Galerija ZDSLU, Komenskega 8, Ljubljana
17. maj - 5. junij 2007 / May 17 - June 5, 2007

Kurator razstave / Exhibition Curator
Aleksander Bassin

Obrazne strukture / Face Structures

Bojan Bensa
Dragomil Bole
Peter Černe
Polona Demšar
Božidar Dolenc
Črtomir Frelih
Metka Krašovec
Vladimir Makuc
Jaša Mrevlje
Tihomir Pinter
Herman Pivk
Zora Stančič
Drago Tršar
Alenka Vidrgar
Jožef Vrščaj
Klavdij Zornik
Živa Žitnik

Obrazne structure
Razstavni projekt Obrazne strukture je nadaljevanje oziroma eno od poglavij (uvodno poglavje je bilo prav gotovo razstava Slovenskega društva likovnih kritikov Figura na začetku stoletja v Galeriji Velenje, 2006) obstoja ali intenzivnega vračanja slike v sodobno vizualno umetnost. Od tu vodi pot k priznanju in dojemanju novega (ali obnovljenega ali tudi popolnoma inovativnega) pojava figure, figurativnosti kot nosilca teme, in sicer z njeno avtorsko, bolj ali manj prepričljivo razsežnostjo, ki jo določata prostorska in čisto duhovna, mentalna kategorija. Zdi se, da ti kategoriji (ponovno) povezuje skupen modernistični imenovalec - če poznamo oziroma če priznamo vrnitev modernizma po postmodernizmu - tako da znova definirata funkcijo figure s podtonom (povrnjene) izraznosti in močno zavezujočim namenom dokazovanja resničnosti obstoja v umetniškem svetu, utemeljenem na predstavitvenih vizualnih izkušnjah stvarnosti. “Zasluge” za tako vlogo in bogato vizualno izkušnjo, ki jo kaže figura v standardnih klasičnih medijih in njihovih konvencionalnih slikarskih, kiparskih in grafičnih tehnikah, ima zlasti razvoj drugega medija, to je fotografije. Ta predstavitveni medij je presegel osnovno funkcijo dokumentiranja dogajanja v fizičnem svetu in zgradil poglobljen, tudi introvertiran dnos do predstavitvene teme. Te zmožnosti fotografije je omogočila sodobna digitalna tehnologija z možnostjo nenehnega učinkovitega pregledovanja (brisanja oz. izbiranja) posnetih dejstev, po drugi strani pa tudi vračanje k ročni tehnični obdelavi, “prilagajanje” pozitiva subtilni analizi in doseganje izjemnih sublimiranih razponov. To je tudi bistveni razlog za vključitev četverice fotografov med razstavljalce. Obrazne structure so v delu Tihomirja Pinterja definirane kot razčiščevanje introspekcije v portretirančevo ekspresivno fiziognomijo. V zmuzljivi avtoportretni študiji se Drago Bole sooča z dodatnim polnoplastičnim vizualnim “okoljem”, medtem ko strukturni premiki in prekrivanja pri iterativnih avtoportretnih sekvencah Božidarja Dolenca omogočajo prehod v pravo psihološko analizo. Le-ta se pri Hermanu Pivku še stopnjuje, ko simulira slikano strukturo v pravo sublimacijo z dodano bizarno razsežnostjo. Intimnost, ki jo sproža fizična miniaturnost, z dodano prosojnostjo materiala (stekla), je Polona Demšar predstavila s podrobnim avtoportretnim obraznim naličjem, “ujetim” v pravi plastični kubus. Podobno kot sta se pri Demšarjevi združila fotografski in kiparski medij, Vladimir Makuc s svojo slikarsko-risarsko izvedbo pristaja na porcelanasto ploščo: senzacija odsevne gladkosti materiala bogati stereotipno značilno človeško in animalistično fiziognomijo s sublimno fizično in mentalno krhkostjo. Pri izbrani dvojici grafičnih umetnikov sta obe izbrani deli rezultat poglobljenega prepleta čiste trdne risbe in skoraj “rentgenske” črno-bele introspekcije (Črtomir Frelih) oziroma kombiniranega sledenja risbi ter barvnemu plastenju v obliki “prilagajanja” portretni podobnosti (Zora Stančič). Med kiparsko četverico (poleg Demšarjeve) prav gotovo Drago Tršar vzdržuje najmočnejšo strukturno zasnovo, ki je v načelu tudi njegov nespremenljivi izvirni avtorski koncept, zunaj katerega bi njegova vizualna govorica tako rekoč onemela. Presnovitev portreta Alenke Vidrgar s pomočjo poudarjeno ekspresivnih, grobih anatomskih detajlov in povečav približuje kiparkino delo psihološki interpretativni estetiki. Vrščajeva “dvojica” se vključuje v raziskave nove figuralne slojevitosti, na katero vpliva tudi tehnologija oblikovanja v poliestru. V delu Petra Černeta se razkriva vertikalna kompozicija s prepričljivimi plastičnimi kroglastimi podrobnostmi, ki izzvenevajo v figurativno osmišljeni groteskni strukturi. Grotesknost označuje tudi izbrano delo mladega Jaše Mrevljeta: delo, ki je kot iztrgano iz bogato narativne, v duhu stripov poenostavljene in barvno poudarjene fabulacije. Domišljeni izraz, zasuk glave, risarsko in barvno poudarjeni detajli na njej in sploh “osamosvojitev” lika podobe opredeljuje obrazno strukturo v delu mlade Žive Žitnik. Barvita ekspresija anonimnega toposa glave, vpete v poseben prostorski okvir analitičnih raziskav, pa izpostavlja slika Dosje Bojana Bense. Pravo nasprotje, se pravi gladkost, negibnost razodeva obličje v delu Metke Krašovec, katere slikarstvo temelji na metafizični zastalosti z melanholičnim podtonom. In končno se skozi dvojni - moški in ženski portret pokaže nestor moderne slovenske vizualne scene Klavdij Zornik kot izvrsten interpret (še vedno) realistične prepoznavnosti v memorialni strukturi zamrznjenih podob.

Aleksander Bassin

Face Structures
Face Structures should be seen as one in a sequence of exhibition projects (the introductory one being the exhibition staged by the Slovene Association of Art Critics, Figura na začetku stoletja [The Figure at the Beginning of the Century], at Gallery Velenje in 2006) that focus, in the wider context, on the existence or the intense comeback of the painting in contemporary visual art, and following from that, on the recognition of and attention to the new (or restored or even completely innovative) emergence of the figure, on figuration as the main subject, with its distinctive, authoritative dimension defined by the categories of space and a purely spiritual, mental quality. These categories seem to (again) share a common modernist denominator - that is, if we recognize or acknowledge the resurgence of modernism after postmodernism; they redefine the function of the figure in all its complexity, with an undertone of (restored) expressiveness and a commitment to proving the reality of existence in art, based on the representational visual experience of reality. The “credit” for this role of the figure and its profuse visual expression in the traditional media by conventional painting, sculptural, and graphic techniques goes primarily to the development of the medium of photography. This medium of representation transcended its initial function of documenting the physical world and went on to establish a profound, even introverted relation to the represented subject. This has been made possible on the one hand by contemporary digital technology, which enables constant effective checking (deleting = selecting) of the shots, and on the other, by a return to manual technical manipulation, to “modifying” a positive for the purpose of subtle analysis and reaching extremes of sublimity. This was also our main reason for including in the present show four photographers. In the work of Tihomir Pinter, the facial structures are introspective explorations of the sitter’s expressive physiognomy; Drago Bole’s elusive self-portrait study is juxtaposed with a solid plastic visual “environment;” the structural shifts and overlaps in Božidar Dolenc’s iterative self-portrait sequences pave the way for a true psychological analysis, which is taken even further in the work of Herman Pivk: simulating a painted structure, the work becomes a sublimation with a bizarre dimension. With her detailed self-portrait face “encased” in a plastic cube, Polona Demšar nderscores the intimacy that is triggered by the diminutive scale and the transparency of the material (glass). Similar to Demšar bringing together photography and sculpture is Vladimir Makuc’s combination of painting and drawing on a porcelain surface: the sensation of the material’s reflective smoothness makes the stereotypically characteristic human and animal physiognomies richer by giving them a sublime physical and mental fragility. The works of the two graphic artists result from, in the case of Črtomir Frelih, a fusion of pure, solid drawing and an almost x-ray-like black-and-white introspective view, and in the work of Zora Stančič, a combined outline drawing and layering of paint in order to “approximate” a portrait likeness. Of the four sculptors (in addition to Demšar), Drago Tršar’s structures remain the most istinctive, displaying his nchanging, original artistic concept, without which his artistic voice would fall silent. Alenka Vidrgar’s transformation of the portrait with very expressive, coarse anatomic details blown out of proportion transports her work into the realm of psychological interpretive aesthetics. Vrščaj’s “pair” follows the explorations of a new figurative layering, deriving also from his technique of working in polyester. The work of Peter Černe is a vertical composition with convincing plastic spherical details that lend the figurative structure a grotesque aspect. Grotesqueness is also a trait that stands out in the work of young Jaša Mrevlje: the piece seems extracted from his rich narrative, simplified in the spirit of a comic strip, and emphatically colorful. The facial structure in the work of Živa Žitnik, another young artist, is characterized by an elaborate expression, a turn of the head, drawn details and color emphases, and a general “breaking free” of the figure in the image. Bojan Bensa’s painting is a colorful expression of an anonymous topos of a head caught in a special spatial framework of analytical research. In stark contrast to the above, the face in the work of Metka Krašovec is smooth, immobile, conveying a fundamental trait of her painting - a metaphysical arrest with melancholy undertones. And lastly, the double, male and female, portraits by the father of the modern Slovene visual arts scene, Klavdij Zornik, show that he is an extraordinary interpreter of the (still) realistic recognizability in the memory structure of the frozen images.

Aleksander Bassin

Tihomir Pinter
Portret slikarja Evgena Sajovica /
A Portrait of the Painter Evgen Sajovic
fotografija / photograph, 40 x 40 cm, 1982

Dragomil Bole
Edi in jaz / Edi and Me
fotografija / photograph, 70 x 70 cm, 1985

Božidar Dolenc
Iz serije Avtoportret - kultiviranje idej /
From the series Self-portrait - Cultivating Ideas
fotografija / photograph, 32 x 24 cm, 1985

Herman Pivk
Brez imena / Nameless
fotografija na platnu / photograph on canvas,
148 x 100 cm, 2004/2006

Polona Demšar
Avtoportret / Self-portrait
fotografija na steklo, pleksi steklo /
photograph on glass, Plexiglas, 35 x 35 x 35 cm, 2007

Vladimir Makuc
Evropa / Europa
žgana glina prevlečena s porcelanom / terracotta with
a porcelain veneer, 30,5 x 34,5 cm x 18 cm, 1998

Črtomir Frelih
Glava / Head
kolagrafija / collagraph, 66 x 57 cm, 2007

Zora Stančič
Obraza / Faces
računalniški print / digital print, 150 x 100 cm, 2000

Drago Tršar
Portret T.K. / A Portrait of T. K.
mavec / plaster, 45 x 40 cm x 30 cm, 1971

Alenka Vidrgar
Portret D. B. / A Portrait of D. B.
žgana glina, bron, plastika / terracotta, bronze,
plastic, višina / height 25 cm, 2007

Jožef Vrščaj
Marija / Mary
polyester / polyester, 24 x 21 x 20 cm, 1981

Peter Černe
Cvetlični portret S.G. / Floral Portrait of S.G.
barvana glina / colored clay, 74 x 31 x 29 cm, 1989

Jaša Mrevlje
The joke was on me
olje / oil, 60 x 50 cm, 2006

Živa Žitnik
Mitja
olje, papir / oil, paper, 70 x 100 cm, 2006

Bojan Bensa
Dosje glave / Record of the Head
olje, platno / oil, canvas, 130x130 cm, 1997

Metka Krašovec
Suzana / Susanna
akril, platno / acrylic, canvas, 160 x 145 cm,
8.1.1990

Klavdij Zornik
Mož in žena / Husband and Wife
olje, karton / oil, cardboard, 46 x 55 cm, 2000

Obrazne strukture / Face Structures
Galerija ZDSLU, Komenskega 8, Ljubljana
17. maj - 5. junij 2007
May 17 - June 5, 2007
Kurator razstave / Exhibition Curator
Aleksander Bassin

Razstavo sta podprla / The Exhibition has been supported by
Mestna občina Ljubljana
Ministrstvo za kulturo Republike Slovenije
Izdajatelj / Publisher
Društvo likovnih umetnikov Ljubljana / Ljubljana Fine Artists Society
Komenskega 8, Ljubljana
T: 01 434 94 65
E: info@dlul-drustvo.si
www.dlul-drustvo.si
Zanj / on its behalf
Alenka Vidrgar
Jožef Vrščaj
Besedilo / Introduction by
Aleksander Bassin
Prevod / Translation
Tamara Soban
Oblikovanje / Design
Dušan Muc
Priprava in tisk / Prepress and print
Mat-Format, Ljubljana
Naklada / Print run
300 izvodov / copies
Ljubljana, Slovenija
2007
CIP - Kataložni zapis o publikaciji
Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, Ljubljana
73/76(497.4)”20”(083.824)
OBRAZNE strukture = Face structures : [Galerija ZDSLU, 17. maj - 5. junij 2007] / Bojan Bensa ... [et al.] ; [besedilo Aleksander Bassin ; prevod Tamara Soban]. - Ljubljana : Društvo likovnih umetnikov = Fine Artists Society, 2007
ISBN 978-961-92049-1-7 1. Vzp. stv. nasl. 2. Bensa, Bojan 232872192