The exhibition Although! (Ampak!) presents the contemporary painting production of the younger generation through the works of seventeen students from the Painting Department at UL ALUO. The selection of works aims to showcase the diversity of contemporary production within the department while also highlighting the feelings of uncertainty – economic, personal, ecological, and social – that we face today. The younger generation of artists, completing their studies at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana, is growing up and developing artistically in an unusual time. The pandemic, war in Europe, housing insecurity and the environmental crisis have all seemingly lined up in just the few years of their studies, pushing questions of identity and mental health all the more decisively to the forefront.
Although each exhibited work is an entirely personal vision of each individual artist, together they offer a reflection on contemporary existence – expressed through distorted and deformed human figures, critiques of family relationships, modes of (co)existence, personal identity, and one's position in society, often from a self-ironic perspective. Their works not only address the volatility of our time but also explore the potential of art as a means of processing and questioning. They offer responses that oscillate between introspection and critique, between intimate narratives and broader social commentary. The exhibition embraces an expanded definition of painting, moving beyond the two-dimensional canvas and flowing into various other media, emphasizing the fluidity of contemporary painting and revealing how it can adapt, transform, and intertwine with other materials and disciplines.
The featured artists hold up a mirror to the current state of affairs while making it clear that they are not indifferent to it. As the exhibition title suggests, the artists have no reservations about interrupting the established flow with their own dissenting interjection – both in terms of content and the medium of painting itself. Although! primarily conveys that disruption – of the past, rigidity, and authority – is sometimes entirely justified, and a loud response is undoubtedly needed.
Artists: Eva Anzeljc, Pika Basaj, Samra Buljić, Maxime Custodio, Žiga Kelenc, Jasmina Kovač, Ana Malnar, Kalina Naskovski Perne, Lev Ambrož Okorn, Ajda Podgorelec, Neža Podpečan Toplak, Klara Polajnar, Mori Sikora, Janez Škrlec, Ana Žele, Lučka Žnidaršič, Kristian Župan
Mentors: Prof. Ksenija Čerče and Prof. Uroš Potočnik
MGBS curator: Hana Čeferin
Production: University of Ljubljana
