Borut Popenko / exhibition opening
Borut Popenko / exhibition opening
UGM Studio, Trg Leona Štuklja 2
opening: Friday, 20 January 2023, 19:00
curator: Jure Kirbiš
Join us for the opening of the exhibition Openings by artist Borut Popenko on Friday, 20 January 2023, 19:00 in the UGM Studio.
25 years ago, on the occasion of an exhibition in Razstavni salon Rotovž, Aleksandra Kostič wrote: “It all starts with empty space, causing an adrenalin rush in Popenko.” A quarter of a century later, painter Borut Popenko returns to Razstavni salon Rotovž, now rebranded as UGM Studio. But the departure point remains the same. From the very start, Popenko is drawn to fundamentals of painting, from the materiality of the medium to the design of space. In his exploration of colours and shapes, proportions, compositions, volumes and harmonies, he refers to the tradition of abstraction in painting, from abstract expressionism, colour field painting, geometric abstraction to monochrome painting and minimalism. Among his role models are giants of abstract art – Mark Rothko, Josef Albers, Morris Louis, Ellsworth Kelly – and contemporaries – Anish Kapoor, Peter Halley, Gerwald Rockenschaub.
Borut Popenko (b. 1969) works in painting, installations and video. He is an active member of the Mariborian art scene with his work within the autonomous zone Pekarna and other spaces of culture in the city. He studied art education at the Faculty of Education in Maribor (1993) and continued his artistic training abroad at the Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle (1995/97) and at the art academies in Athens (1998/99) and Prague (2001). His recent exhibitions include solo shows Prelomi (2019, artKIT, Maribor) and Prelom (2018, Church of the Holy Spirit, Črnomelj) and his work was part of group exhibitions GustArt (2022, Kulturni center Pekarna, Maribor), Fantasy – Geometry: A Dialogue (2022, Dvorec Novo Celje, Žalec), Made in Maribor II (2022, UGM Studio, Maribor), In the Time of Space (2020, Media Nox Gallery, Maribor), Pop-Upstart (2018, Centre for Creativity, Maribor) and “Auf die Dauer setzt der territoriale Imperativ sich durch“ Zwischen Nationalstaatlichkeit und … (2017, Galerija EPeKA, Maribor). His work is part of private and public collections, including the UGM | Maribor Art Gallery.
