GENIUS LOCI
JL – I have always seen the fact that I spent my youth in the town of Koper-Capodistria, whose roots go back to ancient Greek times, later Rome and Venice as a unique piece of luck. Koper has always been at the crossroads between Mediterranean and Central European cultures, and both left a decisive mark on me.
JL – “… The palaces surrounding the Square prevent me from seeing the sea waves lapping against the shore, but the breeze and smell from the small port not far away do not allow me to forget that I am on an island in the middle of the bay. I can recognise the silhouettes of people and birds. Human speech and the raspy voices of birds override each other, and the eruption of the immense palette of colours gives me a soothing feeling of everyday Mediterranean life.”
ART AND CREATIVITY
Jadran Lenarčič was born in 1955. He attended elementary school and gymnasium in Koper. Although he had been painting since a young age, he decided to study electrical engineering at the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, where he earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees. After his studies, he decided to pursue a career as a scientist in robotics, while also remaining involved in the arts. In 2000, he was admitted to the Slovenian Association of Fine Arts. His role in establishing the Jožef Stefan Institute Gallery is also decisive. He perceives his involvement in the arts as his lifestyle, with no boundary between art and science.
Solo art exhibitions:
2025 – Blue Venuses, Gallery Centre for Humanities, Koper, Slovenia;
… text by Judita Krivec Dragan
2024 – The Garden of Delight, Krka Gallery, Novo mesto, Slovenia;
… text by Tatjana Pregl Kobe
2024 – I Watch, and Nothing Happens, Cankarjev dom Small Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
… text by Judita Krivec Dragan
2024 – The Garden of Delight, Jožef Stefan Institute Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
… text by Tatjana Pregl Kobe
2009 – Exhibition of Paintings, Slovenian Scientific Institute in Vienna, Austria;
2008 – Too Many Colours in My Mind, Graz Department of Cultural Affairs, Airport Gallery, Graz Airport, Austria;
2007 – Exhibition of Paintings, Gorenje Exhibition Centre, Velenje, Slovenia;
2007 – It Is All One Painting, Krka Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
… text by Tatjana Pregl Kobe
2004 – More Myself, Monument Conservation Centre Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
… text by Judita Krivec Dragan
2000 – Painting Exhibition, Krka Strunjan Gallery, Strunjan, Slovenia;
… text by Nives Marvin
2000 – Courtyards and Squares, Meduza Gallery Piran;
… text Nives Marvin
1999 – Emerging Paintings, “Jožef Stefan” Institute Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
… text by Tatjana Pregl Kobe
JL – At the Conference, I gathered more than one hundred participants and wanted to bridge artists and scientists. I tried to encourage a creative dialogue, but it didn’t happen. I thought that the different worlds of science and art would spontaneously recognize the meaning of a common field of research and creation. I expected to see a fusion of differences. But I realized that fusion is possible only in the case of radical collaboration when the boundaries between the individuals are demolished. It turns out that the vast majority of scientists and artists are reticent about being completely open.
