Jurij Krpan and Polona Tratnik
Discussion and participatory action

Thursday, 17th June at 8 p.m.
SCCA Project Room, Metelkova 6, Ljubljana, Slovenia

The first event of this year's series oh Studio 6 brings together the conversation between Jurij Krpan, the artistic director of the Kapelica Gallery, and Polona Tratnik, who has cooperated with him for decades. They will present her work and they will discuss specificities that you need to know to understand Polona’s work. They will also discuss strategic dispositions in the art world as well as key links with scientific institutions and specialized expertise. They will touch upon some theoretical, practical and technical aspects of her work so that visitors can also participate in discussion.

Jurij V. Krpan (1961)
During his study at the Ljubljana School of Architecture, he has held exhibitions of his conceptual and research studies of architecture in gallery productions. He and his ZAVOD 3A have hosted independent exhibitions and participated at architectural festivals all over Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Italy and Portugal. He managed an exhibition saloon for smaller formats in his own appartment in coproduction with ŠKUC Gallery. In 1995, he graduated from Ljubljana School of Architecture. He established Kapelica Gallery at the initiative of Student Organisation of the University of Ljubljana which remains under his management even today. As a curator and a selector, he takes part in several domestic and international festivals, with the organization and artistic management of Slovenian pavillion at the 50th Venice Biennial in 2003 and the conceptual gallery Cosinus in the building of the European Commission in Bruxells as his largest international productions to this date. He curated the independent exhibition of the artistic profile of Kapelica Gallery in September of 2008 (Featured Art Scene). From 2004 to 2009 he was the Director of the Department of Art at the Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean (Bruxels), responsible for improvement of the artistic level of the Biennial. In the framework of this organization, he edited the book (ORIGINAL – 100 important BJCEM artists) on artistic significance of the biennial on its twentieth year of existence. In 2006, he was the curator of the Triennial of Contemporary Slovene Arts in the Gallery of Modern Arts in Ljubljana. He exhibits the discourse of modern research art in international space in the co-production of Gallery Kapelica and project Cosinus with project Ekologija Tehno. In 2010, he was a member of the jury at the Ars Electronica Festival for the Golden Nike Award in the category of Hybrid arts. As a member of the jury, he also took part in selecting the cooperating artist for the Share Festival in Turin. J. Krpan lectures on the artistic profile of Kapelica Gallery in Slovenia and mostly abroad.

He exhibited interest in semantics of artistic features in relation to construction production during his research projects in architecture and now only continues to escalate the accentuation of the artistic wok signification and its tactical interaction with the contemporary society. Production of Gallery Kapelica has always been focused on artistic production, which has taken fields of science and technology as the subject of its work. Kapelica hosted all of the most important representatives of the world (Stelarc, Marcel-li, Survival Research Laboratories, Peljhan, Senclie, De Marinis...). Kapelica has trodden the first steps in the field of science through art as well (Symbiotica, De Menezes, Orlan, Tabar, Tratnik, ...) and works that stem out from dealing with human corporeality (O.Kulik, V.Delimar, R.Athey, Franko B, Eclipse, ...) in the territory of Slovenia as well as broader. In the gallery he strives for deconstruction of the privileged status of the gallery as a "white cube" and for combination of artistic expressions with signification as priority. He therefore doesn't apprehend a gallery of modern research practices as a recreative and contemplative space that is intended for tired masses, but as a research and a test platform for active production and investment of meanings as well as reexamination of values in the reality of a modern society.

Polona Tratnik (1976, Slovenj Gradec)
Polona Tratnik (born in 1976, Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia), has received her Ph.D, in philosophy and theory of visual culture with the theme Comprehension of the End of Art: from Hegel to Danto at University of Primorska, Faculty of Humanities Koper (07 December 2007), for which she received Bartol award from the University of Primorska (2008); she got her MA in art (sculpture) (08 January 2002) and graduated from painting (28th of September 1999) at the University of Ljubljana, Academy of Fine Arts. She graduated from a gymnasium (1995).
She is a research associate in philosophy at University of Primorska, Science and Research Centre of Koper (www.zrs.upr.si). In 2009 she has started her postdoctoral project Critical, Resistance, and Activist Strategies in Contemporary Art and Culture (2009–2011). She is a docent (title gained in 2008) for philosophy of culture at the University of Primorska, Faculty of Humanities Koper (www.fhs.upr.si), Department for Cultural Studies, where she was first an assistant for cultural studies (2006). Here she holds and lectures on the following subjects: Introduction to Cultural Studies (undergraduate) – since 2008, between 2006–2008 she was an assistant in this subject, Selected Themes from Culture in Slovenia (postgraduate – since 2009, between 2007–2009 she lectured this subject at undergraduate level), Contemporary Experimental Art, Film and Photography in Global Conditions (doctoral) – since 2009, Contemporary Visual Art and Culture of Europe (doctoral) – since 2009, and on Film Studies (postgraduate) – since 2010. She is a mentor of a few undergraduate students and two doctoral students.
She lectured at several foreign Universities as a guest professor or has invited lectures – she lectured at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM, Mexico City; twice: in November 2008 and September 2009), Centro Multimedia del Centro Nacional de las Artes (Mexico City, September 2008), University of Science and Technology of China, School of Humanities and Social Sciences (Hefei, April 2009), China Youth University for Political Sciences (April 2009), Capital Normal University Beijing, College of Literature, Postgraduate Program (April 2009), International Summer School for postgraduate students of biotechnology (University of Ljubljana, Blood Transfusion Center, University in Beograd, Technological Metallurgic Faculty, July 2008). She was a guest professor and taught a course Introduction to Cultural Studies at the Capital Normal University in Beijing, undergraduate program (Spring 2009) and in February 2009 she was a guest professor for MA students at the University of Art and Design Helsinki Taik (Erasmus program). She co-organizes an international summer school META Humanities 2010 titled “The Mediterranean between Modernity and Post-modernity: Spaces, Cultures, Aesthetics and Ethics”, organized by University of Primorska, Faculty of Humanities Koper. She is a member of the interdisciplinary working group for national cultural curriculum for educational system in the field of inter-media art at the Institute for Education of the Republic of Slovenia (2009 –). She has participated in the educational projects for professional training of professional workers in education 2008–2011 – the project on the Social and State Competences has been coordinated by University of Ljubljana, Pedagogical Faculty (Stimulating Intercultural Dialogue), and the project on the Cultural Consciousness and Expression has been coordinated by University of Primorska, Pedagogical Faculty – both projects include training in contemporary art and culture in execution curriculums and stimulate rise of cultural literacy in collaboration with cultural institutions. She performed invited lectures at several cultural institutions: Art Gallery Maribor (October 2009), Gallery of Fine Arts Slovenj Gradec (December 2008), Museum of Modern Art Ljubljana (January 2007) etc.
Her fields of research cover philosophy of culture, philosophy of art, aesthetics, contemporary art, critical art, visual culture, film, cultural studies, new media, media studies etc. She is a leader of the project Problems of Philosophical Epistemology of Interculturality: An Analysis of Chinese Modernity and Contemporaneity (2009–2012, UP FHŠ), in 2010 she collaborates in an environmental research project (UP ZRS) with the University of Oslo, Center for Development and the Environment (CMEPIUS). She has been the leader of the project Bios in Vitro, engaged with biotechnology, hair cultivation and experimentation with stem cells (2010–2013, Institute Horizonti in cooperation with Blood Transfusion Centre of Slovenia: Center for Typification of Tissue and Center for Immunology, Museum of Modern Art Ljubljana, Galerija Kapelica, UNAM Mexico, University for Science and Technology China, Incubator: Hybrid Laboratory at the Intersection of Art, Science and Ecology, University of Windsor, Canada et al.) and was a leader or a single author of several projects in this field, including Unique, Hair, In Vitro and Transspecies, Microcosm etc. In the intersection of art and life sciences she participated in some major world events: Festival Ars Electronica (Linz, 2008), Accidentes Controlades (Mexico City, 2008), Bios 4 (Sevilla, 2007), Vit<a>rti (Antwerpen, 2007), In Vivo in Vitro (Athens, 2006), Biennial for Electronic Arts (Perth, 2004), L'Art Biotech (Nantes, 2003) etc. She is one of the world pioneers of Bio Art. In her projects intersecting art and science she collaborated with Blood Transfusion Centre (Ljubljana) (2000–), with enterprise Educell: Cell Therapy Service (2000–01), National Technical University of Athens (2006), University of Western Australia: SymbioticA and Faculty for Natural and Agricultural Sciences (Perth) (2004). She as well participated at the ADAM TEMPUS European research project Education, Art and Media in the Process of European Integration, University for Arts, Belgrade (Serbia, 2007).
She is a director of Horizonti (= Horizons): Institute for Art, Culture, Science and Education (2005–). She attended a School for Curators organized by Soros organization for contemporary art SCCA (1998) and has since then curated some exhibitions, among others Green as I Love you Green (2005) on contemporary painting in Slovenia. Currently (2010–2013) she has been dedicated as a curator to a large review project on contemporary sculpture in Slovenia (Gallery for Contemporary Art Celje), with a first exhibition opened in September 2010 at several locations in Celje. In 2005 she was an art manager of the Break 2.3 Festival – New Species. Festival of Experimental Multimedia Art (2005). She received several reputable awards for her work – in visual art: Ministry of Culture annual reward (2008), Golden Bird 2005 award (2006) for her universal engagement in visual art, she was twice nominated for the greatest Slovenian cultural award Prešeren fund award (2008, 2009), during her PhD study she was receiving scholarship of the Slovenian Ministry of Culture for the exceptionally talented students for a deficiency profession of art critic and analytic; she received student Prešeren award for painting (2000) and Rotary Club reward for sculpture (2001); for her drama text she received Preglej award (2007) and for a short prose she received Spletno Pero award (2006).
She is the single author of two scientific monographs: Transumetnost. Umetnost in Kultura v Sodobnih Globalnih pogojih (= Transart. Art and Culture in Contemporary Global conditions), Goga, 2009, 200 pp. and Konec umetnosti – genealogija modernega diskurza: od Hegla k Dantu (= The End of Art – Genealogy of the Modern Discourse: from Hegel to Danto), University of Primorska, Science and Research Centre of Koper, Annales, 2008–2009, 480 pp. She is a single author of several original scientific articles, including: “(Bio)umetnost in manipuliranje z živim” (= Bio Art and Manipulation with the Living). Ann, Ser. hist. sociol. (University of Primorska, Science and Research Centre of Koper, Annales), 2008, vol. 18, nr.. 1, pp. 207–216 and “37°C: from the Inside of a Being to the thin Line of Life”. Leonardo (MIT Press). [Print ed.], 2005, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 103–108; and of several book chapters, including: “K transumetnosti: transnacionalnost, taktični mediji, bricolage, transdisciplinarnost” (= To Transart: Transnationality, Tactical Media, Bricolage, Transdisciplinarity). Tomislav Vignjevič (ed.). Interpretacije vizualnosti (= Interpretations of Visuality), UP ZRS, Annales, 2009 and “Flesh of the world”. HATZIYIANNAKI, Anna (ed.). In Vivo – In Vitro: Art in the Age of the Biotechnological Revolution / i tehni stin epohi tis biotehnologikis epanastasis. (English and Greek, Athens: Futura: Athens School for Fine Arts: ART Topos, 2008. She has participated in several international conferences on aesthetics, philosophy of art, culture and science, art and science, education in Ankara, Poznan, Mexico City, Beograd, Portorož and elsewhere. Since 2000 she is a member of board of directors of the Slovenian Society of Aesthetics (which is a member of World Society of Aesthetics), of which she is as well a secretary since 2005. Since 1997 she regularly organizes international scientific conferences (at least one a year), mostly within the Slovenian Society of Aesthetics, among others Artistic Revolutions (June 2010), Philosophy of Art and Literature: China/Slovenia, Slovenia/China (June 2009), Art, Subversion, Madness (November 2008), Aesthetics in Slovenia (October 2007), she was a member of organization committee of the III Mediterranean Congress of Aesthetics – Imagination, Sensuality and Art: (20.-23. September 2006, Portorož, Slovenia), New species – accompanying conference of the Break 2.3 Festival of Experimental Multimedia Art etc. She collected and edited the monographs: Art: Resistance, Subversion. Madness (Koper: University of Primorska, Faculty of Humanities Koper, Annales Monitor ZSA, 2009), Break 2.3 New Species (Ljubljana: Zavod K6/4, 2005), Spaces/Places of Art (Ljubljana: Društvo inovatorjev Ljubljana, 2002). She has been a field editor of the magazine Monitor ZSA (University of Primorska, Faculty of Humanities Koper, Annales) and a member of editorial board for scientific publications at Goga (series Anagoga). In 2003–2004 she was a co-editor of periodical Art Words (Society of Artists, Ljubljana) and in 2004 she established and edited a theoretical sub-magazine Horizonti (= Horizons) for philosophy and theory of visual art and culture.

More: www.ars-tratnik.si

Studio 6 in 2010

The discussion between Jurij Krpan and Polona Tratnik is the first event in  this year’s series of Studio 6. The following event on June 22 will be the confrontation between Nevenka Šivavec and Andrea Džakušič and in November  we are announcing the discussion between Andrej medved and Emerik Bernard.

For the focus in 2010, Studio 6 has chosen the long-term collaboration between artist and curator. We are interested in the relationship between the involved parties, which are based on continuous monitoring of artistic practice and as such establish a basic platform of curatorial activity, based on long-term exchanges (information, opinions, skills ...) between both parties - the artist and curator.

Studio 6 is supported by Municipality of Ljubljana - Department for Culture.

[Published June 4, 2010]