Plečnik, Ravnikar and the Modern Gallery

Address
Grad Fužine, Pot na Fužine 2, 01000 Ljubljana Map
Hours
Mon–Sun 8 am–6 pm
E-Mail

The architect Edvard Ravnikar, a pupil of the architect Prof Jože Plečnik, left behind a significant mark with his works and personality on architectural developments of the latter half of the 20th century in our country. His participation in the Modern Gallery (MG) project in Ljubljana, that saw the teacher's and the pupil's creative paths becoming interwoven, was a watershed event for the young architect, it meant the start of his independent path. The young Ravnikar had to struggle for his place in the professional environment which primarily favoured and revered Plečnik. Yet it was in the very course of designing the MG that the two architects also parted ways on a personal level.

The exhibition at the Fužine Castle Chapel displays items from the MAO's architecture collection associated with construction of the Modern Gallery: original designs, photographs and Ravnikar's diary. The projection shows some of Plečnik's and Ravnikar's lesser known designs, sketches and documents about the MG kept in the library of the France Stelè Institute of Art History of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the library of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia, Plečnik's collection at the Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana, and material from various literary sources. The nearly 15-year long narrative of the Modern Gallery’s construction is a very intricate story entailing several factors and persons, and rich in unexpected intrigues.