This affinity with an ancient heritage is typical of Rok Bogataj. His work is based on the interpretations of Venus, the goddess of fertility, well-known through prehistoric statuettes. As is the case with other Slovenian sculptors who like to draw on spiritual substrata of the archaic world, the compositions of his artefacts are displayed simply on the ground, while their gripping action conveys links with ancient man. In these archetypical and archaic forms, it was, rather than their primeval nature, the promise of eternal fertility evident in their organically emphasised hypertrophy that particularly fascinated him. In the cycle of work exhibited here, the artist focused on images of Venus in plant form. In a process of metamorphosis, he incarnates the essence of Venus in lush anthropomorphic bulbs or fertile organic forms. He painted similar statuettes cast in artificial plaster (flint powder) in vivid colours, an expression of his confidence in the fertility and light which, uncoiling from the subterranean archaeological heritage and from underground umbels, heralds new growth.

Milček Komelj, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana