List of participants of the International Fine Arts Colony 1998-2017

Tomo Vran, selector

Participants:

Jelka Flis, Slovenija
Samo, Slovenija
Aleš Sedmak, Slovenija
Lanzaretti Alberto, Italija
David Hinchliffe, Avstrija
Majda Skrinar, Slovenia
Manfred Mörth, Austria
Ulrike Kasper, Germany

Opening of the 20th International Fine Arts Colony: 21st July 2017, at noon, Knight’s Hall, Križanke

Twenty years ago, when we first came up with the idea of adding variety to the Ljubljana Festival with activities from the field of the visual arts, we hardly dreamed that the International Fine Arts Colony project would be such a success and produce such excellent results – and above all that it would develop such a reputation among artists in other countries. If we include this year’s guests, the Ljubljana Festival has hosted 160 artists to date – 80 from other countries and 80 from Slovenia. The result of all this is a rich permanent collection of works of art – the Ljubljana Festival Collection.

 Our arts colony or workshop is one of the few to take place in such a distinctly urban setting, and probably also one of the few to offer painters such ideal conditions for work. The venue itself – the Pergola in Plečnik’s Križanke complex, where the painters work – seems to have something very positive about it: it undoubtedly stands at a point that radiates powerful positive and creative energy. For the duration of the workshop, this is complemented by the other Festival events – musical and theatrical – and this synergy creates an ideal stimulus for the visual artist.

Visual language draws on the same poetics as all other artistic languages. Visual perception is not only determined by material factors but also by cultural ones and by memory. The impulses that these coded and modified »pictures« stimulate in our brains, so that they themselves become active in the process of creativity, can be of various types. The majority of artists and interpreters say that when several types of artistic expression interweave simultaneously, that is when they themselves are more creative. It is well known that the creative process in human beings is not only based on the rational part of the consciousness, but draws above all on the irrational part, in other words sensitivity, impulsiveness, intuition, instinct – in short, on all the emotions. In the moment in which a visual artist sits down in front of an empty white canvas, they have to engage all their mental and physical capacities and »cast a spell« on the canvas if they wish to arrive at the desired result. No »inspiration« in the traditional or romantic sense can guarantee success – for inspiration is nothing more than a continuation of one’s own thought process. Instead, the artist must be carried by the emotions.

This year, the following artists will be grappling with these emotions: DAVID HINCHLIFFE of Australia, ULRIKE KASPER of France, ALBERTO LANZARETTTI of Italy, and MANFRED MÖRTH of Austria. Participating from Slovenia will be: MAJDA SKRINAR, JELKA FLIS, ALEŠ SEDMAK and SAMO.

Once again this year, we will be joined by the well-known multimedia artist LADO JAKŠA, who will be with us for the entire week. At the opening of the exhibition that closes the fine arts colony, he will provide a musical and visual presentation of an individual artist and their work, using his own artistic vision.

 I wish all participants a great deal of creative inspiration and an enjoyable gathering. I hope that the weather is kind to us and that Ljubljana will enchant this year’s artists as much as it has their predecessors.

Tomo Vran,
Selector