Prints and Impressions 2

The exhibition is the result of a public call for submissions to Slovenian artists of all generations actively working in the field of fine art printing and printmaking. It serves as a starting point for further research into Slovenian graphic production and its involvement in the contemporary visual art practices. An international expert jury consisting of Barbora Kundračíková (CZ), Mario Čaušić (HR) and Miloš Đorđević (RS) selected the works of 43 artists from the 114 submissions.

In February this year, the International Centre for Graphic Arts issued a public call for participation in an exhibition of contemporary Slovenian graphic arts production from the last three years. Artists were invited to submit their works in the form of originals, photo documentation or in electronic form in any printmaking technique or combination of techniques and on any theme, created from 2018. We received approximately 500 original works from 113 Slovenian artists. The works were reviewed and selected by an international jury consisting of Mario Čaušić (Republic of Croatia), Miloš Đorđević (Republic of Serbia) and Barbora Kundračíková (Czech Republic). This selection of 43 Slovenian artists is on view in the exhibition Prints and Impressions 2 at Tivoli Mansion from 5 July to 2 October this year. The exhibition was prepared by the curators of the International Centre of Graphic Arts, mag. Breda Škrjanec and Božidar Zrinski.

The public call was open to Slovenian artists of all generations actively working in the field of fine art printing and printmaking and serves as a starting point for further research into Slovenian graphic arts production and its integration into the contemporary visual art practices. With this exhibition, the International Centre of Graphic Arts continues its ongoing presentation of what is happening in the field of the graphic arts and the art of printing, which it has been intensively researching and shaping since its foundation. In recent years, MGLC has organised several exhibitions highlighting the innovative power of Slovenia's diverse graphic arts production. The exhibitions organised on the basis of direct invitations to artists or as curatorial selections of artworks produced over a period of time usually involved younger artists, thus foreshadowing and demonstrating a continuing interest in this type of artmaking. In 1993, the exhibition Young Slovenian Printmaking presented a number of new artists who are now classics of Slovenian printmaking and at the same time well-known names in the field of contemporary art. Five years later, in 1998, the exhibition The New Generation again drew attention to the lively activity within Slovenian printmaking. The 2008 exhibition A Third Look, The Multiplicity of the Graphic Arts Today provided a detailed curatorial overview of contemporary graphic arts production in Slovenia. In 2012, following a public call, MGLC prepared the exhibition Prints and Impressions curated by mag. Breda Škrjanec and Božidar Zrinski.

Members of the International Jury: Mario Čaušić, Miloš Đorđević, Barbora Kundračíková

Mario Čaušić, a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb (2001), is currently Associate Professor at the Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek, Department of Visual and Media Arts, specialising in Printmaking. He has participated in numerous national and international exhibitions, including the 30th Biennial of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana (2013). He is the recipient of various prizes and awards in the field of the graphic arts. Within the framework of contemporary visual production, he focuses on printmaking, drawing, painting and video installations.

Miloš Đorđević, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Education in Jagodina, University of Kragujevac, received his master's degree in Graphics from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade in 2007. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Belgrade, specialising in Art and Media Theory. Since 2001, he has actively participated in national and international exhibitions, including the 30th Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts (2013). He is the recipient of numerous prizes and awards in the field of printmaking. He actively publishes theoretical articles on printmaking and contemporary art production, and participates in international symposia on the graphic arts. He is a member of the Council and Coordinator of the Academic Board of the International Printmaking Biennial in Čačak.

Barbora Kundračíková is the Head of the Department of the Museum of Modern Art – Olomouc Central European Forum, one of the largest museum institutions in the Czech Republic. She studied History and Art History, and received her PhD in Aesthetics from the Faculty of Art, Masaryk University in Brno in 2016. Since 2012, she has worked as a curator on various projects of the Central European Forum Olomouc. She is concerned with contemporary art and photography, and the development of image theory in the context of Anglo-American analytical aesthetics. She publishes expert articles and participates in various professional conferences in the field of contemporary art, printmaking and art theory.

Jury Statement:

As Rich as Possible and This Room Is Mine are just two of the possible titles that the jury, together with the curators of the International Centre of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, "quite seriously" considered for the planned annual exhibition at the end of their term. But actually, TOTALLY seriously – ten years in Slovenian printmaking can hardly be evaluated in any other way. The range of possibilities, techniques and artistic strategies, themes and modes of interpretation presented to us was truly staggering. The same goes for the activities of MGLC itself and the professionalism of its team. Like all committees, we regret one thing above all – that we did not have the opportunity to examine more closely the selection, its discussion and adaptation into the form of an exhibition. It is a cathartic experience to be in the presence of GOOD art. But that is the nature of the work of any "independent-expert-international committee" – it is usually not there for the really interesting stuff.

The art world is indeed small, but it perfectly reflects the so-called BIG one. It is in its reflection that we would like to see the work of Slovenian artists and printmakers. Just as printmaking is only a small fragment of the art world, of art as such - but at a certain moment it marks it at its best – so art itself is only one of the practices that cultivate the human mind and imagination – and at the same time the most valuable. For art is our best tool, not because it frees us from everyday reality, but because it strips our existence from its social and political connotations. It is precisely because it places us safely among them, in the WORLD, and at the same time gives us the opportunity to evaluate our lives from a distance, to look at them unencumbered, from a position that is "independent-expert-international" at its core. This is what the rich and diverse Slovenian selection shows us. We should cultivate and develop this unanimous polyphony, the ability to debate, develop and exchange arguments, as MGLC has been doing for years. It is this experience that we, the members of the jury, who are otherwise also simply human beings, take home with us. Fortunately, in this case, we are also involved in its implementation.

Artists in the exhibition:

Žiga Artnak (SVS), Lela B. Njatin, Katja Bednařik Sudec, Domen Dimovski, Živa Drvarič, Mina Fina, Matic Flajs (SVS), Matjaž Geder, Marjan Gumilar, Svetlana Jakimovska-Rodić, Lea Jazbec, Alja Košar, Dalea Kovačec, Nina Koželj, Marjan Kravos, David Kucler, Katarina Marov, Rene Maurin in Gal Šnajder, Tina Mohorović, Meta Mramor, Petja Novak, Mia Paller in Monika Plemen, Metka Pepelnak, Eva Petrič, Oliver Pilić, Arjan Pregl in Simona Semenič, Pri Zlatem stegnu / Katja in Nataša Skušek, Marija Mojca Pungerčar, Lina Rica, Teo Spiller, Mitja Stanek, Breda Sturm, Marko Šajn, Brane Širca, Vlado Škrk, Eva Šuster Orglež, Franc Vecchiet, Sonja Vulpes, Primož Zorko, Leon Zuodar, Klavdija Zupanc, Ulla Žibert, Eva Žula