ZAPATE – Zine and Print at the Exhibition

(2015–)




Prints

The permanent collection is emerging as a by-product of the projects that are part of the gallery's creative programme. The ZAPATE – Zine and Print at the Exhibition (2015–) project is aimed at artists who have a solo exhibition at Hiša kulture. It enables them to create a graphic work or an art publication as a visual document of the exhibition.




ZAPATE – Zine and Print at the Exhibition

(2015–)




Publications

The permanent collection is emerging as a by-product of the projects that are part of the gallery's creative programme. The ZAPATE – Zine and Print at the Exhibition (2015–) project is aimed at artists who have a solo exhibition at Hiša kulture. It enables them to create a graphic work or an art publication as a visual document of the exhibition.




POEMS IN PRINTS

(2022–2025)




Dragotin Kette (2023)



Matic Flajs
Marko K. Gavez
Andreja Kranjec
Nika Rupnik
POEMS IN PRINTS is a multi-year project (2022–2025) that explores the connections between poetry and visual art through the medium of printmaking. It takes place once a year in the form of a workshop where 4 selected artists create graphic works in conjunction with a chosen poem by a specific regional poet. These are Dragotin Kette, Srečko Kosovel, Maksa Samsa and Miroslav Vilhar. The selected poet and his/her work is introduced to them by an appropriate institution. This is followed by a practical part of the workshop where they create a new graphic work in connection with the selected poem. They approach printmaking experimentally, outside its basic parameters (print, reproduction), and authorially, which means that they transform the prints into originals in different ways. In doing so, typography is used as a key element representing a direct visual connection with the poetry.



The second implementation of the project focuses on the poetry of Dragotin Kette. In the introductory part, the participating artists visited the Kette Memorial Room at Prem Castle, where they learnt about the poet's life and work. This was followed by the practical part of the workshop, where they made prints using the screenprinting technique. They chose a poem by Kette as a starting point for their work and used it as inspiration for conceiving their prints in two pre-determined colours (green and brown). The prints were then produced and one-third of the printed copies were transformed into originals with the addition of drawing in any technique (ink, pencil, etc.).




POEMS IN PRINTS  

(2022–2025)




Srečko Kosovel (2022)



Jovana Đukić
Miha Majes
Monika Plemen
Maša Pušnik
POEMS IN PRINTS is a multi-year project (2022–2025) that explores the connections between poetry and visual art through the medium of printmaking. It takes place once a year in the form of a workshop where 4 selected artists create graphic works in conjunction with a chosen poem by a specific regional poet. These are Dragotin Kette, Srečko Kosovel, Maksa Samsa and Miroslav Vilhar. The selected poet and his/her work is introduced to them by an appropriate institution. This is followed by a practical part of the workshop where they create a new graphic work in connection with the selected poem. They approach printmaking experimentally, outside its basic parameters (print, reproduction), and authorially, which means that they transform the prints into originals in different ways. In doing so, typography is used as a key element representing a direct visual connection with the poetry.



The first implementation of the project focuses on the poetry of Srečko Kosovel. In cooperation with the Kosovel Cultural Centre Sežana and the University for Adult Education Sežana, the artists took part in the guided literary walk In Step with Kosovel, where they learned about the poet's life and work. In the practical part of the workshop, they conceived a print in the two-colour screenprinting technique (black and maroon) with the simultaneous use of typography. They then printed the impression and transformed one-third of the printed copies into original works with interventions such as collage, embroidery, drawing, etc.
 
They also created an accompanying publication in which they played with the individual verses of the selected poems and the motif of the poet's glasses.




print series



Traceaction (2021) 



Mia Paller
Monika Plemen
The Traceaction project is a collaboration between two galleries, the International Centre of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana (MGLC) and the Hiša kulture in Pivka (HKP). The two galleries have a common interest in classical printmaking production; they both have a print studio on their premises where they organise various activities and present their output to the public in the form of exhibitions. This time they combined their production facilities and conceived a joint project. Each of them invited an artist of the younger generation to work with them and together they conceived a print portfolio.
 
The title Traceaction refers first of all to the joint starting point of the trace that the two artists set themselves in conceiving the portfolio. The trace as proof that something has been or that something has happened, the trace as a path, as a result of the ravages of time, as a direct imprint, the trace as a part of the process of making a graphic print. The series thus plays with the concept of the trace in the various meanings of the word, while at the same time, the artists materialised their own ideas of the trace. The notion of action was added to the first part of the title. Here, too, there are two aspects: on the one hand, there is the personal action of the two artists and, on the other, their joint action. The artists worked together remotely, the key moment of action being the sending of the matrices by post. In this way, they created two joint graphic plates.
 
The series comprises a total of 8 graphic prints produced in 6 printmaking techniques (screenprint, woodcut, lithography, drypoint, aquatint and vernis mou).




PIVKA
45°40′49.63″N
14°11′46.98″E

(2015–2021)




Green Footprint (2021)



Urška Alič
Mina Fina 
Mia Paller
Miha Perne 
Marko Šajn
Jaka Vatovec
PIVKA 45°40′49.63″N 14°11′46.98″E (2015–2021) is a multi-year project that addresses global social issues in the local environment, at the level of people's daily lives. It takes place once a year in the form of a workshop where 6 selected artists create graphic works on a specific theme using a chosen technique. The participants learn about the theme in connection with a local partner (institution, company, association or informal group, etc.) and the chosen printmaking technique is linked to this theme. The works created during the workshop, the print portfolio and the accompanying publication become part of the permanent collection.

In the seven years that the project has been running, 29 artists have participated and produced a total of 62 graphic works, 7 art publications and 1 book.



Green Footprint (2021) is the seventh and final implementation of the project. It focuses on exploring different ways to reduce the carbon footprint, with particular attention on the positive impact of forests, which are abundant in the Pivka Basin. The participating artists learned about the topic through a visit to the Forest House and the Forest Learning Path on Mašun, and a lecture prepared by art critic and cultural sociologist Urška Jurman, visual artist Polonca Lovšin and philosopher Mateja Kurir.
 
On the artistic level, the topic was addressed through the technique of screenprinting on wood and subsequent interventions in the print (scoring, pyrography, drawing, collage with veneer). Screenprinting, the most "industrial" printing technique, represents the carbon footprint as a result of the technological development of human society, while the intervention represents the human contribution to reducing this footprint. 6 graphic prints were produced in the format 40 x 50 cm, printed in an edition of 6, each one transformed into an original through a subsequent intervention.
 
The accompanying publication shows the sketches of the resulting works presenting the prints on plain paper and the interventions on tracing paper, both of which together make up the complete work.




print series



33 ⅓ (2020) 



Riso Paradiso
Urška Alič
Mina Fina 
Nejc Korenič
Zoran Pungerčar
Marko Šajn 
Jure Šajn
Riso Paradiso is a collective of six people linked by their research and creativity in risography, graphic design, printing techniques, visual communications, photography, illustration and publishing.
 
The print series, entitled 33 ⅓, was created as part of the collective's artist residency at Hiša kulture, which took place from 12 to 18 January 2020. The members of the collective created 6 prints in the colour screenprinting technique, linked by the common theme of popular music. They were inspired by the record collection of Hiša kulture colleague Leon Zuodar, in which they recognised the spirit of their generation. The title of the series, 33 ⅓, refers to the speed at which the record spins on the turntable. The idea was further developed during the course of the project and an art publication in the risography technique was conceived.




PIVKA
45°40′49.63″N
14°11′46.98″E

(2015–2021)




Krpan's Patchwork or the Emperor's Mess (2020)



Nevena Aleksovski
Maria Karnar-Lemeschewa
Oliver Pilič
Zoran Pungerčar
Marko Šajn
Helena Tahir
PIVKA 45°40′49.63″N 14°11′46.98″E (2015–2021) is a multi-year project that addresses global social issues in the local environment, at the level of people's daily lives. It takes place once a year in the form of a workshop where 6 selected artists create graphic works on a specific theme using a chosen technique. The participants learn about the theme in connection with a local partner (institution, company, association or informal group, etc.) and the chosen printmaking technique is linked to this theme. The works created during the workshop, the print portfolio and the accompanying publication become part of the permanent collection.

In the seven years that the project has been running, 29 artists have participated and produced a total of 62 graphic works, 7 art publications and 1 book.


Krpan's Patchwork or the Emperor's Mess (2020) is the sixth edition of the project that explores the equal exchange between employers and employees, owners of production means and workers. The participating artists explored the theme using the story of Martin Krpan as an example, in particular the work he performed for the emperor (the killing of the giant Brdavs) and their negotiations over the production means (weapons), transport (horses) and appropriate remuneration (the hand of the Emperor's daughter, payment in kind, the services of a court jester or a licence to import English salt). They then looked for parallels between history and the present day and, within this framework, examined the possibilities of economic balance, equality and justice in today's society.
 
On the visual level, the theme was explored using the woodcut printmaking technique. They made a graphic matrix from a wooden board and printed it in two colours (magenta and grey) on paper using a printing press. The result was 6 graphic prints in the format 50 x 70 cm, which were printed in an edition of 12 and compiled into print portfolios made of cardboard. The sketches for the prints, which were printed by hand in black on paper using a baren print tool, were used to create a graphic book as an accompanying publication. The woodcut in the project represents the process of commodity production, the two colour-way shows the relationship between employer and employee, and the two printing processes illustrate the strategy of pressure and negotiation in the process of reaching an equal exchange.




PIVKA
45°40′49.63″N
14°11′46.98″E

(2015–2021)




Za!Živa (2019)



Ivana Bajec
Maks Bricelj
Nejc Franetič – Deso
Evgen Čopi Gorišek
Neža Knez
Helena Tahir
PIVKA 45°40′49.63″N 14°11′46.98″E (2015–2021) is a multi-year project that addresses global social issues in the local environment, at the level of people's daily lives. It takes place once a year in the form of a workshop where 6 selected artists create graphic works on a specific theme using a chosen technique. The participants learn about the theme in connection with a local partner (institution, company, association or informal group, etc.) and the chosen printmaking technique is linked to this theme. The works created during the workshop, the print portfolio and the accompanying publication become part of the permanent collection.

In the seven years that the project has been running, 29 artists have participated and produced a total of 62 graphic works, 7 art publications and 1 book.


Za!Živa (2019) is the fifth edition of the project that deals with the protection of water in the context of the global problem of pollution. The participating artists examined the problem in their local environment, the karst world, which is particularly vulnerable to pollution as it has little self-purification capacity. They considered strategies to protect water resources and reduce water consumption that people can implement to help solve the problem. To familiarise themselves with the problem, they visited the Živa Wastewater Treatment Plant of Kovod Postojna, where they learned about biological wastewater treatment processes.
 
The topic was dealt with on a visual level through the use of transparency (the transparency of water) and rasterisation (the porosity of the karst world). Based on this, two print models were conceived and printed in a palimpsest manner in two different colours (blue and white) on a recycled paper base. The result was 6 graphic prints in 70 x 50 cm format, printed in an edition of 12 and compiled into print portfolios made of cardboard.
 
The accompanying publication contains a selection of the best drawings and sketches made during the creative process of conceiving the prints.




PIVKA
45°40′49.63″N
14°11′46.98″E

(2015–2021)




Self (2018)



Boris Beja
Maks Bricelj
Nina Čelhar
Polonca Lovšin
Petra Matijevič
Jaka Vatovec
PIVKA 45°40′49.63″N 14°11′46.98″E (2015–2021) is a multi-year project that addresses global social issues in the local environment, at the level of people's daily lives. It takes place once a year in the form of a workshop where 6 selected artists create graphic works on a specific theme using a chosen technique. The participants learn about the theme in connection with a local partner (institution, company, association or informal group, etc.) and the chosen printmaking technique is linked to this theme. The works created during the workshop, the print portfolio and the accompanying publication become part of the permanent collection.

In the seven years that the project has been running, 29 artists have participated and produced a total of 62 graphic works, 7 art publications and 1 book.


Self (2018) is the fourth edition of the project, which is thematically linked to the concepts of self-sufficiency, self-building and self-governing. In this context, the participating artists explored independent models of production, (infra-)structure and organisation that represent an alternative to the existing capitalist system. Some of these models, already known in the past, are becoming relevant again today, while new models are being developed that incorporate contemporary values such as high quality of life, sustainable development, ecological sustainability, etc.
 
The participating artists explored the theme in relation to the Pivka poultry farm, which in the past was an important local employer and practised various forms of cooperation with the surrounding population, built housing, influenced the way people ate, spent their free time, etc. 12 print models were created. Each of them was screenprinted on the cardboard packaging of the Pivka poultry farm in an edition of 12. The prints form a print portfolio, also made from the company's cardboard packaging.
 
The accompanying publication contains copies of the prints on plain paper and copies of images from trade journals found in the abandoned former headquarters of the company on tracing paper.




PIVKA
45°40′49.63″N
14°11′46.98″E

(2015–2021)




Small Town – Great Gallery (2017) 



Nevena Aleksovski
Miha Perne

Ivana Bajec
Simon Kocjančič

Sonja Vulpes
Rone84
PIVKA 45°40′49.63″N 14°11′46.98″E (2015–2021) is a multi-year project that addresses global social issues in the local environment, at the level of people's daily lives. It takes place once a year in the form of a workshop where 6 selected artists create graphic works on a specific theme using a chosen technique. The participants learn about the theme in connection with a local partner (institution, company, association or informal group, etc.) and the chosen printmaking technique is linked to this theme. The works created during the workshop, the print portfolio and the accompanying publication become part of the permanent collection.

In the seven years that the project has been running, 29 artists have participated and produced a total of 62 graphic works, 7 art publications and 1 book.



Small Town – Great Gallery (2017) is the third edition of the project, which explores relationships at both the social and personal level. The theme is based on the relationship between the gallery in Hiša kulture, the centre for contemporary art in the region, and the town of Pivka, which with its 2,000 inhabitants is one of the small towns in Slovenia. This relationship results in a complex web of social relations, such as the relationship between the municipality and the association that runs the gallery, between the employed officials and the independent gallery staff, between the local audience and the visiting artists, etc. The aim of the project is to examine how the characteristics of both worlds intertwine, complement or exclude each other in these relationships and, on this basis, to reflect on the role, task and reception of contemporary art in Slovenian society.
 
In keeping with the project's theme, the artists worked in pairs, which presupposes the establishment of a personal relationship, and in the linocut technique, since linoleum – as one of the most widely used floor coverings in public buildings – represents the symbolic "floor" of relationships in social life. Each of the duos created two joint works. 6 linocuts were printed on paper in an edition of 12 and compiled into print portfolios.
 
The accompanying publication presents all the resulting prints made in the risography technique.




PIVKA
45°40′49.63″N
14°11′46.98″E

(2015–2021)




War and Peace / War and Us (2016)




Vesna Bukovec 
Neža Jurman
Simon Kocjančič
Erik Mavrič
Nika Rupnik
Leon Zuodar
PIVKA 45°40′49.63″N 14°11′46.98″E is a multi-year project that addresses global social issues in the local environment, at the level of people's daily lives. It takes place once a year in the form of a workshop where 6 selected artists create graphic works on a specific theme using a chosen technique. The participants learn about the theme in connection with a local partner (institution, company, association or informal group, etc.) and the chosen printmaking technique is linked to this theme. The works created during the workshop, the print portfolio and the accompanying publication become part of the permanent collection.

In the seven years that the project has been running, 29 artists have participated and produced a total of 62 graphic works, 7 art publications and 1 book.



War and Peace / War and Us (2016) is the second implementation of the project and is conceptually linked to Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, which deals with Russian society during the Napoleonic Wars. Similarly, War and Peace / War and Us deals with the global problem of wars and their effect on social life in Slovenia. The time frame of the project is determined by the impact of the wars on the 1975–1995 generation. This impact on the lives of the generation's parents and grandparents begins with the Second World War and extends through the Cold War and the wars that followed the disintegration of Yugoslavia to the present, where the consequences of many local wars have been globalised. The main theme of the project is a critical look at the impact of all these wars on the life of society in our country, from the point of view – as in Tolstoy's novel – of resisting war and promoting peace.
 
The participating artists explored the theme through a visit to the Park of Military History in Pivka. The works were conceived in the woodcut technique, the simplest, most accessible and physically demanding printmaking technique that metaphorically represents the state of war in which all social relations are reduced to survival. 9 woodcuts were printed on paper in an edition of 12 and compiled into print portfolios.
 
The accompanying publication contains copies of the resulting prints with a cover in the risography technique.




PIVKA
45°40′49.63″N
14°11′46.98″E

(2015–2021)




Sitotica (2015)



Mina Fina
Neža Jurman
Tanja Milharčič
Miha Perne
Zoran Pungerčar
Leon Zuodar
PIVKA 45°40′49.63″N 14°11′46.98″E (2015–2021) is a multi-year project that addresses global social issues in the local environment, at the level of people's daily lives. It takes place once a year in the form of a workshop where 6 selected artists create graphic works on a specific theme using a chosen technique. The participants learn about the theme in connection with a local partner (institution, company, association or informal group, etc.) and the chosen printmaking technique is linked to this theme. The works created during the workshop, the print portfolio and the accompanying publication become part of the permanent collection.

In the seven years that the project has been running, 29 artists have participated and produced a total of 62 graphic works, 7 art publications and 1 book.


Sitotica (2015) is the first implementation of a project that addresses the predatory attitude towards nature and society as a consequence of the global capitalist world order in a local setting. In this framework, the examples of two local practices are juxtaposed, one positive, the development of the Pivka Intermittent Lakes Ecomuseum, and one negative, the bankruptcy of the formerly successful Javor Pivka wood processing company. With this option, general questions are raised, such as the pollution of nature, the disappearance of species, the disintegration of the local economic structure and its consequences for people's daily lives, the critique of capitalism, the possibility of a different social order, etc.
 
The participating artists were introduced to the theme during a visit to the Pivka Intermittent Lakes Ecomuseum. They created graphic works using the technique of screenprinting on wood, printmaking as such being metaphorical for the imprints of our existence on the planet and screenprinting being the most mechanical, reproductive printing technique for industrial production. Wood as a support connects many sub-themes of the project, the richness of nature, the exploitation of nature, the Javor company, the establishment of the wood industry in Slovenia, etc. 17 print models were produced. Each was screenprinted on wood (5 copies) and on paper (13–15 copies). The works on paper are compiled in print portfolios (edition of 15).
 
The accompanying publication in the form of a zine contains copies of the resulting prints on tracing paper.



Exhibition programme

Jaka Vatovec

solo exhibition

6. – 27.12.2024


Education programme



Creativity programme

Poems in Prints / Miroslav Vilhar

printmaking workshop and exhibition

2. – 6.6.2025





Društvo Hiša kulture v Pivki
Snežniška cesta 2
6257 Pivka
Slovenia
Opening hours during the course of the exhibitions:

Tuesday–Thursday 10.00—14.00
Friday 14.00–18.00
Saturday 9.00–13.00




The Hiša kulture gallery in Pivka programme is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, the Municipality of Pivka and everyone who makes a donation of any amount.