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  By Nina Vetrova-Robinson

I met Dena Tollefson a couple of years ago. She invited me to her small home studio, which I left with a strange feeling. Dena was completing a large, almost photographic version of a lily that met the public's demand at that time. I remember her story how her love of painting has been a lifetime passion, but she has not had an opportunity to fully follow until now due to family reasons. We talked about how the ideas of her different paintings were born; For example her series of almost surrealistic pregnant pears, and the paintings of a cactus that maybe is not a cactus.

For a young artist, it was amazing how quick Dena conquered her space in a world of American modern art. Some of her paintings have been featured in national shows and exhibitions and she already received her first prizes. But after my first visit I had a feeling that an artist wanted to say something more that she actually did.

Maybe I had this feeling because I really liked three of her works which were completely different from the others. One was an abstract piece that at first glance seemed to be simply done in a popular, modern decorative style. Dena said she made this painting after visiting the exhibition of Ukranian Avant-garde artist of 20th century Clement Redko.

Two other paintings of Dena's that caught my eye reminded me of the paintings of a very famous Russian artist. It was done in a moment of special mood, as Dena explained to me. She said she had always admired the works of Kandinsky, the Russian avant-garde artist, and has taken his work quite personally, as very often she can find reflections of her mood in his art.

We met one more time. Again, I was surprised by Dena's enthusiasm — the young hunger of an artist aiming towards all possible forms of self-realization, without the aggressive sense of self-promotion, and with her great confidence in her own undiscovered possibilities. This confidence as an artist gives her the large charge of constructive energy. From this point Dena thinks the ideas of European Avant-garde of 20th century has great potentials and endless possibilities. In 2005, she joined the Union of Avant-garde artists DNA, with great hope, which might someday be realized.