Vrt naslade

Nina Koželj je kiparka. V tistem pravem, skoraj dobesednem, arhaičnem pomenu. Kiparka, ki modelira. S svojimi lastnimi rokami. Premika in sestavlja. Z močjo lastnega telesa. Se vrača k zemlji in jo žge. Tu se rojeva njena keramika. In prav v to zatišje predvidljivega in ustaljenega je, kot v varen plašč, zavita tudi njena slikovita uprizoritev nepričakovanega
notranjega kiparskega preobrata. Njeno kiparstvo je namreč v resnici svet iritacij in presenenčenj. Svet , kjer nič ni tako, kot se zdi in kjer, kot smetana za povrh, še kipi ne želijo biti več "kot kipi".
Koželjeva spada v najmlajšo generacijo slovenskih kipark, ki pa, kljub ali pa prav zaradi svoje mladosti, zmore presegati ustaljene kiparske obrazce na prav poseben način. Skuša jih sprejeti takšne, kot so, a jih hkrati tudi iztrgati iz zaspanosti in popeljati v "Vrt naslade". Skuša pokazati, da jim je mogoče dati nov kontekst, da je mogoče stare oblike, materiale, vsebine narediti najbolj sodobne. Da je mogoče prav z njimi samimi, še posebej pa z medijem keramike, sodobnega gledalca presenetiti, iritirati. Tako se loteva v formalnem smislu zlasti obravnave volumna na nivoju figuralnega; a na fragmentarnem, abstrahiranem nivoju. Ustvarja hibridna kiparska telesa in (ne)definirane organizme, ki so mehkobni, "topljivi", gibljivi, taktilni, "ki se", kot sama pravi, "želijo pretvarjati, da so živi". V tej slutnji je tudi izvor vse pshične senzacije za gledalca, saj uspe avtorica iz siceršnje statičnosti materiala razviti dinamiko in dogodek. Modernistično izpeljane volumne, viseče, razlezene ali kipeče gmote, polne lukenj, izrastkov, polipov, avtorica z readymade objekti kot so plastične slamice za pitje, mreže, cevke, kovinski odtoki za umivalniki itd., na značilen postmoderen način napihne, napije, ozvoči,... Hkrat pa doseže, da je prav skozi te organizme ošvrknjena z zrakom, oškropljena in ozvočena tudi njihova okolica. Razdeljujejo se nasprotja zunaj-znotraj. Pravzaprav se v tem kiparskem svetu na neki ravni, ko vstopi še interaktvni trenutek stika gledalca in umetnine, vzpostavljajo pravi situacijski konteksti. Od tu pa se avtorica spušča še globlje. V njihovih vsebinskih ozadjih/ospredjih raziskuje njihove močne asociativne pomene, zlasti na nivoju podzavestnega. Ko se voluminiozno telo zaguga na gugalnici, se hkrati pomensko razleze v zvon. Ko se kupčkasta gmota storžasto naplasti, se simbolno spogleda z Willendorfsko Venero. In ko kožno- rožnata barva na neki stopnji postane človeško mehkobna, organska, zbudi v kipu element erotizma, ki asociira na svet človeške telesnosti, čutnosti. Na tej točki dobi "Vrt naslade" še eno možno interpretativno plat. Spomni nas na Boschev "Vrt naslad" in na njegovo metaforo o življenju na zemlji, kot repeticiji Izvirnega greha, zaradi česar smo ljudje tega sveta večni ujetniki lastnih apetitov. Seveda pa je kiparkin "Vrt naslade" v formi mnogo manj ekspliciten in v pomenu še manj definiran. Predvsem se poigrava; s konteksti, z združevanjem nezdružljivega, z domišljijo in z nami. To res delno diši po tradiciji nadrealizma in fantastike ter v svoji fragmentarnosti forme tudi po svetu sanj. A kiparkina bogata domišljija in imažerija ustvarjata svet, kjer se prepletata poleg vsega tudi modernizem in postmodernizem, preteklost in sedanjost. In prav vsi ti prepleti so tisti bistveni dražljaji in glavni junaki vse zgodbe.
Vse njeno kiparstvo je pravzaprav kiparstvo dražljajev, ki rezultirajo kot reakcije pri gledalcu na njegovem čutnem nivoju. Dražljaj ali iritiacija, ki na Lacanovski način spodbudita željo po raziskovanju, po dotiku, po vprašanjih in odgovorih, pa vodita še na en interpretativni nivo kiparkinega "Vrta naslade". In to je element pričakovanja, ki ga tudi želi nenehno vzpostavljat, ter ga še potencira. A tu ne več le na voajerski liniji ampak tudi na pojmu ne/dotakljivosti, ne/ dostopnosti. Kiparka namreč želi preseči stereotip nedotakljivosti umetniškega dela. Sama ugotavlja: "...ko pri določenem kipu zaznamo dražljaj, ki ga tam nismo pričakovali, postane oblika nepomembna, delo samo pa igrača za gledalca". Tako želi, da njena dela ne postanejo resna, želi, da se norčujejo sama iz sebe in iz gledalca, ki "se naslaja" nad njimi in se z njimi igra.
Že William Tucker je v 80. letih - v času "novega kiparstva" kot reakciji na pretiran minimalizem in konceptualizem in v težnji k figuri, metafori, narativnemu, poetični imažeriji- čutil potrebo po vrnitvi k prvinskim počelom; Rodinu, Michelangelu, k prazgodovini. Tony Cragg se je poleg novih postopkov loteval tradicionalnih tehnik modeliranja, kipi pa so hkrati tematizirali, čudno negotova razmerja z okolico. Antony Caro je npr. ustvarjal v keramiki. Sodeč po "Vrtu naslade" bi lahko zaključili, da na podoben način, oziroma nekje na prerezu vsega tega, danes še naprej razvija kvalitete takšnega kiparskega razmišljanja, seveda po lastnih načelih, tudi generacija mladih ustvarjalcev, kakršna je prav Nina Koželj. To pa zagotovo kaže kiparstvu svetlo luč za naprej. Oziroma, če bi njeno delo želeli kontekstualizirati v slovenskem merilu, bi lahko rekli, da avtorica nadaljuje tisti tok slovenskega kiparstva, ki je v 80. letih "po načelu čutnega inkarnata" (po A. Medvedu) združeval umetnike kot so Vodopivec, Smerdu, Begič, Sambolec, le, da je avtorica tu tisto, kar je ekspresivno, gestualno, telesno, osebno mitološko nadgradila v smeri pogumnega, na trenutke celo humornega tipanja v profani, zunanji, sodobni svet imažerije, občutkov in kontekstov. Torej na način, ki že spominja na tisto smer slovenskega kiparstva poznih 80. let, ki so jo označili kot "Novo slovensko kiparstvo" in jo opredeljujejo npr. Bratuša, Barši, Makše, Zidar. Usmeritev, ki naj bi med drugim izhajala tudi iz Lacanovskih teorij in iz pojava "New British Sculpture". Tu nekje, v sintezi vsega tega, lahko najdemo okvirne paralele kiparstvu Nine Koželj, kam pa bo vodila njena kiparska pot naprej, bo pokazal le čas.

Barbara Sterle Vurnik

Garden Of Earthly Delights

Nina Koželj is a sculptress in the real, verbal and archaic sense; a sculptress who moulds, shifts and composes with her hands and the force of her body. She fires the earth to which she returns relentlessly. Here her ceramics are born. Inthis calmness of the predictable the unexpected intrinsic sculptural conversion is concealed. We face a world of excitement and astonishment, where nothing is as it seems, and what is more, the sculptures don’t want to be “just sculptures” any more.
Koželj belongs to the youngest generation of Slovene sculptresses who in spite of her youth, or maybe because of it, is capable of reaching beyond the established sculptural forms in a very special way. She embraces these forms and at the same time awakens them from drowsiness and leads them to the “Garden Of Earthly Delights”. She wants to show that old shapes, materials and contents can be made contemporary when given a new context and can thus astonish and excite a modern spectator principally through the ceramic media. In a strict sense she mainly deals with the figurative shapes on a fragmentary and abstract level. She creates hybrid bodies and indefinable organisms which seem pliable, almost “melting”, mobile and tactile, in a word, “pretending to be alive”. This preconception lies at the source of the spectator’s psychological sensation as the author succeeds in developing dynamic movement and events in the otherwise static material. Her modernistic shapes, writhing and turbulent masses are full of holes, gnarls, polyps supplemented with ready-made objects such as plastic straws, nets, tubes, water pipes etc. In a typically postmodern way these sculptures seem to be puffed up, intoxicated, resonant... The author succeeds in spreading these properties wider, creating a dynamic, effervescent and electrifying milieu encircling her organisms. In this sculptural world the spectator interacts with the art object and limpid realities are established. From here the author delves deeper into the subconscious in search of powerful associative meanings. For example, as a massive shape swings it spreads itself into a bell, while a bulky conical mass of clay symbolically links itself with the Venus of Willendorf. As the skin-pink colour of clay at one point becomes humanly tender, almost organic, it awakens the erotic element in a sculpture associating it with the bodily, sensual human world. Here the “Garden Of Earthly Delights” gains a new meaning, reminding us of Bosch’s famous painting and its metaphor about earthly life as a repetition of the Original Sin which makes humans the everlasting captives of their appetites. However, Nina Koželj’s “Garden Of Earthly Delights” is not so explicit in its form and much less defined in meaning. Above all she plays - with contexts, compatibility, imagination and us, the spectators. We can spot a hint of surrealism and fiction, even bits of dream world in her fragmentary shapes. The artist’s rich imagination and imagery create a world where modernism and postmodernism intertwine along with the past and the present. This blending is the essential excitement in our story.
The sculptural technique of Nina Koželj is based on provoking the spectator at a sensual level. Excitement or irritation are prevalent, which in a Lacan-like manner stimulate the wish for exploration, contact, question and answer, leading us to yet another interpretation of the artist’s “Garden Of Earthly Delights”. She constantly aims to establish and intensify the element of expectation not only on a visual level but also in the sense of the intangibility of an art work, an archetype that must be surpassed. “When in observing a sculpture we sense an irritation the form looses its importance
and the piece of art becomes a toy for the spectator”, says the sculptress. Thus her works should remain humorous, mocking themselves as well as the spectator who “savours” them through play. In 1980’s the time of the “ New Sculpture “ William Tucker reacted against the excessive minimalism and conceptualism in art by reintroducing figural, metaphoric, narrative and poetic imagery and returning to the basic principles of
sculpture represented by Rodin, Michelangelo and prehistory. Tony Cragg embraced both the new and traditional techniques of modelling and Antony Caro worked mostly in ceramics. As to the “Garden Of Earthly Delights” we may assume that somewhere at the intersection of all this a new generation of young artists including Nina Koželj, are developing these same sculptural principles. They represent a highlight
for the future of statuary art.
We may state that in the Slovene context Nina Koželj continues the 1980’s sculptural thrust represented by artists such as Vodopivec, Smerdu, Begič and Sambolec, only Koželj boldly and humorously reaches out further to the profane surface world of imagery, sensations and contexts in a manner of late 1980’s known as “The New Slovene Sculpture” highlighted by the sculptors Bratuša, Barši, Makše and Zidar, a trend that owes much to Lacan’s theories and the movement referred to as “The New British Sculpture”. Summing up all that has been said we can conclude that Nina Koželj’s work is in a state of flux and that only time will tell the future course of her artistic development.

Barbara Sterle Vurnik

Biografija
Nina Koželj se je rodila leta 1985 v Ljubljani. Je absolventka likovne pedagogike na Pedagoški fakulteti v Ljubljani, kjer že tretje leto dela kot demonstratorka pri predmetu keramika pri profesorju Mirku Bratuši in eno leto pri predmetu grafika pri profesorju Črtomirju Frelihu. V preteklih letih je sodelovala na več žiriranih skupinskih razstavah.
Živi in dela v Stahovici nad Kamnikom.

Biography
Nina Koželj was born in Ljubljana in 1985. She is a graduate of Art Pedagogy from Faculty of Education in Ljubljana. She works as a demonstrator at the same faculty in the ceramics classes of Prof. Mirko Bratuša and graphic classes of Prof. Črtomir Frelih. In the past few years she has participated at several juried exhibitions.
She lives and works in Stahovica.

Izbor skupinskih razstav / Selected exhibition
- Razstava po predhodnjem izboru PeF Ljubljana in Maribor, 2008
- Razstava, Figura in portret, galerija Kibla, Ljubljana 2008
- Artefatto 2008, Trst
- Skupinska študentska razstava, Mednarodni trienale keramike, Unicum 09, Ljubljana 2009
- 13. Slovenska kiparska razstava, V vrtincu evropskih vrednot, Ljubljanski Magistrat, 2009;
- Artefatto 2009, Trst
- 1 + 1 Študent in profesor, razstava likovnih del, Cankarjev dom, 2009
- Fotografija leta 2010, Emzin, Cankarjev dom, 2010
- Nina Koželj (kipi, grafike), Ana Pečnik(risbe, slike), galerija PeF, 2010
- Skupinska razstava v okviru razpisa fundacije Vordemberge-Gildewart, Mestna galerija Ljubljana, 2010

Nagrade / Awards
- Priznanje fotografske zveze Slovenije, 2008
- Nagrada sklada Vordemberge-Gildewart, 2010

Nina Koželj
Vrt naslade
Komenskega 8, 1000 Ljubljana, tel.: +386 1 434 9465
e-naslov: info@dlul-drustvo.si, www.dlul-drustvo.si
Organizacija razstave in izdajatelj / Organization of the exhibition and publisher: Društvo likovnih umetnikov Ljubljana / Ljubljana Fine Artists Society; za izdajatelja / For the publisher: Jurij Dobrila, Nina Zelenko; besedilo / Text: Barbara Sterle Vurnik; prevod v angleščino / English translation: Nina Zelenko; oblikovanje vabila in zloženke /
Design: Visart Društvo; foto / Photo: Nina Koželj, priprava in tisk / Dtp and printed by: Mat-Format d.o.o.; naklada / Print run: 300 izvodov / Copies; Ljubljana, Slovenija 2010
Razstavo sta omogočila Mestna občina Ljubljana in Ministrstvo za kulturo Republike Slovenije / The exhibicion has been supported by the City of Ljubljana and the Ministry for Culture of the Republic of Slovenia