13. 2. 2020–14. 2. 2020 Impossible Machines / Artist’s talk with Meta Grgurevič

Impossible Machines / Artist’s talk with Meta Grgurevič
UGM I Maribor Art Gallery, Strossmayerjeva 6
Thursday, 13 February 2020, 18.00-19.30

moderated by: Sandro Droschl, director and chief curator of KM-Graz and Simona Vidmar, exhibition curator and UGM museum councilor

Artist’s talk with Meta Grgurevic, author of the Impossible Machines exhibition, currently on display at two locations - at UGM in Maribor and Künstlerhaus, Halle für Kunst & Medien in Graz - will bring us closer to the author's reflections on art, her working methods, development and contextualisation of her art projects and her many collaborations with other artists and art institutions. The artist will be in conversation with Simona Vidmar, exhibition curator, and Sandro Droschl, director of the Künstlerhaus, Halle für Kunst & Medien.

The exhibition at UGM and the Künstlerhaus in Graz offers insight into the work of Meta Grgurevič in the middle of her career. Selected projects from 2012–2019 that are among others produced in collaboration with the Slovenian National Ballet Ensemble, Ljubljana Puppet Theater, visual artist Jaša, stage designer and visual artist Urša Vidic, pianist and composer Bowrain (Tine Grgurevič), and many others.

Meta Grgurevič (b. 1979, Ljubljana) is one of the most intriguing Slovenian artists of the younger generation. In her work, she studies and constructs kinetic systems and assembles them into multidimensional settings. She completed her postgraduate studies in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice in 2007. The works of Meta Grgurevič have been presented at numerous group and solo exhibitions. Among other, she participated at the 56th Venice Biennial as part of the project UTTER at the Pavilion of Slovenia (by JAŠA); at the 13th Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, representing Slovenia with the stage design of the ballet performance Tristan and Isolde; at the 30th International Biennial of Graphic Arts with co-author Urša Vidic, where they received a special mention of the international jury for their project Galanterie Mécanique / Silver Thread; at the 31st International Biennial of Graphic Arts, where her project Timekeepers received the Audience Award. In 2016, she was a resident artist at the Mahler and LeWitt Studios Foundation in Spoleto. In 2017, her project Silenzio in co-production with the Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana opened the 32nd International Biennial of Graphic Arts as well as the new exhibition venue Švicarija Creative Centre. The artist has exhibited her works in Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Finland, the US, and elsewhere.

Sandro Droschl (r. 1970, Graz) is founding director and chief-curator of the new established institution Künstlerhaus – Halle für Kunst & Medien (KM– Graz), since 2012. From 2000 to 2012 he was curator and since 2004 director of Kunstverein Medienturm, Graz. As a guest curator he also worked with several other institutions of contemporary art. Droschl has curated numerous exhibitions and published more than 30 catalogues at Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Verlag Hatje Cantz, Sternberg Press, Revolver Verlag, Verlag für moderne Kunst or Verlag Folio. He took part at several juries and worked with art magazines like Camera Austria. Studies of „Body. Media. Art.“ including fine art (with Isabelle Graw, Freie Klasse / Free Class), philosophy, publications and medicine at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, Vienna University and London Guildhall University.

Simona Vidmar (r. 1971, Maribor) gained a MA in Art History in Graz, Austria and a MA in Arts Management in London, UK. After curating numerous exhibitions of Slovene and international visual art, she is now head of Department for Contemporary Art at UGM Maribor Art Gallery in Slovenia. Her interest lies mainly in the field of installation and new media art, design and architecture. In 2015 she was appointed the Commissioner of the Pavilion of Slovenia at the 56th International Art Exhibition Venice Biennale. She regularly publishes articles and reviews in Slovene daily newspapers, art publications and magazines.

The conversation will be held in Slovene and English!