Iva Tratnik and Erik Mavrič: Demented Rider

Iva Tratnik and Erik Mavrič: Demented Rider
3 November–3 December 2022
MMC KIBLA / KiBela

You are cordially invited to the opening of the exhibition Demented Rider by Iva Tratnik and Erik Mavrič, an occasional duo that combines both creative approaches, on Thursday, 3 November 2022, at 7 p.m. in KiBela.

INVITATION (PDF)
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION (PDF)
EXHIBITED ARTWORKS (PDF)

Iva's painterly, constructional poetics and Erik's meticulous, filigree drawings are combined into monumental surfaces of black-and-white and colored landscapes. The charcoal rubs into the color and conjures up fascinating landscapes, an imaginary environment, and at the same time a space in which not only her and his artistic approaches and techniques flourish, but also their inner world and inspiration, as well as their imagination and energy. It seems as if they both exist not only in their own but also in a shared space-time, in an emotional and conceptual environment composed of fluidity of lines and delicacy of details. A dreamland is emerging in front of us, which is warm, gentle, and attractive, it seems home to us, it invites us to enter its coordinates and bring it to life.

Erik draws with charcoal, one of the original art materials that has been preserved from cave painting. Iva's colors and soft strokes bring it to life and its »elementality« is taken into account, embraced or just brushed through, absorbed or hidden in a new environment that steps from fiction into reality and through our acceptance into the metaphysics of the subjective perceptions and ideas of everyone who finds themselves on the exhibition area. The eruption of both gestures, painting and drawing, passes from work to work and connects them into one, into a single body, which becomes a common abode, refuge, and shelter at the same time. A temple of art, in which artistic knowledge, intimate enlightenment and a sense of disembodiedness reside. The body emigrates from us to the picture, from where we can observe the morphology of revived images and walk through the inviting field of our own perceptions. Whether we are in real or imaginary worlds is a common thing.

Iva Tratnik and Erik Mavrič on the naming of their work Mama Kintsugi: »The drawing Mama Kintsugi fell on the floor during work and was damaged in several places. We patched it up by using the 'kintsugi technique', so a Japanese technique in which a broken object, such as a vase, is glued together with gold. The two of us used gold acrylic. We think it's a good symbol, on the one hand, for mending ourselves personally, and on the other hand, as a symbol for mending the world.«

In 2012, Iva Tratnik (1980) received her master's degree at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana, majoring in painting. She explores various artistic practices, including textile collages, oil and acrylic canvases, sculpture, drawing, installations, and other site-specific interventions. In 2015, as one of the selected artists, she represented Slovenia at the Milan Expo, she presented herself at the Center for Contemporary Art in Celje (2017), the KiBela MMC KIBLA Gallery in Maribor (2018), Škuc in Ljubljana (2019), Rajhenburg Castle in Brestanica ( 2021) and participated in some important group and overview painting exhibitions, such as Lepo slikarstvo je za nami / Beautiful Painting is Behind Us, UGM Maribor (2012); Čas brez nedolžnosti / Time without Innocence, Moderna galerija, Ljubljana (2019); Napeta sedanjost / Tense Present, KIBLA PORTAL, Maribor (2019). In parallel, she deals with performance, where she experiments with voice, movement, mask. Works autonomously or in temporary collectives.

https://ivatratnik1.wixsite.com/iva-tratnik-1

Erik Mavrič (1979) studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana, where he graduated in 2004 and obtained a master's degree four years later. During his studies, he received the student Prešeren award in 2012, a special recognition of the expert jury at the 16th Slovenian sculpture exhibition. He presented his work at several solo exhibitions, among others at the Krško Gallery (2014), the DoubleRoom arti visive Gallery in Trieste (2018) and the Alkatraz Gallery in Ljubljana (2018), as well as at numerous group presentations at home and abroad. He currently lives in the area around Krško.

Entry is free.

< Iva Tratnik and Erik Mavrič, Demented Rider, 2022, mixed media on paper.

MMC KIBLA / KiBela, Ulica kneza Koclja 9, Maribor
Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.