LUKA POPIČ: WHITEBLACK

>> The exhibition will open on Thursday, 25 November 2021.

>> Curator: Jernej Kožar

At the exhibition entitled Whiteblack at the Ravne Gallery, Luka Popič will exhibit paintings created in the past four years. These are mostly large-scale works, accompanied by several smaller paintings. As the title of the exhibition Whiteblack says, the paintings were created with black acrylic paint on a white surface.

Luka Popič entered the world of painting at the end of the ‘80s, presenting his work for the first time in 1994 in the Slovenj Gradec Gallery of Fine Arts at a joint exhibition with Jure Bricman and Milan Unkovič. Later, he abandoned figurative painting and embarked on an exploration of the visual field. Throughout this time, he also dedicated himself to graphic art.

In his paintings, Luka Popič does not depict the outside reality, neither on a symbolic, cosmic, transcendental nor spiritual level. For him, as for most postmodern painters, the search for meanings behind colour compositions is completely unnecessary and redundant. His abstract paintings are also in sharp contrast with the other pole of abstract painting – minimalism. Expressive abstraction is closer to natural disorder, to imaginary landscapes. With his work, Luka Popič is proof that the age of abstract painting is not over yet.

Among all the painters from the region of Carinthia in recent times, Luka Popič has raised his profile the most; with his innovative approach to painting, he introduced different directions into this environment. For many years, Bogdan Borčić supported and encouraged him in his development as a painter.

Luka Popič lives and works in Podgorje near Slovenj Gradec, where he arranged a studio for himself at his family farm. After studying at the Faculty of Education in Maribor, he soon became involved in the work process of art education for children with special needs at the Third Elementary School in Slovenj Gradec. He achieved enviable results in his work with children and received many awards and acknowledgements for his work, globally as well as locally.

He had solo exhibitions in numerous galleries in Slovenia and Austria, and he also participated in several group exhibitions in Slovenia and abroad. He won many awards at the Ex-tempore contests in Piran, Velenje and Dravograd, and at various biennials and triennials. This year, he received the honorary and special award at the 10^th International Graphic Triennial in Bitola.