Razstavišče MALA STENA
JSKD, Štefanova 5, Ljubljana
(8. 9. - 8. 11. 2025)
akvarel, 2024, 77 cm × 57 cm
watercolor, 2024, 77 cm × 57 cm
Ameriški akvarelist Gary Bukovnik bo med 3. in 28. septembrom 2025 gost umetniške rezidence JSKD Cankarjeva. Med 15. in 19. septembrom se bo v atriju ZRC SAZU v Ljubljani predstavil na samostojni razstavi z naslovom Večna pomlad. Kot nekakšen »satelit« razstave pa bomo eno izmed del, akvarel z motivom rdečih nageljnov, predstavili na Mali steni. (1)
Gary Bukovnik – njegova stara starša sta bila Slovenca –, je bil rojen leta 1947 v Clevelandu (Ohio), od leta 1974 pa živi v San Franciscu (Kalifornija). Slovenijo je prvič obiskal leta 1990, ko se je udeležil likovne kolonije v organizaciji Slovenske izseljenske matice. Kolonije se je udeležil tudi leta 2010 in se ob tem, pod okriljem Matice, s samostojnimi razstavami predstavil občinstvu v Idriji, Zagorju in Beltincih.
Takrat sem imela priložnost, da sem v vlogi samostojne kustosinje in likovne kritičarke Bukovnika tudi osebno spoznala. Negovo delo mi je odprlo popolnoma nov pogled na možnosti upodabljanja cvetličnih motivov v tehniki akvarela. Moja pričakovanja in, priznam, tudi nekaj zakoreninjenih predsodkov, se je obrnilo na glavo, ko sem se soočila z monumentalnimi formati kipečega cvetja, ki se je z realistično natančnostjo, a obenem s samosvojo živahnostjo, breztežno lahkotnostjo in energičnim humorjem vihravo razporejalo po akvarelnem papirju – razpuščeno svobodno, a hkrati kompozicijsko čvrsto in premišljeno.
Bukovnikovi velikoformatni akvareli me po letih spremljanja njegove plodne ustvarjalnosti še vedno močno nagovorijo. S spoznavanjem umetnikove osebnosti, njegovega iskrenega navdušenja do naravne lepote sveta, občutljivosti do harmoničnih oblik narave in življenjske topline, s katero pristopi k vsemu in vsakomur, pa je dozorel tudi moj pogled na njegove akvarele manjših formatov. V teh nekoliko bolj študijskih upodobitvah cvetličnih aranžmajev v prozornih, geometrijsko oblikovanih vazah, pride do izraza Bukovnikov smisel za red, pozornost do detajla in klasična eleganca.
Ob razstavi leta 2010 sem, izhajajoč iz umetnostno zgodovinskega razumevanja ikonografije cvetlic, zapisala, da se Gary Bukovnik odreka simbolni govorici cvetja
oziroma da jo »uporabi le izjemoma – na primer, ko naslika šopek slovenskih nageljnov, s katerim se nostalgično pokloni domovini svojih prednikov.« (2)
Z izborom istega motiva za postavitev na Mali steni se tako simbolično poklanjam spominu na prvo srečanje z umetnikovim delom ter dolgoletnemu toplemu prijateljstvu, ki cveti kljub fizični, generacijski in kulturni razdalji.
Naj šopek nageljnov simbolično predstavlja tudi domačnost in gostoljubje, ki jo Bukovniku izkazati v času bivanja na umetniški rezidenci v Ljubljani, ko ponovno išče osebne, ustvarjalne in kulturne vezi z domovino svojih prednikov.
Monika Ivančič Fajfar
1) Rezidenčno bivanje in organizacija razstave umetnika poteka v sodelovanju Javnega sklada RS za kulturne dejavnosti, Združenja Slovenska izseljenska matica ter Inštituta za slovensko izseljenstvo in migracije pri ZRC SAZU.
2) Monika Ivančič Fajfar: Razpuščena svoboda pobeglih šopkov, katalog razstave, 2010
GARY BUKOVNIK: Carnations
Mala stena Gallery, September 8 – November 8, 2025
The American watercolorist Gary Bukovnik will be the artist-in-residence at the JSKD Cankarjeva Art Residency from September 3 to 28, 2025. Between September 15 and 19, he will present a solo exhibition titled "Eternal Spring" in the atrium of the ZRC SAZU in Ljubljana. As a kind of “satellite” to this exhibition, one of his works — a watercolor featuring red carnations — will be displayed at the Mala stena Gallery. (1)
Gary Bukovnik — whose grandparents were Slovenian — was born in 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio, and has lived in San Francisco, California, 1974. He first visited Slovenia in 1990 when he took part in an art colony organized by the Slovenian Emigrant Association. He returned in 2010 to participate again and, under the auspices of the same association, held solo exhibitions in Idrija, Zagorje, and Beltinci.
It was then that I had the opportunity to meet Bukovnik in person, as a freelance curator and art critic. His work opened my eyes to an entirely new perspective on the possibilities of depicting floral motifs in watercolor. My expectations — and admittedly, a few deeply rooted prejudices — were completely overturned when I encountered his monumental formats of exuberant flowers rendered with realistic precision, but also with a unique vibrancy, weightless elegance, and energetic humor. The blossoms burst across the watercolor paper freely and fluidly, yet with compositional solidity and careful intention.
After years of following Bukovnik’s prolific creative output, his large-format watercolors continue to speak to me in a powerful way. As I became more familiar with the artist’s personality — his genuine awe of the natural world, his sensitivity to harmonious organic forms, and the warmth with which he approaches everything and everyone — I also developed a deeper appreciation for his smaller-format watercolors. These somewhat more “study-like” depictions of floral arrangements in transparent, geometrically shaped vases reflect his sense of order, attention to detail, and classical elegance.
Back in 2010, writing from the perspective of art-historical understandings of floral iconography, I observed that Bukovnik tends to eschew the symbolic language of flowers — or uses it only rarely. One such exception is his painting of a bouquet of Slovenian carnations, in which he offers a nostalgic tribute to the homeland of his ancestors. (2)
By choosing this motif for display at the Mala stena Gallery, I symbolically pay tribute to my first encounter with the artist’s work and to a long-standing warm friendship that has flourished despite geographical, generational, and cultural distances.
May this bouquet of carnations also symbolically represent the sense of welcome and hospitality we wish to offer him during his artist residency in Ljubljana, as he once again seeks personal, creative, and cultural connections with the homeland of his forebears.
Monika Ivančič Fajfar
(1)The artist's residency and the organization of the exhibition are carried out in cooperation with the Public Fund of the Republic of Slovenia for Cultural Activities, the Slovenian Emigrant Association, and the Institute for Slovenian Emigration and Migration at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU).
(2) Monika Ivančič Fajfar: Dissolved Freedom of Escaped Bouquets, exhibition catalogue, 2010
