Zdenko Huzjan: Still Sites

Zdenko Huzjan: Still Sites
19. 6.–10. 7. 2020
artKIT, Glavni trg 14, Maribor

You are hereby kindly invited to attend the opening of the exhibition by Zdenko Huzjan entitled Still Sites, which will take place on Friday, 19 June 2020, at 8 p. m., in exhibition space artKIT (Glavni trg 14, Maribor, SI).

INVITATION (PDF)

Zdenko Huzjan's work is immersed in thinking about the outflow of a life. He is a figuralist who places the oversized bodies of his figures in spacelessness. By floating in an intangible void, they are freed from the time flow and trapped in a vacuum of "now." In a time without distances. However, the attempt to escape from changing, ageing, disintegration … from death is unsuccessful. Sad portraits of large skulls, dark eyes, withering faces, and shrunken bodies still show signs of relentless passing. His paintings sink into an intangible serenity. Into the peace that comes with reconciliation – a theme that is one of the central motifs in Huzjan's poetry as well. The exhibition is accompanied by a collection of poems Still Sites, where the artist deals with his own rejection and acceptance of the inevitable. Principally through impressions from nature, the verses exude the beauty in the tragedy of the living experience, which gives value to life precisely because of time’s unpredictability and the certainty of the end.

ZDENKO HUZJAN is one of the representatives of Slovenian modern art in the field of painting. He was born on September 13, 1948, in Lendava. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, Department of Painting in Ljubljana (1972), where he also attended a specialization in painting (1972–1974). In 1988, he received the Recognition of Important Works of Art at the University of Ljubljana. He was appointed full professor of painting and drawing at the University of Ljubljana in 1997.

He is recognizable as a painter, graphic artist, sculptor, and poet. He has exhibited in more than 120 solo exhibitions, of which 6 were retrospective (Zdenko Huzjan. Prints 1983–1994, review exhibition. Gallery of Fine Arts, Slovenj Gradec, 1994; Zdenko Huzjan – retrospective exhibition. Modern Gallery, Ljubljana, 1995 (transferred to the Maribor Art Pavilion). Zdenko Huzjan - a retrospective exhibition of drawings. International Center of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, 2000; Huzjan. Monograph Exhibition. Murska Sobota Gallery, Murska Sobota, 2000; Zdenko Huzjan Paintings. Murska Sobota Gallery, 2008; Zdenko Huzjan. Paintings and drawings 2000-2008. City Gallery, Ljubljana, 2009) and over 420 group exhibitions in Slovenia and abroad. He has received 30 awards and recognitions for his creative work. The most important are the Prešeren Fund Award, Ljubljana 1988; Rihard Jakopič Award, Ljubljana 2002; Župančič Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Field of Culture, Ljubljana 2005; Award of the Expert Jury of the Association of Graphic Artists of Hungary, IV. International Biennial of Drawing, Plzen 2004; Honorary Diploma, IV: International Art Triennale, Majdanek 94. Panstwowy Muzeum na Majdanku, Lubin 1994; Albertina Purchase Award, 2. Biennial of Slovenian Graphics, Otočec 1992, Purchase Prize of the Modern Gallery. International exhibition of original drawings, Rijeka 1986, Redemption Prize of Nikšič, 4. September Youth Art Salon, Nikšič 1982, Prize, Panonia 77, Szombathely-Eisenstadt-Murska Sobota 1977.

Huzjan's works can be found in the collections of museums and collectors in Slovenia and abroad (selection): Moderna galerija Ljubljana, Mestna galerija Ljubljana, Mestni muzej Ljubljana, Umetnostna galerija Maribor, Muzej in galerija Murska Sobota, Muzej Lendava / Lendva, Obalne galerije Piran, Mestna galerija Ingolstadt, Albertina Wien / Vienna, Graphics Cabinet JAZU Zagreb, Art Salon Cetinje, City Gallery Nikšič, NLB Ljubljana Collection, BTC Collection, Mercator Collection, Riko Collection, and private collections.

His creativity also passes into literature; he is recognized as a poet and essayist. His poetry collections: Mačuhice (1992), Znamenja (1993), Živalice (1994), Solea krema (2004), Priključki (2006), Zapestja (2008), Tišinasto (2012); proza: Mušji ples (2019).

Free entrance!
The opening event will consinder the recommendations of the NIJZ.

< Still Site, 2019, oil and wax on canvas, 40 x 30 cm

artKIT, Glavni trg 14, Maribor
Monday–Friday 4 p. m.–8 p. m.