Artists

Julije Knifer

Press release

The exhibition Continuum brings together a wide range of works spanning Knifer’s artistic career, from his early beginnings in the 1950s to his final period, highlighting both his artistic evolution and the development of the Meander motif. Among its highlights is a monumental triptych, the largest of its kind created by Julije Knifer, comprising three panels with a total width of 465 cm and a height of 200 cm. The presentation also includes a substantial body of graphite works on paper from the 1980s and 1990s, an important aspect of his artistic practice, alongside a series of drawings tracing the development of the meander from its emergence in the 1960s through to the 2000s. Together, these works offer a comprehensive insight into the evolution of Knifer’s artistic language, with several works being exhibited for the first time. The exhibition has been organized in close collaboration with the Knifer Estate, with whom the gallery has maintained a longstanding relationship. Knifer’s Meander emerged through a process of eliminating everything he considered superfluous or disruptive to rhythmic regularity. Through the repetition and alternation of horizontal and vertical lines, and of black and white, he developed a distinctive visual rhythm. This approach resonates with the principles of serial music, which Knifer first encountered around the same time. The exhibition explores this connection, drawing attention to the shared principles of repetition, variation and structure that inform both Knifer’s work and contemporary musical compositions.