Artist Bart Lunenburg Donated his Artwork 'Relic' to the Plečnik House

As the To Decide Where the Shadow Falls exhibition — designed specifically for the spaces of Plečnik House and inspired by the diverse works of Plečnik — concluded and was being dismantled, the artist Bart Lunenburg delighted us with a unique donation, adding his artwork Relic to our collection. In the essay accompanying the Plečnik-inspired exhibition, he wrote about Relic:

“In this work (photographic series Lights are on, but nobody’s home) I am examining (mourning) rituals in architecture and am choosing an animistic approach to architectural spaces: how, through architecture, we can get in contact with those who preceded us in history. For example, in the work Relic (2024), we see a pine cone that fell from the overhanging tree on Plečnik’s grave during my visit to the Žale cemetery in Ljubljana; a place that also has been designed by the architect himself. The pine cone in the photo balances on the edge between light and dark and is an attempt to connect the two separate spaces of the cemetery and house.”

Lunenburg carefully preserved the pine cone and carried it with him while creating his wooden masterpieces. Upon leaving Plečnik House, he entrusted it – along with his artwork – to Ana Porok, curator of the Plečnik Collection. Now, alongside the Relic, our house is also the home of the pine cone, which sits on the curator’s desk. We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Bart Lunenburg for this extraordinary collaboration and his generous donation!

Our sincere thanks also go to the RAVNIKAR Gallery, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Slovenia, and the Dutch Foundation Mondriaan Fund for Visual Arts and Cultural Heritage for supporting the exhibition.