60! PANORAMA
60!
PANORAMA
UGM 60th Anniversary Collection Exhibition
UGM | Maribor Art Gallery, Strossmayerjeva 6
opening: Friday, 11 April 2014 at 19:00
The presentation of UGM | Maribor Art Gallery collection on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the gallery’s establishment is based on two starting points: to define the prominent features as well as the character of the collection, and to identify in this “retrospective” (re)view the moments that are reinterpreted also in the present time. The exhibition points at the heterogeneous structure of the collection which was formed in the past decades by different collection policies through purchases and donations. The collection’s multi-fold identity is displayed in the collision between modernity and tradition, between progressive and belated creative tendencies.
The works exhibited are those that exceed the boundaries of the Maribor area and enter into a dialogue with the best Slovenian art works (Ivan Kos, Maks Kavčič, Slavko Tihec, Rudolf Kotnik, photographers of the Maribor Circle, Zmago Jeraj). The selection of the works is focused on some of the less known fragments of artists’ opuses; at the same time the exhibition hosts the works of selected young and middle-aged authors who come from the “geographic" area covered by the gallery, but have not (yet) been included in the collection.
This presentation of the collection does not follow a chronological, linear style or genre-based organisation of the material. Instead it tracks the relations between the movements and artistic expressions that are derived from similar topics and subject matter. The exhibited works could be divided into the following most obvious thematic groups: Personal, Withdrawn Subject, Cultural Landscapes and Political. The first section presents the works that depict every-day life situations, and portray the formation of the intimate, subjective, fantastic and imaginary from different aspects. The Withdrawn Subject section does not thematise the absence of the subject or the personal interpretation; instead it shows their implicit, but withdrawn presence. The Cultural Landscapes section includes the images of urban environments, the countryside and nature. They lead us through various social, historical and ideological contexts and their artistic interpretations. Section Political is characterised by critical impulses and ironic reflection of the collective social and personal spaces.
The exhibited works are positioned in micro display ambiences that create fictitious spaces and reinterpret various exhibition strategies. The ambience structure based on configuring the elements provides different aspects of observation, image decoding and involvement. It also enables the viewer to travel forward and backward in time and to explore how individual works reflect the preceding artistic practices and inform contemporary artistic currents. The realisation of different combinations is the guideline of the story in creation which through its meeting points, parallels and departures stages a synchronous image of Slovenian art of the 20th century.
Exhibition curator: dr. Nadja Gnamuš
Assistant: Andreja Borin
Exhibition designer: Vasja Cenčič
Supported by:
