17 January — 21 March, 2025

Curator

Jernej Čuček Gerbec

The Shaping Change exhibition explores our relationship to the ever-changing environment. The title hints at both the influence and power of the environment and the potential of the individual to play an active role in changing it. Most of the works presented in the exhibition were created during a time of collective upheaval and radical social change, that is, during the pandemic, which represented both social isolation and the disturbance in supply chains. At the same time, the works also present the development and transformation of artistic practice, which was conditioned by the availability of artistic materials.

Luka Širok paints expressively and creates his cycles in accordance with his current mood, while in his process, he leaves room for experimentation and exploration of his own expression. This is reflected in the gradual construction of his works over a longer period. Each cycle thus represents a rounded, holistic introspection into an individual theme or feeling. The Safari series (2020), which includes the works Robocop in lunar park, Finding shoe, Monster behind the mask and What can I say to someone who isn't wearing a mask, represents the beginning of a future artistic direction. During the pandemic, the author replaced the then difficult-to-access canvas with PVC panels, thus creating works of larger formats. We can see plenty of abstraction in the latter, from which recognisable images gradually emerge. These then merge with the background in a distinctly expressive style to create a rhythmic, almost geometric artistic field. We can also recognise masks and other elements that marked the period of creation.

Like the paintings, Širok’s sculptural works are also being created, which produce a new form through individual objects that he found, which in their vortex create a new expressive object of specific meaning, imbued with personal stories.

The development and transformation of his painterly expression, depicted in the Safari series, comes full circle in the work Family Circle, completed at the end of 2024, which incorporates the already familiar abstraction and later figuration into the composition in a very meaningful and thoughtful way. This work represents a new period, where content is brought to the fore and the expressive language is perfected.

Luka Širok (1982) graduated in painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice in 2007. Today, in addition to painting, he also draws, creates collages, and applies printmaking and sculpture. He has exhibited his works in Slovenia, Austria, Italy, Serbia, Germany, the USA, Monte Carlo, Croatia, and Poland.

UPCOMING

17 January — 21 March, 2025

SHAPING CHANGES

Širok Luka

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