A dialogue between personal energies and the energies of the nature. Pantheism. Absorbing energies. Dialogue between red and blue energy. Red: the personal essence of being. Blue: the spread of (personal) energies into the expanses of the universe. Black: the interior of energies; absorbing (the invisible intelligence of) the universe.
Tanja Špenko
Tanja Špenko was born on July, 1956 in Ljubljana. She graduated under Prof. Štefan Planinc from the Dept. of Painting, Academy of Fine Arts, Ljubljana, in 1979.
Her first exhibition took place in 1979 as a three-artists’ group exhibition in the ŠKUC (Student Cultural Centre) gallery in Ljubljana; since then she participated in numerous group exhibitions at home and abroad.
Since the first independent exhibition in 1981 in the Hall of the Institute Jožef Stefan in Ljubljana, she has so far presented her work at more than 40 independent exhibitions in Slovenia and elsewhere, among them in: Bežigrajska galerija, Ljubljana, 1984; Klub Collegium Artisticum, Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina),1985; Galerija ZDSLU (Association of Slovene Artists’ Societies), Ljubljana, 1991; exhibition salon Rotovž, Maribor and Art Salon, Celje, 1994; Galerija Equrna, Ljubljana, 1997; Muzej grada Zagreba (Zagreb City Museum), Zagreb (Croatia), 1998; Mestna Galerija Piran (Piran Municipal Gallery), 2001; Galerija Božidar Jakac (in the former monastery church), Kostanjevica na Krki, 2005; Gallery A+A, Venice (Italy), 2008; Galerija Rika Debenjaka in Kanal ob Soči, 2011; the Glass Atrium i Ljubljana Town Hall, 2012; Mala galerija, Kranj, 2013; the gallery in Consulate General of Slovenia in Klagenfurt (Austria), 2014; and in SKC Korotan (Slovenian Culture Centre Korotan), Vienna (Austria) and Werkbund Galerie, Graz (Austria), 2017. In 2015 she also participated in 13. Festival of Contemporary Art - Art Stays “Wunderkammer” in Ptuj, Slovenija.
In 2007 she created a cycle of silkscreen prints for a print folder, and a cycle of smaller prints for the bibliophile monography titled In-between, as illustrations of poems by Andrej Medved (printed by Slavko Pavlin, Mednarodni grafični likovni center Ljubljana/International Centre of Graphic Arts).
Her works of art are included in the collection of Modern Gallery Ljubljana, Maribor Art Gallery, Coastal galleries Piran and elsewhere.
She is a member of the Association of Slovene Artists’ Societies and is an active painter, graphics artist and teacher at Secondary Preschool Education and Gimnazija Ljubljana. She lives and works in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Awards:
1984 – Zlata ptica (Golden Bird), Ljubljana
1987 – Purchase award, Volosko 87, Croatia
1989 – Diploma, Volosko 89, Croatia
1989 – Diploma Raciborz 96, Poland
2002 – Award nomination 2002, Museum Florean, Romania
2003 – Award nomination 2003, Museum Florean, Romania
2005 – Special recognition award, II. Ex-tempore, Kamnik
2010 – Recognition for exceptional contribution, Transgenerations 2010, Ljubljana
2011 – Grand Prix, International Ex-tempore Ptuj, Carnival 2011, Ptuj
2012 – 2nd award, International exhibition of miniature 2012, Sremčica, Belgrade, Serbia
2013 – Special recognition award of expert jury, International Ex-tempore Ptuj, Carnival 2013, Ptuj
2015 – 2nd award, International Ex-tempore Ptuj, Carnival 2015, Ptuj
2016 – Grand Prix, International Ex-tempore Ptuj, Carnival 2016, Ptuj
2016 – Commendation, 23. International Ex-tempore Grožnjan, Grožnjan, Croatia
2017 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Month, January 2017, 1st place – Painting, Slovenia
2018 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Year 2017, 2nd place - Painting, Slovenia
2018 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Month, January 2018, 2nd place - Drawing, Slovenia
2018 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Month, April 2018, 2nd place - Drawing, Slovenia
2018 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Month, April 2018, 2nd place - Graphics, Slovenia
2018 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Month, August 2018, 1st place, Graphics, Slovenia
2018 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Month, August 2018, 1st place, Painting, Slovenija
2018 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Month, October 2018, 1st place – Graphics, Slovenia
2018 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Month, October 2018, 2nd place – Drawing, Slovenia
2018 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Month, October 2018, 2nd place, Painting, Slovenia
2018 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Month, November 2018, 2nd place, Painting, Slovenia
2019 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Month, Januar 2019, 2nd place, Painting
CFA Artist of the Year Award, Finalist Certificate, Januar 2019
2019 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Month, Februar 2019, 2nd place – Painting
2019 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Year 2018, 1st place – Graphic
2019 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Month, March 2019, 3rd place – Painting
2019 – ArtOpen, Artwork of the Month, April 2019, 2nd place, Graphic
2020 – Ex Tempore Karneval Ptuj 2020, Honorable mention of expert jury,