Meriton Maloku: Impressions — RAVNIKAR GALLERY SPACE

MERITON MALOKU
Impressions
March 17 —
May 20, 2023

LOCATION
RAVNIKAR GALLERY
Vošnjakova ulica 4
1000 Ljubljana

CURATOR
Piera Ravnikar

TEXT
Josipa Balajić

PHOTOGRAPHER
Mario Zupanov

︎︎︎STATEMENT

Meriton Maloku is a visual artist working in a variety of media including printmaking, drawing, painting and installation. The central theme of his work is the interests and concerns of everyday life and in particular the way they shape and determine our daily lives. In addition to the interaction between the viewer and the artwork, references to philosophy and art history, experimentation with different materials and the use of repetition and humour are integral to his practice. Painting and drawing are the cornerstones of his work, while installations and models always arise from the idea of extending the flatness of a two-dimensional (depicted) space into its three-dimensional version. Together, the paintings, installations and models allow the viewer to understand and experience space in a new and different way.

In his drawings and paintings, the artist defines the interior space by placing various ordinary objects such as chairs, tables, packs of cigarettes and so on into the space. These interiors reflect the artist's perception of his own environment, that is, they contain his daily, ordinary life – his conscious and unconscious thoughts, behaviours and memories. The present exhibition consists of mostly recent works that are a continuation of older series. All the paintings, executed in acrylic on canvas, are extremely expressive and intense in colour. Although all the pieces on display are interiors, the chair can be understood as a recurring and central motif. At the same time, Maloku likes to experiment freely with media, their possibilities and potentialities. He paints for the sake of the painting act itself. The process of creating a painting gives him a feeling of security, it is a form of meditation, a moment of silence and contemplation. This is precisely what makes a look at the depicted scenes inevitably very personal.

︎︎︎ABOUT THE ARTIST

Meriton Maloku (1989) is a Kosovo born artist who lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium. He studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp and received a Master’s Degree in Printmaking. His work has been shown in several exhibitions in galleries and museums in Europe, Asia and the US. He is the winner of the Gjon Mili Price 2015 in the National Gallery in Kosovo and the Young Artists Award in Kosovo in 2017.

MERITON MALOKU: Impressions

Meriton Maloku je vizualni umetnik, ki ustvarja v različnih medijih, med drugim v grafiki, risbi, sliki in instalaciji. Osrednja tema njegove prakse so zanimanja in skrbi vsakdana, natančneje, način, kako oblikujejo in določajo naš vsakdan. Poleg interakcije med gledalcem in umetniškim delom so sestavni del njegove prakse tudi sklicevanje na filozofijo in umetnostno zgodovino, eksperimentiranje z različnimi materiali ter uporaba repeticije in humorja. Slikanje in risanje sta temelj njegovega dela, saj se instalacije in makete vselej rojevajo iz ideje, da bi ploskovitost dvodimenzionalnega (upodobljenega) prostora razširil v njegovo tridimenzionalno različico. Slike, instalacije in makete družno gledalcu omogočajo novo razumevanje in drugačno doživljanje prostora.

Na risarskih in slikarskih delih umetnik interier definira tako, da v prostor postavlja različne običajne predmete, kot so stoli, mize, škatlice cigaret itd. Ti interierji zrcalijo umetnikovo dojemanje lastne okolice, torej vsebujejo njegovo vsakodnevno, običajno življenje - zavestne in nezavedne misli, vedenje in spomine. Pričujoča razstava je sestavljena iz večinoma novejših del, ki so nadaljevanje starejših serij. Vsa slikarska dela, ustvarjena v tehniki akrila na platnu, so izrazito ekspresivna in barvno intenzivna. Čeprav vsa razstavljena dela predstavljajo interierje, lahko stol razumemo kot ponavljajoči se in osrednji motiv. Hkrati Maloku uživa v neobremenjenem eksperimentiranju in raziskovanju medijev - njihovih možnosti in potencialov. Slika zaradi samega dejanja slikanja. Proces nastajanja slike ga navdaja z občutkom udobja; je oblika meditacije, trenutek tišine in kontemplacije. Prav zato je pogled na upodobljene prizore neizogibno zelo oseben.

︎︎︎INSTALLATION VIEWS