the works. Especially moving are smaller, more intimate images, such as La chronique des temps desesperes. This work, about sadness, but expressing pleasure on several levels, has its own kind of monumentality.

Maja Vodanovic’s recent new works are at Galerie Valentin, 1490 Sherbrooke W., Room 200, until May 12. Call 514-939-0500 or see www.galerievalentin.com.