MIHA ŠTRUKELJ

GRID STRUCTURES

May 24 – June 17, 2007

You are kindly invited to attend the opening of the exhibition on Thursday, May 24th

at 8 pm at Škuc Gallery.

Miha Štrukelj belongs to the younger generation of artists which has remained faithful to the classic painting medium in the heyday of new technologies. This is not to say that this group has ignored rapid social change and technological progress, on the contrary: both have influenced their work in terms of imagery and aesthetics.
The underlying concept of Miha Štrukelj's first solo exhibition at the Škuc Gallery is the grid, which is examined from three points of view: as a painting tool, as an ancient planning principle in cities and a as tool in the modern information infrastructure. All three are closely connected and manifested in different combinations in the painting medium.
Planning cities based on grids dates back to antiquity. One of the most famous cities built in this way is New York, often painted by Štrukelj, but from a different point of view: in these paintings Štrukelj uses the grid as the basis for a painting, which helps him paint a motif from a photograph onto canvas. But the grid is not merely a tool, because it conceals a deeper meaning and entails different perceptions and uses. The grid refers to computer infrastructure; the image is built in a grid-like way and, to some extent, the image is subjugated to the grid.
For Štrukelj, painting remains a legitimate medium, which has not lost its attraction, perhaps even more so because of its supposed traditionality. The paintings are not only aesthetic, but offer an interesting modern insight. Despite the fact that painting is (too) often seen as a completely commercial medium, which in the modern context does not have the same expressive power it once had, as it is taken as a category per se. However, a Štrukelj painting offers infinite possibilities: a moment of intimacy, reflection, and the political. In some sense, it is therefore less limited than other, "more contemporary" forms of art.
For the exhibition in Škuc Gallery, Štrukelj will make a site-specific drawing, taking a digitally enhanced image taken by himself and drawing it on a gallery wall, using a grid as an aid and a prominent aesthetic element. The second part of the exhibition will be an overview of his oil paintings in recent years which, however, share the imagery and aesthetics of his latest works in the third part of the exhibition, mainly drawings on paper and transparent paper, and paintings on canvas and plastic surface. The images, which become almost abstract, encourage the viewer to become engaged and discover the world of the painter's personal stories.
The exhibition comprehensively highlights Štrukelj's examination of motifs, translated from his own photographic material and occurring both in his most recent work as well as in the wall drawing.

Curated by Alenka Gregorič.

MIHA ŠTRUKELJ
Born 1973 in Ljubljana. He graduated and finished his MFA studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana. He also attended exchange program at  IUP Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He lives and works in Ljubljana.  See CV

The programme of Škuc Gallery is supported by Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and Cultural Department of the City of Ljubljana.

 

For further information contact Alenka Gregorič, artistic director of the Škuc Gallery on +386 1 251 65 40, galerija.skuc@guest.arnes.si.