Vergnacco
Friuli Venezia Giulia International Sculpture Symposium Park
Symposium Park in Vergnacco
Every summer, for several years, the Parish Park of Vergnacco transforms into a dynamic sculpture workshop, a meeting place, a workplace, and an exchange hub for sculptors from around the world.In this very park, thanks to collaboration with the Vergnacco parish, the annual International Stone Sculpture Symposium of Friuli Venezia Giulia takes place.
Over the course of the 17-day event in September, selected and invited artists create their works starting from stone blocks of dimensions they specify. Upon completion, the artworks remain on display here until they are permanently installed in chosen locations throughout the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.
Of the over two hundred sculptures created over the years and placed in public spaces and parks in Friuli Venezia Giulia, approximately sixty are located in the municipality of Reana del Rojale. It constitutes a true open-air museum historically spread across the territory, serving as an opportunity for tourism and territorial promotion.
The Artwork
Tensioni della vita (Tensions of Life)
With his sculpture carved in Aurisina stone, Arijel Štrukelj invites us to reflect on the times we are living in — times marked by fear and uncertainty that often lead to anxiety and frustration. Unknown forces, perhaps politics in complicity with the media — the artist suggests — seek to confine us within defined limits, influencing our lifestyle, our actions and even our thoughts.
The “limit” is represented by the vertical frame that occupies part of the surrounding space, directing our gaze inward. Within it, an abstract form — almost like a suspended, floating ribbon — evokes the tensions of our mind, attempting to cling to the memory of a life we would like to regain but are not yet able to restore.
Tensioni della vita reaffirms the powerful expressive force of sculpture. Štrukelj courageously hollowed out a massive stone block to extract from its core the materialisation of an emotion that defines our human existence — here and now. Sadly, that emotion is also fear, which hides deep within the soul. For although living is beautiful, it is also profoundly difficult. Bringing fear to the surface means recognising it and giving it shape — so that we may look it in the face and overcome it. Together, perhaps, it becomes easier.
— Laura Vianello
The Artist
Arijel Štrukelj
Born in Šempeter-Vrtojba, Slovenia, Arijel Štrukelj developed his sculptural skills in art and restoration workshops, specialising particularly in stone, wood and metal.
In collaboration with the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Ljubljana, he has worked for many years in restoration. As both an artist and co-organiser, he has exhibited and participated in numerous national and international symposia around the world.
Through his skilful mastery of sculptural materials, he has gained recognition both in Slovenia and abroad. Nature is his primary source of inspiration, from whose rhythms he also draws intimate and philosophical reflections.
In recent years, he has exhibited and taken part in international sculpture symposia in Iran, Romania, Chile, Egypt, France, Portugal, Denmark, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Switzerland and Italy.
