META DRČAR
Frame Series:
Study Pieces
May 25 —
June 14, 2021
LOCATION
RAVNIKAR GALLERY
Levstikova ulica 3
1000 Ljubljana
CURATORVladimir Vidmar
PHOTOGRAPHER
Mario Zupanov

︎︎︎STATEMENT
            Meta Drčar’s exhibition Study pieces in subtle and minimal language builds at the intersection of three interconnected directions of thought, sculpture, architecture and performativity, which converge in the question of space, a paradoxical and dynamic entity in constant movement. Meta Drčar perceives this movement primarily through the choice of material, which for her is always a tactical choice; be it metal, glass, stone or paper, the material for Drčar is the conductor that can articulate, and also amplify and problematise, the invisible but crucial features that define space.

            The enigmatic notations with metal rods in Ravnikar Gallery Space function as a kind of spatial rebus, the resolution of which is represented precisely by the viewer. The fundamental gesture of Meta Drčar’s installations – in their materialisation of spatial relations, volumes, proportions, light, but also the subjective experience of all these elements itself – is realised only by the viewer with his movement in the space. The temporality that the moving body introduces into Meta Drčar’s spatial equations signifies their actual solution, for it is only through this that the space is realised in the dynamics of the variables that bring its supposed solidities to a delicate balance.

            The ambivalence emphasised by the work of Meta Drčar makes a decisive contribution to this. Heavy materials deliberately appear as fragile hatchings, almost like remnants of some long-drawn lines with which someone once tried to measure the space or place elements in it. Without any literariness or narrativeness, the story they tell is an ever-changing tale of every moment of the day and every visitor. While encapsulating the inner logic of their architecture, Meta Drčar’s works draw attention to the different ways we inhabit spaces.

︎︎︎ABOUT THE ARTIST

            Meta Drčar (1985) is a Slovenian artist based in Paris. She graduated in art in 2009 at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London and obtained her Master’s degree in dancing and performance in 2012 at London’s Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. In her minimalist spatial installations, she frequently explores connections between the viewer’s moving body, sculpture, and architecture, as well as performative impacts emerging from the process. Drčar has presented herself at numerous independent and group exhibitions across Europe, in particular at Galerie Stadtpark, Krems an der Donau, Austria (2022), Delfi, Malmö, Sweden (2021), RAVNIKAR GALLERY SPACE, Ljubljana, Slovenia (2021), Mana Contemporary, New Jersey, USA (2020), Performance Affair, Brussels, Belgium (2019), Reaktor, Vienna, Austria (2019), Palazzo Monti, Brescia, Italy (2017), and Nuit Blanche, Paris, France (2017). She has received several work grants and residencies, such as Art and Architecture Residency (Woning Van Wassenhove), Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium (2021), ADP, European Investment Bank Institute Luxemburg (2020), and WWA Fabrikken, Copenhagen, Denmark (2020).



            Razstava Study pieces Mete Drčar v subtilni in minimalni govorici gradi na stičišču treh povezanih smeri premišljevanja, skulpture, arhitekture in performativnosti, ki se stekajo v vprašanje prostora, paradoksne in dinamične entitete v nenehnem gibanju. To gibanje Meta Drčar v prvi vrsti zaznava z izbiro materiala, ki je zanjo vselej taktična izbira; bodisi da gre za kovino, steklo, kamen ali papir, material je za Drčarjevo tisti sprevodnik, ki je zmožen artikulirati nevidne, a odločilne poteze, ki definirajo prostor, jih tudi amplificirati in problematizirati.

            Enigmatični zapisi s kovinskimi palicami v prostoru Ravnikar gallery space delujejo kot svojevrstni prostorski rebus, katere razrešitev predstavlja prav gledalec. Osnovno gesto instalacij Mete Drčar - v njihovi materializaciji prostorskih odnosov, volumnov, proporc, svetlobe, vendar tudi same subjektivne izkušnje vseh teh elementov - realizira šele gledalec s svojim gibanjem v prostoru. Temporalnost, ki jo gibajoče se telo prinese v prostorske enačbe Mete Drčar, pomeni njihovo dejansko rešitev, saj šele ta uresniči prostor v dinamiki spremenljivk, ki jo njegove domnevne trdnosti samo postavljajo v krhko ravnovesje.

            Ambivalentnost, ki jo poudarja delo Mete Drčar, odločilno prispeva k temu. Težki materiali se namenoma pojavljajo kot fragilne šrafure, skorajda ostanki kakšnih davno povlečenih linij, s katerimi si je kdaj nekdo prizadeval meriti prostor oziroma umestiti elemente v njem. Brez sleherne literarnosti in narativnosti, zgodba, ki jo ti pripovedujejo, je vselej spreminjajoča se pripoved slehernega trenutka v dnevu in slehernega obiskovalca. Ob tem, da inkapsulirajo notranjo logiko njegove arhitekture, dela Mete Drčar ozaveščajo raznotere način, kako naseljujemo prostor.


            Meta Drčar (1985) je v Parizu živeča slovenska umetnica, ki je iz umetnosti diplomirala na Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design v Londonu (2009), magisterij iz plesa in performansa pa je zaključila na Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance v Londonu (2012). V minimalističnih prostorskih postavitvah umetnica pogosto raziskuje povezave med gibajočim se telesom opazovalca, skulpturo in arhitekturo ter performativne učinke, ki se porajajo v procesu. Drčar je razstavljala na številnih samostojnih in skupinskih razstavah po celi Evropi, med temi gre izpostaviti: Galerie Stadtpark, Krems, Avstrija (2022), Delfi, Malmö, Švedska (2021), RAVNIKAR GALLERY SPACE, Ljubljana, Slovenija (2021), Mana Contemporary, New Jersey, ZDA (2020), Performance Affair, Bruselj, Belgija (2019), Reaktor, Dunaj, Avstrija (2019), Palazzo Monti, Brescia, Italija (2017) in Nuit Blanche, Pariz, Francia (2017). Je prejemnica več delovnih štipendij in rezidenc, kot so Art and Architecture residency (Woning Van Wassenhove), Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgija (2021), ADP, European Investment Bank Institute Luksemburg (2020) in WWA Fabrikken, Kopenhagen, Danska (2020).

︎︎︎INSTALLATION VIEWS




Frame Series 2018 ︎︎︎ 2021







Frame Series, Study Piece 5, 2019
Stainless steel, paper
120 x 40 x 20 cm
Limited edition of 3 + 2 A


Frame Series, Study Piece 8, 2021
Stainless steel
2 x (40 x 40 x 10 cm)
Limited edition of 3 + 2 AP



Frame Series, Study Piece 9, 2021
Stainless steel
40 x 40 x 10 cm
Limited edition of 3 + 2 AP


Frame Series, Study Piece 1, 2018
Stainless steel, paper
80 x 60 x 40 cm
Limited edition of 3 + 2 AP


Frame Series, Study Piece 1, 2018
Stainless steel, paper
80 x 60 x 40 cm
Limited edition of 3 + 2 AP