Natura mortua

Boris Beja, Andrej Brumen Čop, Gašper Capuder, Olja Grubić, Petja Kocet, Tanja Lažetić, Eva-Maria Lopez, Tilyen Mucik, Alja Piry, Arjan Pregl

Much like horror as genre, the still life is often denounced as popular, repetitive, trivial, formulaic. Horror is said to rely on predictable filmic or literary tropes, while still lifes are often reduced to beautiful images of beautiful things. But it is precisely in their apparent simplicity that layers of meaning hide. Within the rules or constraints of the genre – still lifes are in essence close-up depictions of animate and inanimate nature – the artists here have the opportunity to address some of the fundamental questions of their time, from artistic problems to existential themes. In still lifes, artists demonstrate their artistic skills, while at the same time they meditate on intimate and social structures, relationships, meanings and phenomena through observation. In still lifes we can read everything from the symbolism of objects and flowers, status symbols, and gender, to themes like the passage of time, spiritual dimensions and, increasingly, environmental issues.

In the bouquet of still lifes at EKO 9 we present a selection of work by artists who approach the still life with thoughtful consideration. The range of media and subject matter reveals the popularity and vibrancy of the artistic genre among contemporary artists in Slovenia, and offers an overview of the variety of approaches, interests, and interpretations that grow out of the motif. The juxtaposition of the works on one surface invites reflection through comparison and dialogue, while the position of the room overlooking the garden of the old sanatorium marks a stark contrast between the dead nature of the works and the living nature of the villa’s surroundings, where artist Eva-Maria Lopez designed a living garden installation. The title of the selection – Natura mortua – is a reference to the history of the EKO Triennial, as back in 1996 our predecessors gave the same name to the fifth edition of the Triennial, and the “dead nature” motif also served as the thematic framework of EKO 5.

Boris Beja, Dreams in Transition, 2019/2024, hospital bed and lilies installation, approx. 200 x 90 x 80 cm, courtesy of the artist