Wrath with Andreja Hojnik Fišić
Croatian artist Andreja Hojnik Fišić work stresses the physicality of the paint to create both depth and visceral presence. The abstract painting confronts us with an eruption of red across a pristine white canvas. The crimson doesn’t merely sit on the surface—it tears through it, textural and violent, creating furrows and ridges that catch the light and cast shadows. The relationship between red and human anger is no accident of cultural symbolism but a connection rooted in our bodies, our histories, and our collective understanding of emotional extremes. In this visceral display, we witness not just color but emotion made tangible: wrath.
Fišić’s use of colors and textures stimulates our subconscious, provoking it into manifesting itself in our current realities. The painting evokes a raging wrath: the intense physicality of the paint makes the canvas almost sculptural in its forcefulness and level of presence. This striking artistic method evokes an intensely emotional reaction in its viewers. The way the red appears to pulse against the white background, its irregular edges suggesting uncontrolled expansion, visually expresses what our metaphors attempt to capture: wrath as an overwhelming force that consumes rational boundaries. The painting doesn’t merely represent wrath; it partially induces the bodily state associated with it.
The red in the painting, while chaotic and powerful, has a certain purposeful direction to it—it doesn’t merely explode outward but creates what appears to be a pathway or channel. This directedness mirrors how constructive anger can be channeled toward specific aims rather than expressing itself as unfocused rage. Contemporary therapeutic approaches recognize appropriate anger as a healthy response to boundary violations and a necessary component of processing trauma. Suppressed anger doesn’t disappear—it transforms,” explains psychologist Dr. Harriet Lerner, author of The Dance of Anger. “Often into depression, physical symptoms, or passive-aggressive behavior.” Learning to acknowledge, express, and channel anger appropriately has become a cornerstone of healing from trauma and having and healthy emotional life. Art therapists note that the physical act of applying red paint—especially in textured, vigorous applications similar to our painting—can provide catharsis and emotional release. The painting demonstrates this potential—the artist has clearly channeled intense emotion into the creation of this piece. The result isn’t destructive but creative, transforming raw emotional energy into something that can be witnessed, contemplated, and ultimately understood by others.
How does this painting make you feel?
Feeling the core of our hearts, center of the planet and a bit of space in front of us….fab