Boris Podrecca: To Turn a River Delta into a Sea

“In architecture, the confrontation with reality is much more concrete [than in art], and that is the real Eros of architecture: to turn a river delta into a sea.”

Boris Podrecca

The exhibition provides an overview of the work of architect and lecturer Boris Podrecca (b. 1940), who, alongside his international architectural career since the 1980s, has also significantly influenced the recognition and development of Slovenian architecture. With exhibitions about Jože Plečnik and Max Fabiani in Vienna and the highly impactful exhibition on Plečnik in Paris in 1986, he placed 20th-century Slovenian architecture on the global architectural map.

At the same time, he brought international influence to Slovenia through his involvement and invited guest lecturers at the Piran Days of Architecture, regular collaborations with Slovenian architectural and artistic professionals, as well as through his built architecture, designs for open public spaces, interiors, and buildings of various scales.

The exhibition showcases numerous projects, including curated exhibitions, works from his early period, his international achievements, and projects in Ljubljana, Piran, and other parts of Slovenia. Through a linear, chronological structure, the exhibition highlights the scope of the architect’s work and the evolution of his creative path. The architectural works are presented through sketches, axonometric drawings, plans, models, and photographs, accompanied by insightful statements from the architect, gathered from various conversations and interviews.

The exhibition structure, designed as a spatial grid that frames the works, references the fundamental ideas of one of Boris Podrecca's key inspirations – the German architect Gottfried Semper – through the concepts of structure, knotting, and weaving. The metal components are connected by 3D-printed joints and poster holders, produced in the FabLab at the Center Rog. The angled panels reflect the design elements of Boris Podrecca's exhibition projects.

The curator of the exhibition is Timotej Jevšenak, from the France Stele Institute of Art History, ZRC SAZU, in collaboration with Boris Podrecca.

The exhibition was produced by the Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana and the Center Rog.