Janja Kosi
Serving Suggestion
In her project Serving Suggestion (2018–2021), Janja Kosi uses various media and diverse approaches to tackle the concepts of space, architecture, homeliness, emptiness and consumerism. She analyses by looking at local manifestations of a global furniture retail giant - IKEA.
Janja Kosi, Serving Suggestion, 2021.
Photo: Mario Zupanov/RAVNIKAR GALLERY SPACE.
The starting point for Serving Suggestion is a series of ten postcards from a number of different cities with the shared motif of the easily recognisable blue-and-yellow architectural shell. The series of drawings depicts an architectural uniformity which features local specificities only in infinitesimal details. This uniformity is also reflected in the range of furniture on offer – the products play a part in the visual homogeneity of interiors in all places where IKEA products are available. What follows is a musing on consumerism and the impact of globalisation on our ways of living, while also being a reflection on the personal experience of retail space homeliness and the interiors we decorate with furniture from IKEA. The overarching motif of Kosi’s work is the conflict found in these spaces, which we perceive as shells filled with promises and temporary escapism.
https://sl.janjakosi.com
https://sl.janjakosi.com
Janja Kosi, Serving Suggestion, 2021. Courtesy of the artist.
Janja Kosi (1994) obtained her master’s degree in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana in 2020. She is active in the fields of visual art, painting, illustration and animation. She has exhibited her work in solo exhibitions at R SPACE, DobraVaga and the DLUL Gallery and in group exhibitions in Slovenia and abroad, namely at the Art Stays festival in Ptuj, the Maribor Art Gallery, Fotopub in Ljubljana, Prelaunch Days EKO 8 in Maribor, the Academia Moderna Gallery in Zagreb and the Improper Walls Gallery in Vienna. Her art practice is characterised by spatial installations and by the combination of various different media. Kosi often explores the concepts of (non)space, home and homeliness and the relationship between humans and architecture.
Etc. is an annual magazine, dedicated to showcasing current artistic production from the Baltic to the Balkans.
Based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, each issue is dedicated to a relevant topic in art and life. Founded to promote emerging artists, its goal is to initiate a dialogue, inspire collaborations, and challenge set views.