Art Critics’ Choice … Ajda Kadunc

In her artistic practice, painter Ajda Kadunc examines the prevailing anthropocentric model of thinking and acting, which – in constant pursuit of progress – has plunged humanity into a complex state of social, economic, ecological and, ultimately, moral crisis. In this context, the artist deals with uncertainty and meaninglessness as temporal markers that testify to the disintegration of familiar structures and hierarchies, while at the same time opening up space for the development of new, alternative ways of thinking, living and acting. Alongside new theoretical definitions of nature, life processes, the relationship between the domesticated and the wild, and non-hierarchical interspecies relations, the artist relies on the findings of phenomenology, and day-to-day (contemplative) practices such as gathering, localizing in and moving through space as her main points of reference. The artist follows this logic of movement and embodiment in space also in the very painting process and in creating the pictorial composition. With its processuality, the technique of dry brush oil painting allows her to experiment with forms and images in a gradual and intuitive way. The artist is primarily interested in the disruptions, errors and coincidences that occur in the process and their potential for creating new meanings. Her visual vocabulary emerges in-between the visible and the invisible, the known and the unknown, the real and the imaginary. It consists of varicoloured structures and textures seemingly substantiated by both non-human and human beings. Underground tunnels, plant tendrils, feelers, tentacles, nets, fences, cracks, wounds and tissues spread across the two-dimensional canvas penetrating the very depths of the pictorial space, where – in constant flux – they take their place and assert their presence. Ajda Kadunc's works are fictional and fluid narratives that, with their narrative potential and in creating an open field of meaning, offer a means of accessing possible new realities.
Živa Kleindienst


Ajda Kadunc (1995, Ljubljana) is a visual artist working in painting and installation. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana in 2024. During her studies she also attended Taideyliopiston Kuvataideakatemia in Helsinki. Her solo exhibitions have been held, among others, at Prostor 2^32 (Ljubljana, 2024), the TKALKA Gallery (Maribor, 2024) and, in collaboration with Aleksandra Saška Gruden, the Alkatraz Gallery (Ljubljana, 2023). She has also taken part in several group exhibitions, locally and internationally.

Živa Kleindienst (1987, Maribor) has a BA in in art history. After graduating from the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana, Kleindienst studied visual culture and curating at Aalto University in Helsinki. She is the Exhibition Programme Coordinator at the UGM Maribor Art Gallery. Since 2024 she has been a member of the Expert Committee on Visual and Intermedia Arts of the Prešeren Fund Management Board. Previously, as a self-employed cultural professional, she collaborated with various national and international galleries, festivals and artists.