Miha Štrukelj
Biography
Štrukelj was born in 1973 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He is a visual artist
working primarily in painting and also focusing on drawing and site-specific
work. Drawn to the ambiguous nature and the confines of a space, he creates urban
landscapes that provide a new sense of place by combining real and fictitious
element. Urban spaces are defined by architecture and landmarks while, in
between, there are empty and forgotten spaces. Strukelj focuses on these
in-between spaces, exploring how we define and perceive reality
and how architecture and environment shape us. By leaving empty patches in his
works, the artist challenges the viewers' perception of these forgotten spaces.
This exploration has led him to investigate how painting and drawing function
in physical space, attempting to bring them into space by constructing
large-scale installations.
He has several awards, including the Pollock-Krasner Grant 2008/09 and the Henkel Drawing Award 2008, Trust for Mutual Understanding 2014. His work has also been included in the National Collection of the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana. He has also been selected for “Slovenian Art 1995–2005”, “Seven Sins; Ljubljana–Moscow” and “U3 – Triennial of Contemporary Art in Slovenia”, “Art in Slovenia 2005–2015” at Museum of Modern Art Ljubljana, 4th Beijing Biennial, and various other national and international selections. His work has been presented in “Vitamin P; New Perspectives in Painting” (Phaidon 2002). In 2009 he represented Slovenia in the Slovenian Pavilion at 53rd Venice Biennial.