Painterly visions filled with colourful dynamism The artistic career of painter Matej Metlikovič started almost thirty years ago. »This means that today we can speak about a mature artist who has constantly searched for inspiration in biblical spirituality and theology. He is one of the few Slovene artists who has dared to venture on an artistic journey to the infinite spheres of religion. With this he entered the liturgical spheres which, apart from his free creativity, demanded most of his energy not only in Slovenia, but also in Croatia, Austrian Carinthia and among the protestants in Germany.«1 Because most of his works of art are intended for church interiors, Metlikovič has directly influenced the presentday development and quality of visual art in these settings. In his highly varied works in different materials, forms and techniques (works on canvas and paper, stained-glass windows, decorative glass pieces, designs for embroidered liturgical vestments and antependia, illustrations of poetry), he consistently interprets biblical motifs, enriching the inspiration of this Book of All Books with his own thoughts, feelings and experiences. Milček Komelj, who in his characteristic poetic style has often interpreted Matej Metlikovič’s paintings, describes him as an artist »gazing decidedly at the spiritual spheres«, whose works repeatedly »capture the signs of Divine presence felt in the glowing colours and dynamism of the entire universe (…) and transform the legacy of mystical medieval art and spiritual expressionist approaches of the 20th century, the forceful gesture and colourfulness of abstract art, into an entirely individual manuscript«.2 The distinct spiritual expression of Metlikovič’s painting is undoubtedly also connected with the fact that he finds inspiration in other forms of art, mostly music (as is also characteristic of other modern artists, such as Kandinsky and Klee). His painting »also reveals a strong sense of musicality, which is evident in flowing colours and rhythmical brushwork. (…) Metlikovič’s paintings are painterly musical compositions that with a few colours and rhythms embrace the dynamism of the whole.«3 Here, we must mention the powerful inspiration he received when he encountered the music, poetry and thought of the French composer Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 1992).4 In addition to music, he finds inspiration in poetry and dance. Consequently his work has begun to resemble a Gesamtkunstwerk or a synergy of different works of art: the presentations of his works are often accompanied by concerts, contemporary dance performances and recitals by other artists. Karin von Maur, the author of the book »The Sound of Painting«, wrote a condensed definition of Metlikovič’s painting in her reply to the letter he wrote after he had read her book: »What you write about the relationship of your work and especially the glass painting with music in general and above all with Messiaen is a further proof of the intimate cross-over between the visual and acoustic arts. Your paintings are a sort of synthesis between Matisse and Kandinsky, bound together by abstract abbreviations as well as dancerly rhythm and dynamic swing.«5 Metlikovič’s painting is full of colours and astonishing colour nuances: »All Metlikovič’s paintings glow in colours that are irradiated with an inner – not atmospheric – light: a golden, transcendental, comforting, generous divine light. This light is the true ambience, a landscape, the true earth and sky of his paintings. It also irradiates other colours, saving them from the clutches of this world, particularly the fiery red, in which the flaming of the terrestrial is irradiated by the fire of purification. The blue of the sky and the sea, the white of the angels, which are also prevalent, are spiritual colours that accompany the transformation of everything in the universe into the warmth of spiritual light.«6 At the very beginning of Metlikovič’s artistic career, Marko Ivan Rupnik wrote about his colours: »It is not easy to speak about Metlikovič’s use of colour, because his chromatic scale actually depends on the painterly technique. (…) Pure and powerful colours are overlaid with a new colour of different quality, which because it is assertively applied with a spatula, creates an impression of transparency. (…) Each colour is in true physical and metaphysical sense in relationship with another colour.«7 This way of painting allows Metlikovič to give special effect also to his stained-glass windows and other works in glass that he has been creating together with master glazier Stojan Višnar for the last few years. By fusing differently-coloured layers of glass at high temperatures, new colour effects are created, whereas the whole is made complete with the expressive black line left behind by the brush, with which the artist draws a face, a bird, an angel, a star or some other symbolic figure on the colourful glass plates. The exhibition, entitled Illuminations, which has been put on display at the Slovene Museum of Religion in Stična in association with the artist, presents a selection of works created by Metlikovič over the last few years. In terms of content, they are divided into four groups: »Faces, Angels and Birds«, artistic designs for liturgical vestments and antependia, illustrations and book design, and designs for stained-glass windows and other works in glass. The implementation of Metlikovič’s artistic ideas in such a broad range of different materials and rich iconography reveal his exceptional artistic potential, which is evident in many carefully planned and implemented works of art. Marko Ivan Rupnik writes that Metlikovič’s works are in fact »an itinerary, a guide to the stations of his inner life. It is the painting of relationships and a quest for what is real, ultimate and solid that lures the artist with light, clarity and unshakeable existence. (…) This is a difficult and dangerous quest for the ultimate in the human soul, which is both personal and dynamic.«8 He believes that his painting is based on »an inner serious attitude that invariably investigates the ontology of the individual. (…) The apparent weightlessness and poetics of the figures in Metlikovič’s paintings represents a heavy, final and extremely important personal decision that is taken with every stroke of the brush, with every attempt.«9 The group entitled »Faces, Angels and Birds« consists of acrylics on canvas and paper and ink drawings on paper. Here, I would like to quote Rilke’s metaphor of angels as the birds of the soul from Duino Elegies, which left a strong impression on the artist: Every angel is terrifying. And yet, alas, I invoke you, These works are also closely connected with the musical visions of Olivier Messiaen and more recently with the compositions of Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992). Messiaen, whose compositions are based on theological and poetical meditations, and who as an ornithologist incorporated the rhythms and melodies of birdsong in his music, has been an inspiration for Metlikovič’s images of birds and angels for many years. His encounter with Astor Piazzola’s music inspired his series entitled »Tango for the Heart Bird«.11 Just as tango is forceful, passionate and full of poetry, Metlikovič’s »heart birds« are full of energy and longing. According to the artist, »Tango in the context of Christianity can be associated with the biblical Song of Songs, which, like the dance, is full of passion, rhythms of unions and separations, surprising twists, piercing pain as well as joy, fire and light«.12 The second group consists of Metlikovič’s designs for liturgical vestments and antependia. The exhibits focus on a series of preparatory studies for his latest chasuble. In exhibiting both these studies and the final design for the chasuble, we wish to present the process of creation, which in the beginning makes the artist search for ideas, meditate and contemplate, leading to the first studies to be followed by a stage of great inspiration characterized by enthusiastic quest and creativity, and resulting in the final stage, during which the passionate medium of painting is translated into other forms of design (such as textile and glass). Metlikovič’s work also entails illustration and book design. He has illustrated several publications, including the 1992 Slovene translation of poetry by the Pope John Paul II.13 His most recent work in this area is a series of seventeen illustrations for Stanko Janežič’s book »Klicanje – Sveto pismo v pesmih«.14 Several illustrations, sketches and as yet unpublished works from this series are presented in the third part of the exhibition. The fourth part consists of studies, variations and designs for stained-glass windows and several smaller works in glass, which have been produced by the master glazier Stojan Višnar of Radovljica from Metlikovič’s designs. Colourful, transparent glass, the elegant black line left behind by the painter’s brush and the special formats in the shape of semicircular sections or wings elevate the stained-glass windows, paintings on glass and other decorative works such as plates among the supreme creations of art. Matej Metlikovič’s work shows that he is an interesting and penetrating artist who constantly searches for new paths and who finds strength and inspiration in the infinite world of art and profound personal meditation. Let us conclude with a thought by Milček Komelj: »Like Kregar and others before him, Metlikovič is an individual in whose hands and gaze everything that is natural turns into supernatural, death turns to life and earth into a mystical mother of the sky. This ranks his art among the rejuvenated forms of supreme Slovene religious, expressionist and in certain aspects ecclesiastic painting that in no way deviates from contemporary art trends and that stresses the necessity of distinct personal poetics, consequently ensuring quality also in this traditional, once most important but long since aesthetically neglected area of art«.15 Nataša Polajnar Frelih MA 1 Ivan Štuhec, Kozmična liturgija slikarstva, January 2002. Published |