in-between space / Reflections on Lace within the Contemporary Visual Art Practices
Manca Ahlin, Iniciativa ČIPke -Sara Šabjan/Ida Hiršenfelder/Saša Spačal, Tina Dobrajc, Sanja Grcić, Arven Šakti Kralj Szomi, Polona Maher, Arjan Pregl, Eva Petrič, Alenka Pirman, Irena Romih, Urh Sobočan, Nataša Tajnik Stupar, Metka Kavčič, Kamila Volčanšek in Nika Zupanc
15.6. – 4.9.2016
Opening of the exhibition: 15th of June 2016 at 7 p. m.
Curator: Barbara Sterle Vurnik
Lace has always had an emotional bond with the history of man, his clothing culture and house furnishings. Its centuries-long tradition has been preserved in the European and Slovenian context at an enviable degree to the present day, whereas its role surpassed its original decorative status a long time ago. In such a way the true potential of lace today reaches deeply into the world of art, representing a complex creative field for contemporary artists. The exhibition opens up various forms of manifestation and reflection on lace within the field of the contemporary visual arts and explores its expanded artistic context, both in concept and content.
Contemporary Slovenian artists today understand and are making use of this precious and traditional element of Slovenian cultural heritage at the crossroads of technological practices, contextualizing this special local attribute through their works. Lace, this complex, multifaceted symbol of interconnection, is understood by artists not only as a matrix, but also as a non/material process and artefact, through which it is possible to express many personal and topical subject matters, social movements and aesthetics. The exhibited artworks by the selected artists thus investigate particularly those topics that are naturally linked with the role of lace through history. They deal with the concept of the identity of the individual, home, family, nation, personal and collective memory, their connections and integration of all this in the cosmic structure of our universe. They seek to open up another view of all these subjects, questioning the ingrained patterns and stereotypes associated with them, particularly seeking and revealing also their many internal, concealed and in-between spaces.
(Barbara Sterle Vurnik)
The exhibition is part of the interdisciplinary exhibition project In-between Space, which connects three exhibitions and a glass cabinet that is used on occasions. The exhibitions will – in addition to the permanent collection of the Škofja Loka Museum, which bears witness to the long history of bobbin lacemaking in the Škofja Loka region – present the tradition of bobbin lacemaking from various viewpoints and the reverberations of traditional lace within the contemporary art practices. The project also includes further events to accompany the 17 OIDFA World Lace Congress, which will be held in Ljubljana from 24 th to 26 th of June.
Škofja Loka Museum, Grajska pot 13, SI – 4220 Škofja Loka, tel.: +386 4 517 04 00, info@loski-muzej.si, www.loski-muzej.si
