Janez Bernik, 3. 4. 1985, 1985, etching and aquatint; accompanying exhibition, 19th International Biennial of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, 1991.
Since the planned solo exhibition of Emilio Vedova was cancelled, the Organising Committee decided to present the works by Janez Bernik, originally planned for the autumn, during the course of the Biennial. On display was a selection of etchings and aquatints from the period 1955–1990, i.e. from the 1960s, when the artist established himself internationally as one of the leading figures of the young art generation and the male figure came to the fore in terms of motif. The latter appears above all in the image of the Crucified, whom Bernik sees as the masculine principle of spirituality. In the words of Zoran Kržišnik, in his original work, in his search for and examination of himself, he proves to be “an irreplaceable master of contemporary expression and a forerunner of the future”.