Tone Lapajne: Memory of Earth

Tone Lapajne was a very interesting personality and, as an academic sculptor, he created a vast but so far little known opus of sculptures in concrete, iron and wood. This is the essential part of his artistic path, although in many people’s memories his painting still occupies first place. Material and his relationship to it were central to his inspiration. As a subtle individualist, a bohemian, he created an opus into which, in dialogue with the selected material, his own restlessly glowing personal story is interwoven like a recurring theme. Undoubtedly, Lapajne is first classified in Slovenian art history for his so-called neo-constructivist phase which, however short and perhaps not so fulfilling for him personally, from today's point of view acts like the core phase of his work, with the other two cycles being placed around it: his first cycle, preceding it, with an extraordinary figure of the Marsh Man in concrete, and with Centaur in welded iron that was created upon completing the specialist postgraduate programme at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana; and, on the other side, following it, his ‘associative figurative sculpting’ in wood with which Lapajne reached his artistic climax at a comprehensively designed and prepared individual exhibition in the Mala galerija in Ljubljana in 1976 (winning the Prešeren Fund Award).

Tone Lapajne knew how to attract attention, but he also knew how to convince his audience with the consistency of his reflection in terms of the thematic part of his work as well as via a purified form that became valued through the uniquely conceptualised compositions, in particular objects and ambients. What needs to be emphasised is the broad range of his works that extend from the early miniature art engravings to the monumental public sculptures in Maribor and elsewhere, making his opus continuously turn in completely new directions. A special place in his opus is taken by his well-appreciated set designs and props for theatrical plays. Yet the most famous chapter perhaps remains Lapajne's painting opus that started in 1978 with the wooden reliefs covered with layers of black marsh earth, acting like a unique response to the inquisitive gaze in 1968 when looking at his sculptures "that wanted to become paintings". The artist's childhood wish came true, and the reputation – earned with paintings and his very own technology grounded in earth that functions like colour, which it also replaces – continues, adding a special value to his opus. 

Tone Lapajne: Memory of Earth

"Memory of Earth" is a retrospective exhibition by Tone Lapajne, an important Slovenian artist with an impressive oeuvre, but who has yet to get his due. 

Tone Stojko: The Body in Play

Catalogue accompanying the "The Body in Play" exhibition by Tone Stojko. Gesture and abstraction – two dimensions typical of painting – are introduced into photography by the master of photography ...