SOMETHING THAT DOES NOT FADE OVERNIGHT
A Selection of Works from the KGLU Collection

Nika Autor, Mirsad Begić, Rudi Benetik, Werner Berg, Franc Berhtold, Maria Bonomi, Bogdan Borčić, Peter E. Clark, Jože Ciuha, Dragica Čadež, Matej Čepin, Katja Felle, Chu Gene, Gustav Gnamuš, Deisler Guillermo, Peter Hergold, Zdenko Huzjan, Gustav Januš, Frederik Kahendra, Leo Kornburst, Marko Lipuš, Lojze Logar, Stanislav Makuc, Jure Markota, Štefan Marflak, Zoran Mušič, Rade Nikolić, Zoran Ogrinc, Valentin Oman, Karel Pečko, Štefan Planinc, Pino Poggi, Luka Popič, Maja Pučl, Natalia Rappensberger, Tjaša Rener, Bruno Rinaldi, Isa Rosenberger, Priyanto S., Romero Walter Solon, Lucija Stramec, Ive Šubic, Ono Tadashige, Jože Tisnikar, Makoto Uoeno, Victor Vasarely, Vladimir Veličković, Sašo Vrabič, Karl Vouk, Herman Walenta, Moritz Walser, Toon Wegner, Ossip Zadkine

Velenje Gallery 27 June—17 August 2024

The collaboration between the Velenje Gallery and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Koroška (KGLU) developed as part of the Collections in Motion project, which the KGLU initiated in 2016. The project has aimed to facilitate the exchange of collections between Slovenian museums and galleries, thus enabling visitors from different regions a closer look at various art collections.

Every collection is special in its own way as it relates to the time and space in which it has developed. Galleries and museums dedicate a lot of attention to their collections as they are, after all, part of our common cultural heritage, which is also referred to by the exhibition’s title — a thought of Karel Pečko, a visionary, long-term director, and founder of the KGLU. He, and his then kindred spirits, knew very well that art is something that does not fade overnight and something that remains for future generations.^[1]

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The exhibition Something That Does Not Fade Overnight is divided into chapters—three major sections of the collection that complement each other.

KGLU’s mission is to collect, study, preserve, and exhibit works by authors connected to the Carinthia region^[2], including those beyond the border in the Austrian state of Carinthia, who are otherwise strongly connected to our area. They are presented in the gallery’s first part so that visitors can encounter them at the beginning, as they hold a special position in the collection. They constitute the KGLU’s identity, which sets it apart from other gallery institutions. The exhibited Carinthian artists of all generations can hardly be encompassed into one joint chapter, as their stylistic language is as diverse as the media in which they create. Most often, the works have either been purchased or donated to the Collection based on individual exhibitions that took place at the KGLU over the course of years and decades. The pace of acquiring works for the Collection has been very uneven and dependent on funding, which at times results in gaps where certain artists are missing from our Collection, despite having held exhibitions and even having published catalogues. Every three years, the KGLU also dedicates a major retrospective exhibition, the Carinthian Triennial, to regional artists. This exhibition typically showcases current contemporary art production in Carinthia, or highlights specific thematic chapters.^[3]

The central area of the exhibition features works from the primary and largest sections of the Collection. These include large-format works by Bogdan Borčić, Štefan Planinc, and Pino Poggi, symbolically complemented by a painting from Karel Pečko, who initiated the KGLU’s significant narrative. As an academic painter, Pečko’s oeuvre extended beyond numerous works. The central area extends upwards with works by Gustav Januš and Marko Lipuš, bridging all three spatial and thematic sections.

Within the upper space, the sections of Gallery for Peace and Homage to Tisnikar complement each other. Both sections are presented with a smaller selection of works due to their extensive nature. The Gallery for Peace Collection begins with graphic prints, which are also the section’s most numerous artworks. Prints were the most suitable art form for sending by mail, considering that artists sent their works to international exhibitions in Slovenj Gradec from virtually all over the world: South America, Africa, Japan, Indonesia, and more. The 1966 international exhibition Peace, Humanity and Friendship among Nations alone received 500 artworks from 210 artists. Through the donation of these works, they entrusted us with a truly exceptional cultural heritage, entirely unique in Slovenia. Therefore, it is no coincidence that in 2016, the invited artistic duo Fokus grupa decided to create an artwork – a neon sign “Središče sveta” (“Centre of the World”), which still distinctly illuminates the facade of the gallery to this day.^[4] Among the paintings, the work Motif from the Island of Bali by the Indonesian naive painter Frederik Kahendra, tells an interesting tale as it was gifted by Josip Broz Tito, who visited the exhibition in September 1967. Standout pieces include graphic prints by Victor Vasarely and Ossip Zadkine, who also donated them to the collection.
The Homage to Tisnikar Collection is presented with four of Tisnikar’s own works and seven artworks from artists that have been included in this specific collection due to similar themes in their works.

The exhibition is complemented by videos from Nika Autor and Isa Rosenberger in the two smaller spaces. Both videos explore the history of the gallery and the phenomenon of the Gallery for Peace, with the authors enhancing the narrative with their own artistic approaches to the medium.

Curator: Petra Čeh (KGLU).

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^[1] JS, I Never Strove for Recognitions, Delavska enotnost Publication, 9 April 1977, no. 14: We all made sacrifices together, and we are all proud of what we have. We never strove for recognitions. We strove to leave some kind of mark behind us. Something that does not fade overnight.

^[2] The KGLU Collection includes several artists from Velenje and the Šaleška dolina Valley, which are not being presented at this exhibition as they are most certainly familiar to the audiences. Additionally, they are represented in the collection with large-format works that cannot be displayed in the Velenje Gallery due to space constraints.

^[3] This year, the Carinthian Triennial will focus on the art of drawing and will be on display between 26 June and 29 September 2024, at the KGLU Slovenj Gradec.

^[4] The authors drew inspiration from a newspaper article dated 9 December 1966, which discussed the exhibition Peace, Humanity and Friendship Among Nations: “Tomorrow, Slovenj Gradec will become the centre of the world. That world, to which culture is as essential as to every resident of Slovenj Gradec. A world that fights for peace, humanity among people. For friendship, the real kind, not the one on paper, on the posters, in the books, on the tongue…” The lighted sign will be placed on the facade of the KGLU building. Thus, the sign conveys a historical message and also opens up the ever-relevant political theme of war and peace.

INVITATION