Aksioma - Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana
in collaboration with Koroška Gallery of Fine Arts
presents:
SLO >

Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša

Signature

The Dr. Franc Sušnik Central Carinthian Library Ravne na Koroškem, Slovenia

24 September - 24 October 2010

 
 
PRESS RELEASE

Janez Janša, Janez Janša and Janez Janša tackle collectively the issue of the politics of painting for the first time. The project Signature consists of twenty-seven paintings, which were commissioned by the Janšas and painted by the artist Viktor Bernik. Each one of them depicts the signature Janez Janša painted in thick acrylic paint. The paintings, assembled in nine triptycs, differ from one another visibly only due to the manual manufacture of the image of each signature. When the viewer pays closer attention to the signature on each triptych, it becomes clear that the difference ensues from the combination of the signatures of the authors of the project. It seems as if each triptych has been conceived by different authors. In the twenty-seven paintings, we encounter four different combinations of words, that is, four variations of the names and the surnames Davide Grassi, Emil Hrvatin, Janez Janša and Žiga Kariž.

In the book of the same title, which will be launched at the opening of the exhibition, Petja Grafenauer points out that the painting project Signature by the three Janšas raises the question of authorship, which is still perceived as a highly individual matter in fine arts and which is considered the expression of the work of the artist genius himself. Is the author the artist who created the work, or the artists who signed it? And who is the signatory, and how many of them are there? Is Emil Hrvatin a different author from the same person with the name Janez Janša? What are the market and the cultural value of these two triptychs?Are they the same or different?

The theorist Miško Šuvaković situates the exhibition Signature within the broader project Janez Janša, in which Janez Janša, Janez Janša and Janez Janša continue the practice of “exploring, testing and reorganising the structure of human naming. The naming and designation, that is, the mediation by virtue of the name for communication and identification purposes, have become the central topic of their artistic exploration of the human condition (conditio humana)”.
Janez Janša is an author, director and performer of interdisciplinary performances. He has studied sociology and theatre directing at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and performance theory at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. [MORE]

Janez Janša is a conceptual artist, performer and producer graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts of Milan, Italy. His work has a strong social connotation and is characterized by an inter-media approach. [MORE]

Janez Janša represents the younger generation of artists, who problematise the field of painting through the use of media image and a free relationship with various technological processes. [MORE]




Credits:

Signature

Concept: Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša

Exhibition

Curator: Marko Košan
Produced by: Aksioma - Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana
Co-produced by: Koroška Gallery of Fine Arts
Executive producer: Marcela Okretič
All exhibited works painted by: Viktor Bernik

Supported by: the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, the Municipality of Ljubljana and the Municipality of Slovenj Gradec

Contact:
Aksioma - Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana


BOOK
.
Podpis / Signature

EDITORS: Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša
TEXTS: Miško Šuvaković, Petja Grafenauer
LANGUAGE: Slovenian / English
GRAPHIC DESIGN: studiobotas
RELEASE: September 2010
150 x 210 mm - 144 pages
ISBN: 978-961-92192-1-8
PUBLISHERS: Aksioma - Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana and Koroška Gallery of Fine Arts

download book sample


Italian translation

Signatures in public space


Signature (Horse Saddle)
, Konjsko sedlo, 2007


Signature (Hollywood Walk of Fame), Los Angeles, 2007


Signature Event Context, Berlin, 2008


Signature (Conspire. Transmediale 08), Berlin, 2008;


Signature (NAME Readymade. steirischer herbst), Graz, 2008


Signature (Kunsthaus Graz), Graz, 2008


Signature (Copacabana beach), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2008


Signature (Ars Electronica), Linz, Austria, 2009






Works


Janez Janša
Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša, 2010, Triptych, Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 240 cm


Janez Janša
Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša, 2010, Triptych, Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 240 cm


Janez Janša
Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša, 2010, Triptych, Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 240 cm


Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša
Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša, 2010, Triptych, Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 240 cm


Emil Hrvatin
Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša, 2010, Triptych, Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 240 cm


Davide Grassi
Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša, 2010, Triptych, Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 240 cm


Žiga Kariž
Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša, 2010, Triptych, Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 240 cm


Emil Hrvatin, Davide Grassi, Žiga Kariž
Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša, 2010, Triptych, Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 240 cm


Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Žiga Kariž
Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša, 2010, Triptych, Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 240 cm