TJAŠA RENER
All that Patterns

September 15 —
November 12, 2023

LOCATION
RAVNIKAR GALLERY
Vošnjakova ulica 4
1000 Ljubljana

CURATOR & TEXT
Piera Ravnikar
Bianca A. Manu

PHOTOGRAPHER
Mario Zupanov

︎︎︎STATEMENT

On canvas, Tjaša Rener plays with patterns, creating effervescent and evocative celebrations of life in West Africa. Over a decade ago, the Slovenian artist and printmaker relocated to Lake Bosumtwi, a silver-mirrored lake in an ancient impact-crater southeast of Kumasi, Ghana. Rener co-created a lodge on the water, marrying her former Yugoslavian heritage with Ghanaian tradition. In 2016, she migrated to Accra, the capital, and constructed her studio, inspiring the seven artworks in this exhibition.

Her depictions reveal her continuous search for belonging; she finds solace in sentimental objects, using relics to replicate and reinterpret the feeling of home. Through paintings of her studio and neighbourhood, Rener raises questions about how history and context are impacted by geographical displacement.

Her compositions are characterised by striking detail, which she uses to illustrate nostalgic, cultural, and historical symbols of domestic objects embodying Slovenian and Ghanaian cultural histories. For instance, Ob Petih Zjutraj / 5 a.m. features an aerial view of a used ashtray, a neon green lighter, cherry-red Peko heels, and a hardback book. The scene is sensual, with signifiers such as "The Sex Lives of African Women" by Ghanaian author Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah. In this book, 32 Black and African women share their experiences, defying stereotypes surrounding African female eroticism. The juxtaposition of a soiled ashtray beside elegant and iridescent Peko shoes echoes this subversion of what constitutes female sexuality.

Through these unassuming objects, Rener conveys both personal and intimate with the public and historical. By placing Peko in the frame, she expresses her patriotism for a beloved emblem of Yugoslavia as the first independent producer of high-quality shoes, which was dissolved during nationalisation in 1948. The shoes symbolise femininity, representing 113 years of tradition and pride in Yugoslavian craftsmanship.

Her grouping of nostalgic items pays homage to industries and a national identity that no longer exists. Each object situates Tjaša in Ghana by placing her nationality within her country of residence. By placing unassuming objects from both locations together, Rener provokes conversation. In Tito Avenue, we see how aspects of the Non-Aligned Movement manifest in Ghana and are remembered in its street names.

In Studio Accra, Tjaša elevates the everyday into beauty: a wooden armchair becomes the focal point, accompanied by a bright blue and yellow stool holding a vase of pink hibiscus flowers, with “How to be an artist”, a seminal text by Jerry Saltz, alluding to her preoccupation with her own artistic practice. In the same scene, a monochromatic vinyl floor is overlaid with a rubber geometric mat and a cheetah print cushion upon which a pair of dismembered mannequin’s feet stand. From Tjaša’s perspective, it makes sense. Her canvases visualise her reality, blurring between the inspired and imagined. The dissected feet feature without contradiction, showing how the surreal is unquestioned in Tjaša’s world.

All that Patterns mark a homecoming for Tjaša as she grapples with an ever-changing identity, the challenges of living on the margins, and the objects she uses to anchor herself. In Vrt Gospoda Jamesa (Garden of Mister James), plants are suspended in the air. Yet, they have created a home within themselves, unrooted but still vibrant, verdant, and thriving: a powerful analogy of how Rener navigates society.

︎︎︎ABOUT THE ARTIST

Tjaša Rener is a visual artist with a practice primarily expressed through painting and screen-printing. Influenced by 20th-century modernists the human form is a central motif in her work, addressing portraiture from a Slovenian & Ghanaian perspective.

Her first encounter with screen-printing was during a summer residency in Macedonia in 2010, led by professor and artist Ines Krasić. Rener built on this experience through study at the International Centre of Graphic Arts (MGLC, Ljubljana) and subsequently at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design (ALUO), Slovenia (2010 - 2013). Her experimentation with screen printing and technical agility was recognised by the University of Ljubljana who awarded Rener a special merit prize in 2012.

In 2010, Rener began visiting Ghana, particularly a remote village by Lake Bosumtwi, a lake created from an ancient meteoritic impact crater. Living in an intimate local community has shaped her understanding of Ghanaian culture and how it manifests in daily life. Rener illustrated these nuances in her picture book, A Story from Africa, which was presented at the Slovenian Biennial of Illustration. It was later self-published following a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Since 2016, she has shifted to exploring life in Accra: a city marked by stark economic division. As a figurative painter, she is inspired to paint portraits of ordinary people and how they live in Ghana. Rener has dedicated time to studying and representing "systems" of survival which she articulates through technically complex paintings and prints. Since her works incorporate mixed materials, paint, and screen printing, it requires focus and composition in a precise and methodical manner.

In 2021 her work was shown in Investec Cape Town Art Fair, South Africa and she has present her work in numerous group and independent exhibitions, such a solo show at Goroka galerija and Galerija Velenje in 2021, and large solo show with residency at Gallery 1957, Ghana.

This year Rener is exhibiting as invited artist at Kaunas Biennale, Lithuania and 35th Graphic Biennale Ljubljana, following her solo show at the Ravnikar Gallery. Her works can be found in the collections of MGLC, Velenje Gallery, KGLU, Gallery 1957, in the archive of the central library of Dr. Francet Sušnik and many other private collections.

Tjaša Rener lives and work in Accra (GH) and Ljubljana (SI).

Upodobitve razkrivajo umetničino nenehno iskanje pripadnosti; v sentimentalnih predmetih odkriva uteho, s pomočjo reliktov pa posnema in reinterpretira občutek domačnosti. Preko slik s prizori lastnega ateljeja in soseske, Rener odpira vprašanja o vplivu geografskega premika na zgodovino in kontekst.

Njene kompozicije odlikujejo presenetljivi detajli, ki simbolizirajo nostalgično, kulturno in zgodovinsko domačih predmetov, poosebljujočih slovensko in gansko kulturno zgodovino. Delo 5.00 a.m., na primer, prikazuje ptičji pogled na rabljen pepelnik, neonsko zelen vžigalnik, češnjevo rdeče Peko pete in knjigo s trdimi platnicami. Čuten prizor vključuje označevalec, kot je "Spolno življenje afriških žensk", knjiga ganske avtorice Nane Darkoa Sekyiamah. V slednji 32 temnopoltih in afriških žensk deli svoje izkušnje in kljubuje stereotipom o erotiki afriške ženske. Jukstapozicija umazanega pepelnika poleg elegantnih, prelivajočih se čevljev Peko odmeva subverzijo tega, kar tvori žensko seksualnost.

Preko skromnih predmetov Tjaša združuje osebno in intimno z javnim in zgodovinskim. Z umestitvijo Peko objekta v okvir, umetnica izraža domoljubje skozi priljubljen simbol Jugoslavije kot prvega neodvisnega proizvajalca visokokakovostnih čevljev, ki je bil razpuščen med nacionalizacijo leta 1948. Čevlji simbolizirajo ženstvenost, predstavljajo 113-letno tradicijo in ponos na jugoslavansko obrtništvo.

Umetničino razvrščanje nostalgičnih predmetov se poklanja industrijam in nacionalni identiteti, ki danes ne obstoji več. Vsak predmet umešča Tjašo v Gano tako, da njeno narodnost postavlja v državo njenega prebivališča. S sopostavitvijo skromnih predmetov z obeh lokacij, avtorica izziva dialog. V delu Tito avenue je mogoče videti, kako se v Gani manifestirajo aspekti gibanja neuvrščenih in so pomnjeni po imenih ulic v mestu.

V delu Studio Accra Tjaša povzdiguje vsakdanjik v lepoto: osrednja točka postane lesen fotelj, ki ga spremlja svetlo modro-rumeni stolček. Na slednjem stoji vaza z rožnatimi cvetovi hibiskusa, s temeljnim besedilom Jerryja Saltza »Kako biti umetnik«, ki namiguje na njeno preokupacijo z lastno umetniško prakso. V istem prizoru so enobarvna tla iz vinila prekrita z gumijasto geometrijsko podlogo in blazino z vzorcem geparda, na kateri stoji par razčlenjenih stopal izložbene lutke. S Tjašine perspektive ima smisel. Njena platna vizualizirajo njeno resničnost, zamegljeno med navdihnjenim in domišljijskim. Razčlenjena stopala brez protislovij na upodobitvi kažejo na nevprašljivost nadrealističnega v Tjašinem svetu.

Razstava All that Patterns (Vsi ti vzorci) zaznamuje umetničin povratek k domov, medtem ko se spopada z nenehno spreminjajočo se identiteto, izzivi življenja na robu in s predmeti, s katerimi se skuša zasidrati. Znotraj dela Garden of Mister James rastline visijo v zraku, kljub temu pa so si ustvarile dom v sebi; neukoreninjen, a še vedno živahen, zelen in cvetoč: močna analogija tega, kako umetnica krmari v družbi.

Tjaša Rener je vizualna umetnica, ki se izraža predvsem skozi prakso slikarstva in sitotiska. Pod vplivom modernistov 20. stoletja kot osrednji motiv v svoja dela umešča človeško figuro, preko katere nagovarja portretiranje tako iz slovenske, kakor iz ganske perspektive.

S sitotiskom se je prvič srečala leta 2010, med poletno rezidenco v Makedoniji, ki jo je vodila profesorica in umetnica Ines Krasić. Rener je to izkušnjo nadgradila s študijem na Mednarodnem grafičnem likovnem centru (MGLC, Ljubljana) in nato na Akademiji za likovno umetnost in oblikovanje (ALUO) v Sloveniji (2010 - 2013). Njeno eksperimentiranje s sitotiskom in tehnična dovršenost je bila prepoznana s stani Univerze v Ljubljani, ki je leta 2012 umetnici podelila posebno nagrado za zasluge.

Leta 2010 je začela obiskovati Gano, zlasti oddaljeno vas ob jezeru Bosumtwi, ki je nastalo iz starodavnega meteoritskega kraterja. Življenje v intimni lokalni skupnosti je oblikovalo njeno razumevanje ganske kulture in njenega vsakdanjega izraza. Te odtenke življenja je umetnica ilustrirala v svoji slikanici Zgodba iz Afrike, ki je bila predstavljena na Slovenskem bienalu ilustracije. Kasneje je bila slikanica po uspešni kampanji izdana v samozaložbi.

Od leta 2016 se je posvetila raziskovanju življenja v Akri: mestu, ki ga zaznamuje močan ekonomski prepad. Kot figurativno slikarko jo je navdihovalo slikanje portretov navadnih ljudi in njihovega življenja v Gani. Posvetila je čas preučevanju in predstavljanju "sistemov" preživetja, ki jih prikazuje skozi tehnično zapletene slike in grafike. Dela vključujejo mešane materiale, barve in sitotisk, zato zahtevajo fokus in kompozicijo v natančni ter metodični gesti.
Leta 2021 je bilo njeno delo predstavljeno na umetniškem sejmu Investec Cape Town v Južni Afriki. Svoja umetniška dela je sicer predstavila na številnih skupinskih in samostojnih razstavah, med katerimi so samostojna razstava v Galeriji Goroka in Galeriji Velenje ter velika samostojna razstava z rezidenco v Galeriji 1957, v Gani.

Letošnje leto kot vabljena umetnica razstavlja na Bienalu v Kaunasu v Litvi in na 35. grafičnem bienalu Ljubljana, kateremu sledi njena samostojna razstava v Ravnikar Gallery Space. Njena dela hranijo v zbirkah MGLC, Galeriji Velenje, KGLU, Galeriji 1957, v arhivu Osrednje knjižnice dr. Franceta Sušnika in številnih drugih zasebnih zbirkah.
Rojena leta 1986 v Slovenj Gradcu (SI)Živi in dela v Akri (GH) in Ljubljani (SI)

︎︎︎INSTALLATION VIEWS