Ivana Bajec, Simon Kocjančič
4 February 2016 – 28 February 2016
P74 Gallery, Trg Prekomorskih brigad 1, Ljubljana
You are cordially invited to the opening of the exhibitions by Ivana Bajec and Simon Kocjančič on Thursday, 4 February 2016 at 19.00 at the P74 Gallery in Ljubljana.
Curator: Nina Skumavc
Ivana Bajec
Simon Kocjančič
Ivana Bajec and Simon Kocjančič belong to the younger generation of artists and are presenting their work in Ljubljana for the first time.
Ivana Bajec doesn’t write her diary, she draws it. She enters the daily impressions that pile up into a small format sketchbook, which along with drawing supplies she carries with her constantly. In the process of transmitting intimate motifs, the stylized figures of the people, objects, beings that she meets in her real life intermix with details of the motifs that she recapitulates from the digital world of computer games. The images frequently extract themselves from paint stains and blemishes; chance and experimentation with different materials, techniques, structures play an important role in creating. The figurations take place in various stages from the recognizable to a gradual transition into total abstraction. As diary entries, they can be more or less clear, even uncertain. We observe that her figures stand for themselves, distanced and alienated. At one point do the depicted images change into virtual characters? Does the virtual world literally devour them?
Ivana Bajec (1990, Pula) graduated in 2012 from painting under the mentorship of Marjan Gumilar at the Academy of Visual Arts and Design, University of Ljubljana, were she is currently finishing her graduate studies with Žiga Kariž. She works in drawing and painting. She lives and works in Ljubljana and has participated in several group exhibitions.
Simon Kocjančič begins the painting process by layering masses of paint and flat surfaces that represent rough contours, suggestions of human figures, mostly heads and arms. Despite the distinct deformation we can recognize hybrid, half-human beings that resemble protagonists from comic books and science fiction films. In the painted images we are witness to an astonishingly distinctive duality. Despite the nearly grotesque details such as unnatural colors and forms with missing facial features, because of their special expressiveness they incite in us a feeling of affection and warmth. This intertwining of the fantastic and the familiar creates a strange atmosphere, both specific and uncomfortable. Before us are both representatives of powerful super heroes and, on the other hand, characters that look almost tragic, as if they were exiled from their planet.
Simon Kocjančič (1979, Koper) studied painting at Arthouse – College of Visual Arts in Ljubljana. In 2007 he graduated under the mentorship of assistant professor Tanja Mastnak and assistant professor Dare Birsa. He is active in the fields of painting, drawing, graphics and photography. He lives and works in Truške. He has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Primorska.