Jaša

Jaša (b. 1978)

Jaša (Mrevlje-Pollak), born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice, Italy and studied classics at the Gimnazija Poljane Ljubljana.

He is interested in the “suspense” that is created by combining contrasting layers of meaning and form. The reaction to art is a form of its own and is not determined only by an artwork, but the context in which it is shown plays a decisive role. Through the process of research and creation Jaša strives to find the balance between the absurd and meaningful, to detect the structure of chaos within contrasting feelings of blissful and auto-destructive moments. The use of familiar conventions or live events allows him to seduce the viewer into a raw state of self-reflection.

Jaša frequently works in collaboration with other artists, with Crash in Progress, 1999–2005; as a collective with Giorgio Andreotta Caló, Simone Settimo, Peter Furlan and Martina de Lugnani; and recently with Kalu (Luka Uršič), Junzi, Nina Vidrih, Mark Požlep, Jyrki Riekki and Meta Grgurevičamong others.

His most prominent solo projects include Apnea’s Rhapsody (Stellar Rays Gallery, New York), Single Ride Out While You Touch the Sky (A+A Gallery, curated by Juan de Nieves, Venice), Friendly War (a project by Jaša and Jyrki Riekki, Kibla, Maribor), The Lovest (The Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana), Bloom (Jeromo Zodo Contemporary Gallery, Milano) and Dolphin’s Dream (Viafarini, Milano).

Recent group exhibitions: The Accademie Pavillion (54th Venice Biennial), Lords of Dirt (UGM/Maribor Art Gallery, Maribor, Slovenia), The 29th Biennial of Graphic Arts (The Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana), Realism and Reality in the Contemporary Art in Slovenia (The Museum of Modern Art, Slovenia, curated by Charles Esche).

Jaša lives in Ljubljana, Venice and New York, and work with P. Nemec Gallery, Ljubljana and On Stellar Rays Gallery, New York.