Artist statement
Jon Žagar’s work is based on the concept of the photographic act as a confrontation with the forces, that unconsciously work within us.
The basic motif of his photography is nature, which he transforms with his camera through a specific artistic idea. It is about the intertwining between mimeticity as a faithful imitation of reality on the one hand and the formative transformation of this reality into a new, fictitious reality. The result of this work is a black-and-white poetic atmosphere, captured in photographs through solitary explorations of abandoned nocturnal landscapes. In this way photography as an encounter with the terrifying, threatening, becomes therapy in the sense of overcoming fear and anxiety and exploring the limits of one’s self.
Exhibitions
2024 Solo exhibition, Syntropy, Artopolis, KIC gallery, Ministry of Defense, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2023 Group exhibition, Prvenci svetlobe, ZDSLU gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2022 Group exhibition, Without an object, Photon gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2022 Group exhibition, Artopolis: Contemporary discrepancies, Škuc gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2021 Group exhibition, Artopolis: New market, Cultural center Q, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2019 Solo exhibition, Night vision/s, Metelkova mesto – Club SOT, Lovci, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2018 Group exhibition, Invited young artists under 35, ZDSLU Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2018 Group exhibition, Winners of the Invited Youth competition, DLUM gallery, Maribor, Slovenia.
2017 Group exhibition, Thematic Sublime, MSUM, Ljubljana.
2016 Group exhibition Invited Youth 2016 DLUM, DLUM gallery, Maribor.
2016 Group exhibition with the collective Freštreš, Insomnia, Bikofe, Ljubljana.
2016 Group exhibition (Un)known, during the month of photography Photonic moments, Photon gallery, Ljubljana.
2016 Group Exhibition, After All, Photography Month, Krakow, Poland.
2016 Group exhibition ALUO LXX: Past, present, future, Jakopičeva gallery, Ljubljana.
2015 Group exhibition with the Freštreš collective, Sale, gallery GT22, Maribor.
2015 Group exhibition, Appropriation of the moment, Dig Gallery, Košice, Slovakia.
2015 Group exhibition, Appropriation of the moment, gallery GT22, Maribor.
2014 Group exhibition, Controversial: exhibition of ALUO students, Photon gallery, Ljubljana.