Auri Sacra Fames XXVI-X by Jernej Forbici
With Auri Sacra Fames XXVI-X, Jernej Forbici constructs an intense and layered landscape, suspended between natural beauty and environmental tension. The composition unfolds through water reflections, trees, and deep chromatic fields, crossed by a wide red area that breaks into the scene. The textured surfaces and the glimmers of gold leaf create a dialogue between light and matter, evoking a fragile yet energetic landscape.
The artist: Jernej Forbici
Jernej Forbici (Maribor, Slovenia, 1980) is a Slovenian painter active on the international art scene. His artistic research focuses on the contemporary landscape as a place of memory, transformation, and vulnerability.
Educated at the College for Visual Arts in Ljubljana and graduated with honors in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, Forbici has developed a layered and conceptually aware painting style that combines strong visual intensity with a critical reflection on the relationship between humans and nature.
Description of “Auri Sacra Fames XXVI-X”
The work presents a landscape crossed by water reflections and perspective lines that lead the viewer’s gaze toward the horizon. Dark trees and natural silhouettes emerge against a luminous background enriched with interventions of gold leaf.
At the center of the composition, a large red field, almost liquid in appearance, disrupts the balance of the landscape, introducing a strong visual tension. The painting is built through layers, marks, and scratches that make the surface vibrant and deeply textured.
Meaning of “Auri Sacra Fames XXVI-X”
The title, which recalls the Latin expression auri sacra fames (“the cursed hunger for gold”), suggests a critical reflection on human desire and its consequences.
The landscape becomes a metaphor for the complex relationship between humanity and the environment — a space of natural beauty marked by interventions and tensions. The central red area can be read as a wound or a warning signal, while the gold recalls value, desire, and the ambiguity of progress.
Conclusion
Auri Sacra Fames XXVI-X is a powerful and contemplative painting. Through a layered and material-rich technique, Jernej Forbici transforms the landscape into a symbolic space where nature, memory, and environmental fragility meet, inviting the viewer to reflect on the delicate balance between beauty and transformation.