12th Exhibition of paintings by Alojz Konec: Digital disturbances

The pace of today’s life dictates fast living, rapid changes, pulsating moments, fleeting insights – into darkness, news, people around us, and within ourselves. And sometimes, the daily flow of life barely hints at the existing picture, the experiential sketches (French: croquis) in which we find ourselves, rushing forward with the force of time, as if we no longer know how to stop and calm down.

With the current exhibition “Digital Disturbances,” Alojz Konec unveils a fragment of this restless story that pulls us into the chaotic digital timeline. As the author himself emphasized, the theme of this exhibition is connected and continues from the exhibition titled “Obstacles,” presented at the ZDSLU Gallery in Ljubljana in 2023. The exhibition problematizes the painterly motif of the object – both compact and digital – and insinuates the dimension of time. The author’s momentary storytelling motivates and addresses. He states that it involves the search for and painting of dynamic characteristics of the motif in exchange for its static depiction.

Once again, we witness the expressive restlessness characteristic of Konec’s canvases. In them, he presents momentary impressions from his own life, which he has revealed to us in various ways many times before. He connects experiential experiences, the world of modern technology, and the socio-cultural characteristics of contemporary society into a shared story, as we have seen in the past. The author’s creativity is constantly on the lookout for new experiential “sketches.” However, despite the deceptive color palette and the whiteness of the base, along with the sense of the speed of execution, suggesting watercolor (French: aquarelle), they are merely reflections of water technique in oil on canvas.

The visual language remains and grows in the domain of brushstrokes on a white base, says the author. Whiteness is a constant in his creation, and he does not reject its primordial nature but uses it for a unique visual expression. It plays a crucial role in the perception of momentary creation, revealing every stroke, every movement, and not allowing corrections. Although the canvases may appear abstract, the observer’s eye repeatedly catches on to the motif from which it grows. This is a movement captured in the painting as time is captured in the motif.

Doc. dr. Ines Vodopivec

About the author

Alojz Konec was born in 1956 in Brežice, Slovenia. After completing eight years of primary school in Sevnica (under the guidance of A. Fenos) and attending high school in Brežice (with Professor M. Kugler), he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design at the University of Ljubljana. There, he studied under professors K. Meško, M. Šuštaršič, J. Bernik, J. Ciuha, and Š. Planinc, earning his degree in painting in 1983.

After seven years of designing children’s clothing, he transitioned to become a high school art teacher in 1987. Alongside his teaching career, he continued his studio work until 2020 when the roles were mutually exchanged. Since 1974, he has exhibited his work independently and collaboratively both domestically and internationally, with a total of 66 solo exhibitions and 393 group exhibitions, showcasing his art in 63 countries worldwide.

His artistic pursuits include oil and watercolor painting, printmaking, as well as writing professional art and didactic texts. Notably, he authored the book “Zgodovina umetnosti danes” and reviewed two teacher handbooks and the curriculum for the high school subject of visual arts in 2008. Alojz Konec is a member of DLUD Society of Fine Artists of Dolenjska, ZDSLU Association of Slovenian Fine Artists’ Societies, and is affiliated with IWS International Watercolor Society.