OASis Talin / Marko Jakše: First time here

Marko Jakše: First time here
8–13 September 2025
OASis Talin
10 Khanjyan, Talin, Aragatsotn, Armenia

You are cordially invited to the Marko Jakše’s solo exhibition entitled First time here, which will take place on Monday, 8 September 2025, at 5 p.m. in the OASis Residence Studio in Talin in Armenia.

Nature, Memory, and Imagination

This exhibition presents a series of oil paintings on canvas, paper, cardboard and wood created by Slovenian artist Marko Jakše during his residency in Talin, Armenia. Inspired by the local landscapes, flora, and rural life, Jakše’s work captures the delicate interplay between nature and human experience. His expressive paintings transform everyday natural elements—plants, light, and textures of the land—into evocative imagery, blending realistic observation with imaginative, dreamlike qualities that evoke subtle wonder.

Marko Jakše (b. 1959, Ljubljana, Slovenia) graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, Ljubljana in 1987 and has lived as a freelance artist in the Slovenian countryside since 1993. Over his distinguished career, Jakše has developed a unique painterly language, combining vivid figurative storytelling with expressive colour, composition, and form. His works often explore the boundary between the real and the imagined, merging everyday life with subtle, dreamlike, or fantastical imagery.

Jakše’s practice is deeply connected to nature, memory, and human experience. He draws inspiration from landscapes, flora, fauna, and cultural life, transforming these observations into compositions that balance realism with poetic, sometimes surreal, qualities. While his works may present dramatic or provocative scenarios, they are also infused with quiet reflection, beauty, and a meticulous attention to detail.

Internationally recognized, Jakše has exhibited widely, including a solo exhibition at the 59th Venice Biennale (2022) in the Slovenian Pavilion. Critics praise his ability to blend realism with an imaginative vision, creating canvases that are visually striking and intellectually compelling.
During his residency in Talin, Armenia, Jakše engages closely with the local landscape and community, producing oil paintings that capture the textures, light, and natural forms of his surroundings. These works reflect his ongoing dialogue between human perception, memory, and nature, offering viewers a vision that is at once intimate, fantastical, and deeply rooted in place.

– Lilit Stepanyan

Opening: 8 September 2025, 5 p.m.–8 p.m.
The exhibition is open from 8 to 13 September 2025, 5:30 p.m.–7 p.m.

< Marko Jakše: SCREAM, 2025, oil on wood

This residency is part of OASis – Open Art Spaces in Synergy, a network of creative spaces across Europe designed to democratize access to the arts. The project brings together nearly 20 diverse institutions—including NGOs, municipalities, and a university—to support artistic exchange rooted in local context. OASis combines 13 art venues in 10 countries, including Armenia, Belgium, France, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme.