Recognisable for his unique expressiveness, original approach and choice of different materials, he has strongly influenced different time periods in sculpture.Initially, he created sculptures of organic and totemlike forms in clay, wood and copper. Later, he moved towards minimalism, particularly with his sculptures in terrazzo. From 1978 onwards, his research has been directed towards a more symbolic and allegorical relationship with materials, in particular stone, which he has continued to pursue up to the present day, when he also began to create paper, wood and iron sculptures.

In spiritual and physical balance
The artworks on display in Bežigrad Gallery 1 were created between 2022 and early 2025. The female figures in papier-mâché stand atop wooden geometric pedestals, which serve as striking works of art in their own right. Bezlaj arranges the figural compositions on the pedestals, varying between single and paired female figures. He places them in natural body positions that seem unusual yet possible. The figures stand on the pedestals of finite balanced experiences that accentuate their defiance of physical laws. They also signify a journey through timelessness, a moment of actual floating before a conscious descent into another dimension.
The statues are home to female figures in infinite and varied positions overcoming gravity. This is what they achieve in a state of spiritual composure. Their expressions illustrate contentment and happiness.
They transport us to a time of peace and serenity. The time of their state is suspended in a single position. Forever. And yet they appear to be locked in permanent motion and movement. With them we travel into all dimensions of experience and sensations that would seem impossible. We are on the way to their materialization.
Miloš Bašin

Jiři Bezlaj sculptor, drawing artist, poet, writer, essayist 
He was born in 1949 in Ljubljana. In 1974 he graduated in sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana. For more than 40 years he has been working with stone. During this time, he has held more than 120 solo exhibitions or participated in group exhibitions at home and abroad. Until his retirement, he worked as professor of art education at secondary school Gimnazija Bežigrad. In 2004, Bezlaj published his poetry collection Poletje (Summer) and in 2016 his novel Evangelij za pitbule (Gospel for Pitbulls). In recent years, he has been publishing essays on art in the magazine Sodobnost and telling stories at the Storytelling Festival.