Borderline Relation

The first thing that comes to mind in the context of Borderline Relation is Frank Stella’s “minimalist” thought “What you see is what you see”, and the issues raised through the tradition of conceptual practices, in particular the dematerialization of the art object, the definitions of the form and the medium, and the context of the modern-day world or the correlations with the things that surround us. 

The main intention of the exhibition is not to “flatten” the artworks to a particular chosen theme but rather highlight specific aspects and characteristics that experiment with the relationships that emerge between the spectator, the work of art and the exhibition space. Most likely the artists’ works can be examined in terms of the relations between conceptual practices and the legacy of conceptual tradition that focus on the idea of a work of art, questioning the materiality of an object as the conveyor of meaning. However, participating artists are never interested in complete rejection of the object but rather in the idea of the conveyor, which always very consciously and precisely establishes a relation with the medium. Through the prism of this particular relation of duality, the works travel on the level of content between exploring particular conceptual premises, intimate stories, historic references but always question the formal possibilities of the chosen medium. 

In this way, the exhibition does not convey its reading as a linear structure but rather as a unity of works that create a space for questioning the established paradigms in the discourse of contemporary art. The dynamic between the artworks, which re-interpret the medium itself and establish new relationships between them and the space, examines the experience of the spectator and the unavoidable encounter with the conflict raised by the duality of each artwork. 

As a consequence of all of this, a point of vulnerability appears, which finds its origins in the relation between the opposing notions and the persistent rejection of axiomatic artistic approaches. It is precisely this approach, of not taking sides and of creating a constant tension, that makes the artists’ expressions all the more unique and, invariably, highly topical.

Text by Tevž Logar, curator