JOŽE, group exhibition project

The art initiative DobraVaga, in collaboration with Plečnik House, is presenting ten artists of the younger generation at the exhibition JOŽE. The participating artists created limited edition prints in which they flirted with the life and work of Jože Plečnik, the world-renowned Slovenian architect. 

Participating artists:
Eva Mlinar
Gašper Kunšič
Jure Brglez
Lealudvik
Matija Medved
Nastja Mezek
Nevena Aleksovski
Nina Mršnik
Peter Ferlan 

The reasons for this exhibition, during the occurring Plečnik Year, were emphasised by Lara Mejač, the exhibition curator, “A collaboration between two unique projects, the DobraVaga Gallery and Plečnik House, presents fresh artwork by artists of the younger generation who are active on the local and international scenes. The main initiative for such cooperation is the location of DobraVaga beneath Plečnik's arcades at Ljubljana's Central Market, and the resulting link to Plečnik's architectural heritage. The idea to feature contemporary authors in the historic home of Jože Plečnik is thus a tribute to the Slovenian architect, at the same time offering a new look on him, his work and his life. With its title JOŽE, the exhibition emphasises a personal note, as the authors present their own artistic interpretation of the architect through their prints.” 

Plečnik House curator Ana Porok added that “authors also sought inspiration with visits of the Plečnik House. They found it in maestro’s personal belongings, his plans, details, unique architecture, Plečnik’s portraits and personal anecdotes. Thus a varied collection of art prints was created, which present a different, young and fresh outlook on the icon of our city.”

From the exhibition’s brochure

The collaboration of two unique projects, the DobraVaga Gallery and Plečnik House, presents fresh artwork by artists of the younger generation who are active on the local and international scenes. The main initiative for such cooperation is the location of DobraVaga beneath Plečnik's arcades at Ljubljana's Central Market, and the resulting link to Plečnik's architectural heritage. The idea to feature contemporary authors in the historic home of Jože Plečnik is thus a tribute to the Slovenian architect, at the same time offering a new look at him, his work and his life. Titled JOŽE, the exhibition emphasises a personal note, as the authors present their own artistic interpretation of the architect through their art print.

The versatile selected visual artists are active in various fields, exploring varied topics, issues and concepts in innovative ways. Designer Nina Mršnik draws illustrative portraits, featuring the depicted people in an occasionally humorous, yet instantly recognisable manner. Therefore, she chose one of Plečnik's few known photographs, showing the architect with a relaxed smile and his dog Sivko, as the template for her portrait. Graphic design student Jure Brglez, who places his full-body portraits in a real-fictitious space, full of detail and references to the person depicted, also went with a portrait, merging historic facts and his personal interpretation of Plečnik into his own visual expression. Using his characteristic style with imprecise and spontaneous lines, illustrator Matija Medved drew Jože during the latter's daily walk, utilising miniature details and references to allow the viewer to immediately recognise the familiar figure of Plečnik. Lealudvik, the artistic collective of Lea Jelenko and Matjaž Komel, placed Plečnik's image in the centre of an architectural framework. The artists utilise photography, video, graphic design and illustration, exploring the combination of these elements into their own visual language. Content-wise, they are drawn to unconventional, occasionally controversial themes and supernatural aspects, which is why they used Freemason aesthetics, which Plečnik was controversially charged with several times. Painting student Nastja Mezek bases her artwork on contrasts, exploring the poetry of the co-existence of analogue and digital expression. Her work borders on both an organic, hand-drawn gesture and digital manipulation, which is why she approached the theme from a counter-position, starting from her sketched, imprecise drawing, which ordinarily isn't associated with Plečnik's opus. Peter Ferlan, currently finishing his studies in Illustration, seeks artistic expression beyond the academic framework in his art, and therefore utilised innovative approaches and concepts to turn his print into a riddle, Find Jože!. Visual artist and art historian Eva Mlinar also bases her work in illustration, creating grotesque images that are a combination of her imagination and the real world. In the JOŽE project, she leaned on classical antiquity, which fascinated Plečnik during a study trip around Italy and influenced his own style, and combined it with Plečnik's well-known portrait and his graphic patterns. The artwork of visual artist Nevena Aleksovski is often fragmented, broken up into various symbols and images, sometimes clear and recognisable, sometimes spontaneous and intimate. It seems like the artist offers a key in the form of a rebus to unlock the artwork, though one must read the entire image, not just its individual parts. Gašper Kunšič focuses on painting, digital graphics and installation art, also exploring the importance of precise, symmetrical compositions. He used Plečnik's design of details and ornaments as the basis for his artwork, creating his own graphic structures that form the shape of some sort of furniture–sculpture.

The JOŽE exhibition is thus an intimate story, exploring the response of the authors to the opus and life of an extremely important artistic persona in our local and international space, and in doing so, establishes a dialogue between contemporary production and Slovenian cultural history. This contrast is also emphasised with the spatial placement of fresh art prints into the historic rooms of Plečnik's first home after his return from Prague in 1921. The artists' interpretations are not final, but rather open up the viewer to new views and questions about the Slovenian architect, which merge with the experience of visiting Plečnik House and his legacy. The variety of artistic languages and approaches allows the viewer to uncover new interpretations of his own, at the same time offering a glimpse into the current creativity of the younger generation. 

—Lara Mejač