JURE KASTELIC
It’s ok until it’s not
June 02 –
June 12, 2021
It’s ok until it’s not
June 02 –
June 12, 2021
LOCATIONRAVNIKAR GALLERY
Prešernova ulica 10A
1000 Ljubljana
Prešernova ulica 10A
1000 Ljubljana
CURATORJure Kirbiš
PHOTOGRAPHER
Jaka Babnik
Jaka Babnik
︎︎︎STATEMENT
It’s Ok, Until It’s Not is an exhibition in two parts, mirroring a real space in its digital counterpart or vice versa. It presents the artist Jure Kastelic from a dual standpoint. Future memories is a series of 33 smaller works on paper being shown in Ravnikar Gallery Space. They are records of an Arcadian dream, time spent with dear ones, endless sun-kissed holidays. There are 4 large paintings on canvas presented in an online simulation of Ravnikar Gallery Space. They tell individual stories, but share a nihilistic attitude towards established social structures, shattered illusions of authority, a survival instinct. Kastelic is making his way by walking along the thin line between them.
If the medium is the message, then for Jure Kastelic painting is a means to an end. He claims to be in the business of evangelising Bitcoin ideas with his work, and he’s in a rush. Therefore, he introduced artificial intelligence into the process, which composes templates for his paintings based on combinations of his own photographs and favoured styles. He has no time for ambiguity in art, so his work comes with insightful explanations, but you’d need a glossary of neologisms used by contemporary thinkers of the Twittersphere to get any of it: cheerleader effect, repugnant conclusion, Dr Pangloss, to mention just a few. Regardless, his work is a delicious blend of the catastrophic, melancholic and fun, which is why Jure Kastelic is the one to watch as a painter of the end times.
It’s Ok, Until It’s Not is an exhibition in two parts, mirroring a real space in its digital counterpart or vice versa. It presents the artist Jure Kastelic from a dual standpoint. Future memories is a series of 33 smaller works on paper being shown in Ravnikar Gallery Space. They are records of an Arcadian dream, time spent with dear ones, endless sun-kissed holidays. There are 4 large paintings on canvas presented in an online simulation of Ravnikar Gallery Space. They tell individual stories, but share a nihilistic attitude towards established social structures, shattered illusions of authority, a survival instinct. Kastelic is making his way by walking along the thin line between them.
If the medium is the message, then for Jure Kastelic painting is a means to an end. He claims to be in the business of evangelising Bitcoin ideas with his work, and he’s in a rush. Therefore, he introduced artificial intelligence into the process, which composes templates for his paintings based on combinations of his own photographs and favoured styles. He has no time for ambiguity in art, so his work comes with insightful explanations, but you’d need a glossary of neologisms used by contemporary thinkers of the Twittersphere to get any of it: cheerleader effect, repugnant conclusion, Dr Pangloss, to mention just a few. Regardless, his work is a delicious blend of the catastrophic, melancholic and fun, which is why Jure Kastelic is the one to watch as a painter of the end times.
︎︎︎ABOUT THE ARTIST
Jure Kastelic (1992, Slovenia) works and lives in London. In 2017 he was nominated for the EMOP Arendt Award, and in 2019 he was selected by Zabludowicz Collection for the Testing Ground Masterclass. Kastelic’s work was included in numerous group exhibitions, including at Signal Gallery, New York (2013); Austin Center for Photography, Texas (2014); Musée National d’Histoire et d’Art MNHA, Luxembourg (2017) and the UGM Studio in Maribor, Slovenia (2019). Kastelic solo exhibitions include: Lepi Loopi / Pretty Loops at Božidar Jakac Art Museum and at Photon Centre for Contemporary Photography, Slovenia (both 2016); Cold storage at White Crypt (2020); Schmuck Insurance at The Chopping Block Gallery (2019), both London; and New Alchemy at Niagara Falls Project, Brighton (2019). Kastelic’s work is included in the collection of the Musée National d’Histoire et d’Art, Luxembourg; Arendt Medernach collection, Luxembourg; Herbert Smith Freehills Collection, London; and private collections in London, New York, Milan, Ljubljana, Prague, Treviso. His work has been published in Le Monde, The Guardian, Fast Company and others.
Jure Kastelic (1992, Slovenia) works and lives in London. In 2017 he was nominated for the EMOP Arendt Award, and in 2019 he was selected by Zabludowicz Collection for the Testing Ground Masterclass. Kastelic’s work was included in numerous group exhibitions, including at Signal Gallery, New York (2013); Austin Center for Photography, Texas (2014); Musée National d’Histoire et d’Art MNHA, Luxembourg (2017) and the UGM Studio in Maribor, Slovenia (2019). Kastelic solo exhibitions include: Lepi Loopi / Pretty Loops at Božidar Jakac Art Museum and at Photon Centre for Contemporary Photography, Slovenia (both 2016); Cold storage at White Crypt (2020); Schmuck Insurance at The Chopping Block Gallery (2019), both London; and New Alchemy at Niagara Falls Project, Brighton (2019). Kastelic’s work is included in the collection of the Musée National d’Histoire et d’Art, Luxembourg; Arendt Medernach collection, Luxembourg; Herbert Smith Freehills Collection, London; and private collections in London, New York, Milan, Ljubljana, Prague, Treviso. His work has been published in Le Monde, The Guardian, Fast Company and others.