BIOGRAFIJA

BIOGRAPHY

Rojena 14. 9. 1994 v Mariboru, trenutno zaključuje magistrski študij slikarstva na Akademiji za likovno umetnost in oblikovanje v Ljubljani, kjer je 2016 tudi diplomirala. V letu 2018 je letni semester preživela na Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, Leipzig (Nemčija).

Področje njenega raziskovanja in zanimanja zavzemata slikarstvo in ilustracija. Pri slikarstvu kontekstualizira koncept kraja in njegove podobe v različnih medijih, pri čemer slikarski medij še vedno ostaja v središču. Zanima jo kakšna (in če sploh) je povezava med podobo kraja, ki si jo o njem ustvarimo sami ter dejanskim krajem samim po sebi.

Pri ilustraciji poskuša jasno podajati ideje, ki so pogosto obarvane s svojstvenim humorjem. Skupna točka obeh področij je prizadevanje za odprtost in animiranje gledalca k soustvarjanju dela.

SKUPINSKE RAZSTAVE

• 2018, DADDY, G2, Leipzig.

• 2018, HIŠA ILUSTRACIJ 2018, Lajerjeva hiša, Kranj.

• 2018, ABSTRAKCIJA JE NA KONCU CONE UDOBJA, Equrna, Ljubljana.

• 2018, SREČA JE V KNJIGAH, SREČA JE V SLIKANICAH, knjižnica NUK, Ljubljana.

• 2017, OPEN CALL, Škuc, Ljubljana.

• 2017, UTELESENJE, Equrna, Ljubljana.

• 2016, RAZSTAVA ŠTUDENTOV ILUSTRACIJE ALUO, Univerza v Ljubljani, Ljubljana.

NAGRADE

• 2016, Priznanje ALUO za izjemne študijske dosežke v študijskem letu 2014/2015 pri predmetu slikarstvo.

JANJA KOSI, born on 14 September 1994 in Maribor, I am currently finishing my master's degree in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana, where I graduated in 2016. I spent the summer semester of 2018 at Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, Leipzig (Germany).

The field of my research and interest is painting and illustration. In painting, through the theme of the place, I chase the images through different media, while painting as a medium still stays in the centre, although it is always contextualized in a new way. I am interested in the relationship (if any at all) between the image of the place we create ourselves and the actual place.

In the illustration, I try to introduce ideas that are often coloured with humour. The common point of both areas is the aspiration for openness and animation of the viewer to co-create the work.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

• 2018, DADDY, G2, Leipzig.

• 2018, HOUSE OF ILLUSTRATIONS 2018, Lajer’s house, Kranj.

• 2018, ABSTRACTION IS AT THE END OF THE COMFORT ZONE, Equrna, Ljubljana.

• 2018, HAPPINES IS IN THE BOOKS, HAPPINES IS IN THE PICTURE BOOKS, NUK Library, Ljubljana.

• 2017, OPEN CALL, Škuc, Ljubljana.

• 2017, EMBODIMENT, Equrna, Ljubljana.

• 2016, EXHIBITION OF ALUO ILLUSTRATION STUDENTS, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana.

AWARDS

2016, ALUO Award for exceptional academic achievements in the academic year 2014/2015 at the subject painting.

POGOVOR Z AVTORICO

Janja Kosi je mlada nadebudna umetnica z velikim ilustratorskim potencialom. Njene ilustracije in serijo del z glavno junakinjo Ano, ki jo predstavljamo tudi v spletni galeriji Web Nox, lahko spremljate na Instagram profilu i_could_be_ana. Tam smo jih našli tudi mi in »Ano« povabili k sodelovanju, saj so nas ilustracije prepričale z idejno in stilsko originalnostjo. Ana je sicer namišljen lik dekleta, vendar so situacije v katerih se znajde primeri iz realnega življenja, zato se lahko z njimi poistoveti marsikdo in to je tudi tisto, kar Janjine ilustracije naredi domačne. Risba s flomastrom je v osnovi preprosta, a tako doživeta, da s samo nekaj potezami obogati dogajanje na delih. Liki so simpatični in hitro se nam zazdi, da jih poznamo že od nekdaj …

Kaj te je zaneslo v ilustratorske vode? 

Ilustracija me spremlja od otroštva. Že takrat sem govorila, da ko bom velika, bom pa ilustratorka. Je bil tudi eden od pomembnejših povodov, da sem se odločila za študij slikarstva.

V galeriji Web Nox predstavljaš izbor ilustracij iz serije "I could be Ana" - kdo je Ana in kako dolgo dotična serija nastaja? Deluje nekoliko avtobiografsko, se motim?

Ana bi lahko bila kdorkoli. Je deklica, ki se spopada z vsakdanjimi situacijami, pripetljaji, zagatami in strahovi (čeprav včasih zgolj metaforično), v katerih se lahko marsikdo prepozna. Je pa zagotovo zelo avtobiografska, saj je osnovna ideja vedno posledica dogodka, opazke, fascinacije, misli ali občutka, ki se mi je pripetil skozi dan. Ravno zaradi te neposredne osebne vpletenosti, sem potrebovala kar nekaj časa, da sem se opogumila in Ani ustvarila Instagram profil. Prva objava je sicer bila 7. maja 2017, a je Ana pred tem nastajala že kakšne tri mesece. Tako projekt sedaj traja dobro leto in pol, vmes pa sem imela en premor. Po njem sem tudi zapustila skicirko v obliki zvezka, ki mi je nekako še vedno nudila občutek intime in risbe pričela ustvarjati na posamezne papirje. 

Od kod črpaš motiviko za ilustracije v seriji "I could be Ana"? Nastopajočih likov je veliko, ampak nam hitro postanejo zelo domači. Kje si našla navdih zanje? 

Motiviko oziroma situacije, ki jih uprizarjam črpam iz svojega vsakdana. Velikokrat so to situacije ali občutki oziroma vprašanja, na katere odgovora (takoj) ne poznam . Ko pa jih prepustim Ani oziroma komu izmed likov vidim, da problemi niso tako veliki, kakor se morda zdijo na prvi pogled.

Nov lik nastopi običajno takrat, ko se Ane malo naveličam. Posebnih skic, kjer bi lik razvijala, ne delam. Le-ta se razvija postopoma in pred očmi gledalcev oziroma sledilcev. Izvora navdiha zanje pa ne znam točno določiti. Včasih se mi preprosto »zalušta« narisati debelega mravljinčarja.  

Gre za večletni projekt, ki bo morda končno obliko dobil v knjigi? 

O tem sem že veliko razmišljala in upam da bo do tega nekega dne res prišlo. Je pa Ana drugače že nastopila, sicer v okviru šolskega projekta, v eni mojih slikanic brez besed. 

Katere ilustratorje imaš sicer rada, se po katerem še posebej zgleduješ?

Odraščala sem z ilustratorji, ki so v času mojega otroštva polnili strani Cicibana, kot sta na primer Mojca Cerjak in Jelka Reichman, zabavali pa so me tudi stripi Mikija Mustra. Ti so mi še vedno zelo pri srcu. Vzgled in inspiracijo danes mi  predstavljajo predvsem naši slovenski mladi ilustratorji, ki na slovensko sceno prinašajo svežino in igrivost ter dokazujejo, da nivo naše ilustracije konkurira tisti v tujini.

Ali pripravljaš še kakšne druge projekte, glede na to, da si aktivna študentka na Akademiji za likovno umetnost in oblikovanje? 

Trenutno se intenzivno ukvarjam s projektom v okviru svojega magistrskega dela. Kam točno me bo ta popeljal pa sedaj še ne morem točno napovedati. 

Kako kot mlada ustvarjalka in domačinka vidiš Maribor? Ima dovolj prostora za umetnike?

Maribor imam zelo rada, čeprav zadnjih nekaj let zaradi študija večino časa preživljam v Ljubljani. Tako mariborsko umetniško sceno poznam malo slabše in ji sledim v glavnem posredno, preko medijev. Ima pa Maribor prostore in prizorišča, z zanimivim in kvalitetnim programom, ki se jih včasih morda (krivično) spregleda. Maribor ima potencial, a se sprašujem ali namenja dovolj sredstev, ki bi ustvarila dovolj prostora umetnikom.   

Nekaj časa si bila na študijski izmenjavi v Nemčiji, kakšen je odnos do umetnosti, mladih umetnikov tam? Se ti zdi, da imajo več možnosti kot pri nas?

Študijsko izmenjavo sem preživela v Leipzigu, ki je v zadnjih letih postal prava mala meka umetnikov, še posebej slikarjev. Je mesto z močno slikarsko tradicijo Nove Leipziške Šole (iz katere izhaja tudi Neo Rauch, danes en največjih ljubljencev globalnega umetniškega trga), ki jo lahko tam srečamo na vsakem koraku.

Možnosti je zagotovo več, saj je prostor večji, ima več sredstev in posledično tudi razvitejši umetniški trg. A to ne pomeni, da je mladimi umetnikom tam lažje, saj je posledično tudi konkurenca večja. Kar pa sem opazila je to, da je v Leipzigu med študenti, torej mladimi umetniki, vzdušje morda bolj pozitivno naravnano in ambiciozno kot pa je vzdušje med slovenskimi študenti, nami. Vzrok za takšno pozitivo pripisujem dejstvu, da se jim umetniški trg »dogaja« neposredno pred očmi aktivno, s perspektivo in razvojem, kar zagotovo je  spodbudno za razmišljanje o lastni prihodnosti.  

Ker bodo zelo kmalu spet aktualne novoletne zaobljube in dobre želje - imaš kakšno posebno tudi zase, ki jo lahko javno razkriješ?

Sama se trenutno nahajam v nekakšnem prehodnem obdobju, kjer potujem in skačem iz enega področja na drugega ter upam, da se bodo ti koščki iz različnih koncev na vse zadnje le sestavili v neko smiselno celoto.

Hvala, Janja za intervju, tudi ekipa galerije Media Nox ti želi, da se vse sestavljanke dobro sestavijo!

INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

Janja Kosi is a young aspiring artist with a great potential for illustration. Her illustrations and her series of works with the main heroine Ana, also presented in the Web Gallery Web Nox, can be seen on the Instagram profile “i_could_be_ana”. We found them there too, and invited "Ana" to participate, as the illustrations convinced us with conceptual and stylish originality. Even though Ana is an imaginary character of a young girl, the situations in which she finds herself, are cases from the real life with which a lot of people can identify, and this is the reason that makes Janja's illustrations so intimate. The drawing with a marker is basically simple, but yet so lively, that only a few strokes enrich the action on the canvas. The characters are likable and we quickly feel as we have known them forever...

What has brought you to illustration?

Illustration has accompanied me from the childhood. Already back then I talked about, that I’ll be an illustrator when I grow up. This was also one of the main reasons why I decided to study painting.

In the gallery Web Nox, you present a selection of illustrations from the series "I could be Ana" - who is Ana and how long are you making this series? It seems somehow autobiographical, am I wrong?

Ana could have been anyone. She is a girl who is tackling everyday situations, events, problems and fears (although sometimes only metaphorically), in which many can recognize themselves. It is certainly very autobiographical, as the basic idea is always the result of an event, remark, fascination, thought or feeling that I experience during the day. Especially because of this direct personal involvement, I needed quite some time to get enough courage to create Ana's Instagram profile. The first publication was on May 7, 2017, when Ana was being created already for about three months. So, the project now lasts for a good year and a half, with a pause in between. After that I left the sketchbook, which in some ways offered me a sense of intimacy and started to create drawings on individual papers.

Where do you get your motives from, for the illustrations in the series "I could be Ana"? There is a lot of performing characters, but they quickly become very domestic to us. Where did you find the inspiration for them?

I take the motives and situations from my daily routine. Mostly these are situations or feelings or questions to which I (instantly) don’t have an answer. But when I give them to Ana or to some other character, I see that the problems are not as big as they might seem to be in the first moment.

A new character usually happens when I get a little bored with Anna. I don’t make special sketches to develop the character. It develops gradually and in front of the eyes of viewers or followers. I can’t exactly point to the source of the inspiration for them. Sometimes I just get a craving to draw a thick anteater.

Is this a multi-annual project that may get the final form in a book?

I've been thinking about that a lot, and I hope that one day it really comes to this. But otherwise, Ana has already appeared in one of my picture books without words, in course of a school project.

Which illustrators do you like, is there someone particularly inspiring for you?

I grew up with illustrators who have during my childhood filled the pages of Ciciban, such as Mojca Cerjak and Jelka Reichman, but I was also entertained by the comics of Miki Muster. They are still very dear to me. Today, I follow the example and find the inspiration from our Slovenian young illustrators, who bring freshness and playfulness to the Slovenian scene, and prove that the quality of our illustrations can compete with those abroad.

Are you preparing some other projects, considering that you are an active student at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design?

Currently I am intensively involved in a project for my master's thesis. I can’t predict exactly, where this will take me.

How do you see Maribor as a young and local artist? Is there enough space for artists?

I like Maribor very much, although for the last few years, because of my study, I spend most of my time in Ljubljana. That’s why I’m a little less familiar with Maribor’s art scene but I follow it mainly indirectly, through the media. Maribor has spaces and venues, with interesting and qualitative programs, that are sometimes maybe (unjustly) overlooked. Maribor has the potential, but I wonder if there is enough funding, which would create enough space for the artists.

You spent some time as an exchange student in Germany, what is the attitude towards art and young artists there? Do you think they have more opportunities than we have here?

I have spent the study exchange in Leipzig, which has in recent years become a real small mecca for the artists, especially painters. It’s a city with a strong painting tradition of the New Leipzig School (from which also Neo Rauch emerged, one of the greatest favorites of the global art market), which can be seen there at every step.

The possibilities are certainly grater, since everything is bigger, it has more resources and, consequently also a much more developed art market. But that doesn’t mean necessary that young artists have it easier there, as consequently the competition is also bigger. What I have noticed however, is that in Leipzig, the atmosphere between students therefore young artists, may be more positively oriented and ambitious than the atmosphere is between Slovenian students, therefore us. I can attribute the reason for this positivity to the fact that the art market is "happening" directly before their eyes, actively, with perspective and progress, which certainly works encouraging on reflection about your own future.

Because very soon the New Year's vows and good wishes will be relevant again - do you have any special wish for yourself that you can publicly reveal?

I am currently in some kind of transition period, where I travel and jump from one field to another, and I hope that these pieces from different parts will at the end be assembled into a meaningful whole.

Thanks, Janja for the interview, also the team of Media Nox gallery wishes you that all puzzles come together as they should!