Alen Ožbolt


Sleep-walker (The Third Man) I, 1996, stairs installation (sewn pillows)
+
Sleeping/Dreaming, 1996 (sewn pillows)
Sewing, I.-II., 2001 (thread, felt, frames)

The selected works by Alen Ožbolt shown at this exhibition feature thread as a means of drawing and painting; but it is also present only as a means of the realisation of a visual position characterised by the element of active inclusion of the viewer into the work. Ožbolt normally uses a number of different substances in his artistic work, and precisely their material properties make up the artist's statement touching on entirely immaterial phenomena. His works are artistic messages that reflect human sensations with the utmost sensitivity and subtlety. The selection for the Thread exhibition in Slovenj Gradec includes Sleepwalker (The Third Man), which deals with sensations related to the unconscious uncertainty, which we frequently encounter in the relationship between reality and our phantasms of the dream-world. This work speaks about doubts experienced by an individual while learning about the world and the self. It is about questioning that leads from sensation through thinking to the establishment of criteria, on the basis of which we evaluate and make decisions to reach more or less firm statements and positions. In Alen Ožbolt's work, the questioning and uncertainty relate to two spheres: one of them belongs primarily to the artist, while the other is established with the installation of the artwork into the gallery space. Ožbolt's installation and the manner of its emplacement fundamentally provoke feelings of unease and uncertainty, but they aim at inducing the visitor to re-evaluate his/her own assessment of the seen and the experienced, and to establish a solid position understood as a precondition for a successful further step.

---

Born in 1966 in Ptuj. He studied at the Academies of Fine Arts in Zagreb and in Ljubljana, and also as a visiting artist at the San Francisco Art Institute. Between 1984 in 1995 he worked within the Veš slikar svoj dolg/Painter, do you know your dues (VSSD) art group. Since 1996 he works independently. He created numerous projects and exhibitions at home and abroad, won several scholarships (e.g., Fulbright and SCCA) and attended several “Artist in Residence” programmes (e.g., StudioProgram and ArtsLink). He lives and works in Ljubljana.

Solo exhibitions (selection):

2003 Odprto zaprto/Open and Closed, Galerija Miklova hiša, Ribnica
2002 Rob, Igra solz, Dvoje, Še /Edge, Crying Game, Double, Encore, Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana
2001 Sejalec/1.000.000. /The Sower/1.000.000., Galerija Kapelica, Ljubljana
2000 Rob/Edge, Galerija Miroslav Kraljevič, Zagreb
1999 Introspektiva/Introspective, Galerija sodobne umetnosti, Celje
1998 Prej in potem/Before and After (liquid paintings/breathing emplacement), Galerija Equrna, Ljubljana
1996 Mesečnik.Tretji človek. (mehka postavitev)/Sleep-walker. The Third Person. (soft emplacement), Informacijsko središče, Moderna galerija, Ljubljana
1995 XLVI. Beneški bienale, Slovenski paviljon; Slika Slike II./The Painting of a Painting II, Venice
1994 V.S.S.D. (pet prostorskih slik/five space paintings), Chapter Gallery, Cardiff

Group exhibitions (selection):

2004 Umetnost 85/95 / Art 85/95, Moderna galerija, Ljubljana
2001 Revizije. Slika 70 + 90/Revision. Painting 70 + 90, Galerija P74, Ljubljana
1999 Aspekte/Positionen. 50 Jahre Kunst aus Mitteleuropa 1949-1999, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna
1995 6. Trienale der Klein Plastik, Stuttgart
P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E. Collection (October, November), Museum Mucharnoc, Budapest
Das Urwortmuseum, ACC-Gallery, Weimar
1993 Pogled v oči/Look into the Eyes, Aperto, Beneški bienale, Venice

http://www.alenozbolt.si