SELFIE/sh/ME: self-portraits |
Civic Gallery and Herman Pečarič Gallery |
20th of December 2019 – 10th of May 2020 |
Opening: Friday, November 20th 2019 |
Herman Pečarič Gallery, 18.00: Performance by Rudine Xhaferi, Continuing to triptych, 2001 |
Civic Gallery, 19.00: Opening of the exhibition.
Self-portrait is a timeless motif of representation, defying the passing of time. Self-image is a means by which artists have always presented themselves to others both before and after the invention of photography or other new media. The passion for self-image, once the privilege of creativity of selected individuals, has taken over almost every one of us with the help of new technologies. Selfies transfer our images from smartphones to social networks, creating a continuous and constant flow of self-portraits, almost bulimic.
The international group exhibition SELFIE/sh/ME, self-portraits reflects on the value of artistic self-portraits today, about the concept of identity in the time of selfies; it is an opportunity to explore diversity within ourselves and in relation to others through the work of contemporary visual artists. The title is a coinage of the English words self-portrait, selfish and selfie.
Art critics from Austria, Italy, Croatia, Kosovo and Slovenia have selected artists who work on the motifs in their works: Arta Agani (Republic of Kosovo): Rudina Xhaferi, Artan Ha jrullahu; Majda Božeglav Japelj (Slovenia): Gani Llalloshi, Ira Niero Marušič ; Nadežda Elezović (Croatia): Metka K. Snoj , Petar Đakulović , Tomazzo Gallina (Tomislav Ćurković) ; Aurora Fonda (Italy): Paolo Pretolani , Fabio De Meo , Carolina Olivieri ; Marko Košan (Slovenia): Stanislav Makuc, Sašo Vrabič ; Nives Marvin (Slovenia): Metod Frlic , Miriam Elettra Vaccari ; Vasja Nagy-Hofbauer (Austria): Jenny Rova , Manuel Carreon Lopez ; Ana Papež (Slovenia): Tea Curk Sorta , Matjaž Borovničar ; Chiara Pirozzi (Italy): Moio & Sivelli , Maddalena Mone ; Tatjana Sirk (Slovenia): Jurij Kalan , Aleksander Velišček ; Breda Škrjanec (Slovenia): Uršula Berlot ,Eva Petrič ; Sabrina Zannier (Italy): Lorena Matic , Walter Criscuoli .The catalogue contains reproductions of artworks and critical essays, with an introduction by Marco Apollonio , philosopher and writer from Koper, one of the most interesting representatives of the new wave of storytellers on this subject.
The exhibition is set in the Civic Gallery, and in the Herman Pečarič Gallery, both in the centre of Piran, where three self-portraits of Herman Pečarič (1908–1981), a local painter who painted Istrian motifs in a modern realistic style, creating a connection with the permanent art collection. An integral part of the exhibition is also the selection of selfies sent online by the followers of the Piran Coastal Galleries.
