RIDICULOUS SUBLIME by Gregor Kregar

26 July - 12 October 2008

Artist’s Statement

Gnomes have a complex history that reaches far beyond Disney cartoons; originating in medieval Europe, gnomes were closely associated with the science of alchemy and were the guardians of minerals and metals. The cute garden gnome is often over looked as purely kitsch and decorative. The word gnome originates from the Greek, gnosis, which means knowledge. I am interested in the trivial everyday aesthetic of the gnome in relation to its mystical and scientific history. The gnomes in this exhibition are cast in coloured glass and stand upon illuminated light boxes. They are caught in an existence between the happy and helpful gnome and the magical mystical being. They are both ridiculous and sublime.

My work is not confined to any single medium or material. In my sculptural practice I often combine a wide variety of materials such as ceramic, glass, steel, video and photography. I use objects that utilise familiar subject matter such as television sets, bottles, inorganic rubbish, body parts and animals. I am interested in how the familiar subject can be represented in a way that displaces the original meaning and imbues the subject with new and unfamiliar meanings. My work deals with issues of ambiguity and the uncanny yet it is strongly connected to the social, economical and political environment I live in.

About the artist

Gregor Kregar was born in Slovenia in 1972 and received his BFA from the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. In 1997 Gregor moved to New Zealand where he received MFA from the Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland. He has exhibited widely in New Zealand, Australia, USA and Europe. Gregor’s work has been recognized by winning the prestigious Wallace Art Award in 2000 and a Norsewear Art Award in 2004. Gregor has been invited to participate on several international art residency programmes and has a wide range of tertiary level teaching experience.