Splavi po reki Lethe
V sredo, 22. maja, ob 18.00, se v Zgodovinskem atriju Mestne hiše Ljubljana odpira razstava Splavi po reki Lethe avtorice_jev Urše Čuk, Anžeta Šmalca in Jona Žagarja. Kurator in producent razstave je Matej Tomažin.
🇬🇧English below↓
Vrzeli naveličan splav po reki pozabe tvorijo dela treh vizualnih umetnic_kov, ki ustvarjajo v mediju slikarstva, fotografije, risbe, grafičnega oblikovanja, video animacije in keramike. Jon Žagar z dodelano fotografijo nočnih krajin poustvarja prvoosebno lirično resničnost, prežeto s poetično, mestoma srhljivo in nelagodno atmosfero. Z raziskovanjem samote in kompleksnosti lastnega strahu se v ekspresivnih črno-belih fotografijah narave v negativu posveča spoznavanju samega sebe, lastnih meja nezavednega in potencialov novih stvarnosti. Pridružujejo se mu prefinjena dela Anžeta Šmalca, ki v svoji preprostosti, a hkratni povednosti odražajo njegove senzibilne občutke in odnos do materiala. Avtor postavlja avtopoetične risbe ob bok keramičnim prostorskim delom, med katerimi kraljujejo individualizirane mrliške žare in posode. Urša Čuk po drugi strani k svojim fantastičnim vizualnim podobam pristopa iz smeri digitalnega. Njena dela v mediju plakata in video animacije nastopajo kot barvite, kozmične slutnje, ki potencirajo občutke sanjavosti, brezčasnosti in transformativnega potenciala prihodnosti. Distopične kozmične krajine gledalca povabijo, da se prepusti simulaciji fantazme, prežeti z melanholijo. Kurator razstave Matej Tomažin kot avtor zvočne krajine v postavitev vstopa proaktivno. S pozicije povezovanja na prvi pogled zelo različnih avtoric_jev gradi celostni kontekst za doživljanje večmedijskega projekta na mitološki in ravno prav intimni ravni.
𝗨𝗿𝘀̌𝗮 𝗖̌𝘂𝗸 (1986) je po izobrazbi univerzitetna diplomirana arheologinja, ki jo je kreativna življenjska pot pripeljala do avdiovizualne in digitalne umetnosti. Ustvarja dela, ki gledalko_ca izzivajo k premisleku tako na tehnični ravni medija projekcije kot tudi v njeni zmožnosti likovne izgradnje zamisli. Umetnica prek raziskovanja medsebojnih razmerij vizualnih podob in zvoka stremi k premikanju mej vizualnega pripovedovanja zgodb z uporabo tehnologije. Verjame, da imajo avdiovizualni projekti moč preobrazbe prostorov in ustvarjanja poglobljenih, celostnih izkušenj. Pri svojem ustvarjanju uporablja različne medije s poudarkom na fotografiji, grafičnem oblikovanju ter video in avdiovizualnih projekcijah. Umetničin izraz gradi fascinacija nad žanroma synthwave in vaporwave 80. let prejšnjega stoletja, ki ju spretno spaja v motive neskončnih distopičnih krajin, polne barvitih artefaktov in ostankov materialnosti nekdanje civilizacije. Njena izraznost izhaja primarno iz retrospektivnega pogleda. Slutnje prihodnosti obravnava kot spomine, zajete v času po njenem propadu.
𝗔𝗻𝘇̌𝗲 𝗦̌𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗰 (1991), rojen v Sloveniji, se je leta 2001 preselil v Kanado in tri leta zatem v Arizono, »državo Grand Canyona«, kjer je končal srednjo šolo in študij s poudarkom na risanju na Univerzi v Arizoni. Tam je študiral predvsem živo risbo in litografijo. V tem času je, fasciniran nad iluminiranimi rokopisi in modernistično grafično tradicijo, sodobno improvizirano glasbo in filozofijo, posegal po risbi kot svojem glavnem mediju izražanja. Po pridobljeni diplomi se je leta 2018 preselil nazaj v Ljubljano, kjer je leta 2023 zaključil študij z magistrskim delom »Sonce, drevo, kolo«. Avtor risbo razume pojmovno odprto, kot splošni način hipne interpretacije sveta, ki ni vezana na določen nabor tehnik ali medijev. Tako odprt okvir mu omogoča široko integracijo različnih disciplin ustvarjanja v svoje delo, od slikarstva in grafike do prostorske plastike, uporablja pa jih kot izrazno sredstvo ter kot orodje za reevalvacijo lastnega dela.
𝗝𝗼𝗻 𝗭̌𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗿 (1989) predstavlja umetniško fotografijo, ki temelji na konceptu fotografskega dejanja kot soočenja s tistim, kar nezavedno deluje v nas. Izhodiščni motiv njegove fotografije je narava, ki jo s fotografijo preobraža v pomenske, avtopoetične prizore. Avtor mojstrsko preigrava medij v njegovih skrajnih pozicijah. Mimetične upodobitve naravnih krajin so grajene tehnično dovršeno, ponekod materialnost fotografske ekspozicije prestopa pričakovane teksture in na prvi pogled delujejo grafično, skoraj risarsko. Vsebinsko pa so motivi vedno preobraženi v nove, fiktivne realnosti. V avtorjevih delih predmetna realnost postane poosebljena, včasih kot osrednji motiv nastopi avtor sam, mnogokrat pa so subjekti deli drevesa, živali ali krajina sama. Rezultat tega je črno-bela poetična atmosfera, ujeta na fotografijah v samotnih raziskovanjih nočnih zapuščenih krajin. Na ta način fotografija kot srečanje s srhljivim, ogrožajočim postane terapija v pomenu premagovanja strahu in tesnobe ter raziskovanje meja lastnega jaza.
Razstava bo na voljo tudi preko spleta na portalu Artopolis: https://artopolis.si/razstave/splavi-po-reki-lethe
KOLOFON
Avtorice_ji: Urša Čuk, Anže Šmalc, Jon Žagar
Kurator in producent: Matej Tomažin
Obrazstavno besedilo: Maša Žekš
Projekt je podprl Zavod Artopolis.
Sponzor obrazstavnih dogodkov: Pernod Ricard Slovenija.
_____________
🇬🇧 EN
The exhibition Rafts on Lethe River with works by Urša Čuk, Anže Šmalc, and Jon Žagar opens in the Historical Atrium of the Ljubljana City Hall on Wednesday, 22 May, at 18:00. The exhibition was curated and produced by Matej Tomažin.
The abyss-weary raft on the river of oblivion features works of three visual artists working across painting, photography, drawing, graphic design, video animation and ceramics. Jon Žagar's elaborate photography of night-time landscapes recreates a lyrical first-person reality imbued with a poetic, occasionally eerie and uneasy atmosphere. Whilst exploring loneliness and the complexity of his fear, his expressive black-and-white photographs of nature - preserved in their negative form - explore the self, the limits of the unconscious and the potential of new realities. They are joined by the sophisticated works of Anže Šmalc, which through their expressive simplicity, reflect his sensibility and relationship to the material. His self-referential drawings are juxtaposed with ceramic objects, most notably individualised urns and vessels. The suggestive yet unobtrusive iconography of galloping horses, mounds, and mysterious long-beaked birds, often present in his work, offers a personalised reading that is essentially indistinguishable from the technique and the artist's milieu-specific interest. Urša Čuk, on the other hand, approaches her fantastic visual images via the digital. Delivered as posters or video animations, her works appear as colourful, cosmic premonitions that amplify feelings of pensiveness, timelessness, and the transformative potential of the future. Her dystopian cosmic landscapes invite the viewer to indulge in a simulation of the phantasmal imbued with melancholy. The exhibition curator, Matej Tomažin, enters the installation proactively as the author of the soundscape. Connecting seemingly highly diverse artists, he builds a comprehensive context to experience the multimedia project on a level that is both mythological and just intimate enough.
The exhibition will also be available online on Artopolis: https://artopolis.si/razstave/splavi-po-reki-lethe
𝗨𝗿𝘀̌𝗮 𝗖̌𝘂𝗸 (1986) is an audiovisual and digital artist with a background in archaeology. She makes works that challenge the audience both technically, in terms of the medium of presentation, and in terms of the artistic execution of the idea. By exploring the relations between images and sound, the artist strives to push back the boundaries of visual storytelling using technology. She believes that audiovisual projects have the power to transform spaces and create comprehensive, immersive experiences. Čuk works across various media, focusing on photography, graphic design, and video and audiovisual projections. Her expression is informed by synthwave and vaporwave, 1980s genres she artfully combines into motifs of endless dystopian landscapes full of colourful artefacts and material relics of a former civilisation. Her expressiveness comes primarily from a retrospective view. In her art, premonitions of the future are memories captured after its collapse.
𝗔𝗻𝘇̌𝗲 𝗦̌𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗰 (1991) earned a BFA from Arizona State University after leaving Slovenia in 2001, first to live in Canada and then settling in Arizona, “the Grand Canyon State”, where he graduated from high school. His studies focused on live drawing and lithography. At the time, fascinated by illuminated manuscripts, modernist printmaking tradition, modern improvised music, and philosophy, he chose drawing as his primary medium of expression. After his degree, he moved back to Ljubljana in 2018, earning an MA in 2023 with a work called "Sun, Tree, Wheel". The artist understands drawing as conceptually open, as a general means for instant interpretation of the world, not bound to a specific set of techniques or media. Such an open frame of reference allows him to work across a sweeping range of creative disciplines, from painting and printmaking to spatial sculpture, using them as a means of expression and a tool for re-evaluating his work.
𝗝𝗼𝗻 𝗭̌𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗿 (1989) practices artistic photography based on the concept of the photographic act as a confrontation with what is unconsciously at work within us. Drawing on nature, he transforms this basic motif into meaningful, self-referential scenes. Žagar masterfully plays the medium in its extreme positions. His mimetic depictions of natural landscapes are technically sophisticated, and sometimes, the materiality of the photographic exposure transgresses the expected textures so that, at first glance, they appear graphic, almost cartoonish. In terms of substance, however, the motifs are always transformed into new, fictional realities. In the artist's works, the object reality becomes personified; sometimes, the artist himself appears as the central motif, but often, the subjects are parts of trees, animals, or the landscape itself. The result is a black-and-white poetic atmosphere captured in solitary explorations of deserted landscapes at night. In this way, photography as an encounter with the eerie and the threatening becomes therapy in the sense of overcoming fear and anxiety and exploring the limits of the self.
CREDITS
Artists: Urša Čuk, Anže Šmalc, Jon Žagar
Curator and producer: Matej Tomažin
Text: Maša Žekš
The project is supported by the Artopolis Institute.
Sponsor of accompanying events: Pernod Ricard Slovenija.
🇬🇧English below↓
Vrzeli naveličan splav po reki pozabe tvorijo dela treh vizualnih umetnic_kov, ki ustvarjajo v mediju slikarstva, fotografije, risbe, grafičnega oblikovanja, video animacije in keramike. Jon Žagar z dodelano fotografijo nočnih krajin poustvarja prvoosebno lirično resničnost, prežeto s poetično, mestoma srhljivo in nelagodno atmosfero. Z raziskovanjem samote in kompleksnosti lastnega strahu se v ekspresivnih črno-belih fotografijah narave v negativu posveča spoznavanju samega sebe, lastnih meja nezavednega in potencialov novih stvarnosti. Pridružujejo se mu prefinjena dela Anžeta Šmalca, ki v svoji preprostosti, a hkratni povednosti odražajo njegove senzibilne občutke in odnos do materiala. Avtor postavlja avtopoetične risbe ob bok keramičnim prostorskim delom, med katerimi kraljujejo individualizirane mrliške žare in posode. Urša Čuk po drugi strani k svojim fantastičnim vizualnim podobam pristopa iz smeri digitalnega. Njena dela v mediju plakata in video animacije nastopajo kot barvite, kozmične slutnje, ki potencirajo občutke sanjavosti, brezčasnosti in transformativnega potenciala prihodnosti. Distopične kozmične krajine gledalca povabijo, da se prepusti simulaciji fantazme, prežeti z melanholijo. Kurator razstave Matej Tomažin kot avtor zvočne krajine v postavitev vstopa proaktivno. S pozicije povezovanja na prvi pogled zelo različnih avtoric_jev gradi celostni kontekst za doživljanje večmedijskega projekta na mitološki in ravno prav intimni ravni.
𝗨𝗿𝘀̌𝗮 𝗖̌𝘂𝗸 (1986) je po izobrazbi univerzitetna diplomirana arheologinja, ki jo je kreativna življenjska pot pripeljala do avdiovizualne in digitalne umetnosti. Ustvarja dela, ki gledalko_ca izzivajo k premisleku tako na tehnični ravni medija projekcije kot tudi v njeni zmožnosti likovne izgradnje zamisli. Umetnica prek raziskovanja medsebojnih razmerij vizualnih podob in zvoka stremi k premikanju mej vizualnega pripovedovanja zgodb z uporabo tehnologije. Verjame, da imajo avdiovizualni projekti moč preobrazbe prostorov in ustvarjanja poglobljenih, celostnih izkušenj. Pri svojem ustvarjanju uporablja različne medije s poudarkom na fotografiji, grafičnem oblikovanju ter video in avdiovizualnih projekcijah. Umetničin izraz gradi fascinacija nad žanroma synthwave in vaporwave 80. let prejšnjega stoletja, ki ju spretno spaja v motive neskončnih distopičnih krajin, polne barvitih artefaktov in ostankov materialnosti nekdanje civilizacije. Njena izraznost izhaja primarno iz retrospektivnega pogleda. Slutnje prihodnosti obravnava kot spomine, zajete v času po njenem propadu.
𝗔𝗻𝘇̌𝗲 𝗦̌𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗰 (1991), rojen v Sloveniji, se je leta 2001 preselil v Kanado in tri leta zatem v Arizono, »državo Grand Canyona«, kjer je končal srednjo šolo in študij s poudarkom na risanju na Univerzi v Arizoni. Tam je študiral predvsem živo risbo in litografijo. V tem času je, fasciniran nad iluminiranimi rokopisi in modernistično grafično tradicijo, sodobno improvizirano glasbo in filozofijo, posegal po risbi kot svojem glavnem mediju izražanja. Po pridobljeni diplomi se je leta 2018 preselil nazaj v Ljubljano, kjer je leta 2023 zaključil študij z magistrskim delom »Sonce, drevo, kolo«. Avtor risbo razume pojmovno odprto, kot splošni način hipne interpretacije sveta, ki ni vezana na določen nabor tehnik ali medijev. Tako odprt okvir mu omogoča široko integracijo različnih disciplin ustvarjanja v svoje delo, od slikarstva in grafike do prostorske plastike, uporablja pa jih kot izrazno sredstvo ter kot orodje za reevalvacijo lastnega dela.
𝗝𝗼𝗻 𝗭̌𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗿 (1989) predstavlja umetniško fotografijo, ki temelji na konceptu fotografskega dejanja kot soočenja s tistim, kar nezavedno deluje v nas. Izhodiščni motiv njegove fotografije je narava, ki jo s fotografijo preobraža v pomenske, avtopoetične prizore. Avtor mojstrsko preigrava medij v njegovih skrajnih pozicijah. Mimetične upodobitve naravnih krajin so grajene tehnično dovršeno, ponekod materialnost fotografske ekspozicije prestopa pričakovane teksture in na prvi pogled delujejo grafično, skoraj risarsko. Vsebinsko pa so motivi vedno preobraženi v nove, fiktivne realnosti. V avtorjevih delih predmetna realnost postane poosebljena, včasih kot osrednji motiv nastopi avtor sam, mnogokrat pa so subjekti deli drevesa, živali ali krajina sama. Rezultat tega je črno-bela poetična atmosfera, ujeta na fotografijah v samotnih raziskovanjih nočnih zapuščenih krajin. Na ta način fotografija kot srečanje s srhljivim, ogrožajočim postane terapija v pomenu premagovanja strahu in tesnobe ter raziskovanje meja lastnega jaza.
Razstava bo na voljo tudi preko spleta na portalu Artopolis: https://artopolis.si/razstave/splavi-po-reki-lethe
KOLOFON
Avtorice_ji: Urša Čuk, Anže Šmalc, Jon Žagar
Kurator in producent: Matej Tomažin
Obrazstavno besedilo: Maša Žekš
Projekt je podprl Zavod Artopolis.
Sponzor obrazstavnih dogodkov: Pernod Ricard Slovenija.
_____________
🇬🇧 EN
The exhibition Rafts on Lethe River with works by Urša Čuk, Anže Šmalc, and Jon Žagar opens in the Historical Atrium of the Ljubljana City Hall on Wednesday, 22 May, at 18:00. The exhibition was curated and produced by Matej Tomažin.
The abyss-weary raft on the river of oblivion features works of three visual artists working across painting, photography, drawing, graphic design, video animation and ceramics. Jon Žagar's elaborate photography of night-time landscapes recreates a lyrical first-person reality imbued with a poetic, occasionally eerie and uneasy atmosphere. Whilst exploring loneliness and the complexity of his fear, his expressive black-and-white photographs of nature - preserved in their negative form - explore the self, the limits of the unconscious and the potential of new realities. They are joined by the sophisticated works of Anže Šmalc, which through their expressive simplicity, reflect his sensibility and relationship to the material. His self-referential drawings are juxtaposed with ceramic objects, most notably individualised urns and vessels. The suggestive yet unobtrusive iconography of galloping horses, mounds, and mysterious long-beaked birds, often present in his work, offers a personalised reading that is essentially indistinguishable from the technique and the artist's milieu-specific interest. Urša Čuk, on the other hand, approaches her fantastic visual images via the digital. Delivered as posters or video animations, her works appear as colourful, cosmic premonitions that amplify feelings of pensiveness, timelessness, and the transformative potential of the future. Her dystopian cosmic landscapes invite the viewer to indulge in a simulation of the phantasmal imbued with melancholy. The exhibition curator, Matej Tomažin, enters the installation proactively as the author of the soundscape. Connecting seemingly highly diverse artists, he builds a comprehensive context to experience the multimedia project on a level that is both mythological and just intimate enough.
The exhibition will also be available online on Artopolis: https://artopolis.si/razstave/splavi-po-reki-lethe
𝗨𝗿𝘀̌𝗮 𝗖̌𝘂𝗸 (1986) is an audiovisual and digital artist with a background in archaeology. She makes works that challenge the audience both technically, in terms of the medium of presentation, and in terms of the artistic execution of the idea. By exploring the relations between images and sound, the artist strives to push back the boundaries of visual storytelling using technology. She believes that audiovisual projects have the power to transform spaces and create comprehensive, immersive experiences. Čuk works across various media, focusing on photography, graphic design, and video and audiovisual projections. Her expression is informed by synthwave and vaporwave, 1980s genres she artfully combines into motifs of endless dystopian landscapes full of colourful artefacts and material relics of a former civilisation. Her expressiveness comes primarily from a retrospective view. In her art, premonitions of the future are memories captured after its collapse.
𝗔𝗻𝘇̌𝗲 𝗦̌𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗰 (1991) earned a BFA from Arizona State University after leaving Slovenia in 2001, first to live in Canada and then settling in Arizona, “the Grand Canyon State”, where he graduated from high school. His studies focused on live drawing and lithography. At the time, fascinated by illuminated manuscripts, modernist printmaking tradition, modern improvised music, and philosophy, he chose drawing as his primary medium of expression. After his degree, he moved back to Ljubljana in 2018, earning an MA in 2023 with a work called "Sun, Tree, Wheel". The artist understands drawing as conceptually open, as a general means for instant interpretation of the world, not bound to a specific set of techniques or media. Such an open frame of reference allows him to work across a sweeping range of creative disciplines, from painting and printmaking to spatial sculpture, using them as a means of expression and a tool for re-evaluating his work.
𝗝𝗼𝗻 𝗭̌𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗿 (1989) practices artistic photography based on the concept of the photographic act as a confrontation with what is unconsciously at work within us. Drawing on nature, he transforms this basic motif into meaningful, self-referential scenes. Žagar masterfully plays the medium in its extreme positions. His mimetic depictions of natural landscapes are technically sophisticated, and sometimes, the materiality of the photographic exposure transgresses the expected textures so that, at first glance, they appear graphic, almost cartoonish. In terms of substance, however, the motifs are always transformed into new, fictional realities. In the artist's works, the object reality becomes personified; sometimes, the artist himself appears as the central motif, but often, the subjects are parts of trees, animals, or the landscape itself. The result is a black-and-white poetic atmosphere captured in solitary explorations of deserted landscapes at night. In this way, photography as an encounter with the eerie and the threatening becomes therapy in the sense of overcoming fear and anxiety and exploring the limits of the self.
CREDITS
Artists: Urša Čuk, Anže Šmalc, Jon Žagar
Curator and producer: Matej Tomažin
Text: Maša Žekš
The project is supported by the Artopolis Institute.
Sponsor of accompanying events: Pernod Ricard Slovenija.
