Artur Żmijewski – 1966, Warsaw, Poland / Paweł Althamer, 1967, Warsaw, Poland
Untitled (from the series Polish School of Collage), 2022
Collage and acrylic on cardboard, 100 x 70 cm
Acquisition: Gift by the artists
Reference: 05260
In their personal artistic careers, Artur Żmijewski and Paweł Althamer, are among the most renowned Polish artists. During a joint residency in Japan in 2017, they began to work occasionally on joint projects of a similar nature, which involved making spontaneously generated collages using various illustrated art, medical, historical, and other magazines or books. The collaborative project “Polish School of Collage”, was realized as a residency from July 1 to 15, 2022, and took place in one of the gallery spaces of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Skopje, according to the already established hourly schedule, as in the rest of their projects, i.e. every day from 2 pm until around midnight and most of the time with the presence of museum visitors. During those two weeks of working together, the artists created multiple collages on cardboard using acrylic paints and photo-cuts. Visitors were invited to bring some of these materials, thereby contributing to the creation of the works. The result of this process is a series of 30 collages with clippings from history books, art magazines, geographic atlases, maps, posters, photographs, educational charts, medical illustrations etc. These thickly layered images can be seen as references to the theme of the medieval “dance macabre” and to events or some general significance absorbed from the local (historical) context. The works were finally exhibited at the same gallery of the Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje from 14. July to 25. August 2022: msu.mk/exhibition/artur-zmijewski
Biographies
Artur Żmijewski (1966) is a visual artist based in Warsaw, with a rich artistic career, who is focused on creating installations, composed of photography, film and video. In his works, he exposes the world of “others”, who often go unnoticed, insisting on the conscious participation of art in social life. He records their everyday life, showing how physical and mental limitations condemn these people to be marginalized in society. Through experiments with the participation of selected groups, he tries to understand difficult experiences and taboo topics. He has exhibited at some of the most important art events, such as the Venice Biennale and Documenta in Kassel, and he was the curator of the Berlin Biennale in 2012. His works are included in the collections of some of the most renowned art institutions in the world, such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate Modern in London, and the Neue Pinakothek in Munich.
Paweł Althamer (1967) is a visual artist based in Warsaw. He works in different media such as sculpture, performance, installation, video, and apart from the media, his works are also diverse in terms of form. He creates sculptural self-portraits, appears in performance and video, seeking to experience the materiality of the body and define his own mental boundaries. Through actions involving entire communities, he wants to create social communities, confronting people through art. He questions the meaning of monumental monuments according to the scale of his works and the randomness of his materials. In his works he also references Beuys’ social sculpture and the legacy of Oskar Hansen’s ‘Open Form. He can also be described as an artist with an affinity for ‘relational aesthetics’. He participated in the most important art exhibitions, including Documenta 10 (1997), the Venice Biennale (2003, 2013), the Berlin Biennale (2012), Skulptur Projekte Münster (2017). He has also won numerous awards, such as the biennial Vincent van Gogh Prize for Contemporary Art in Europe in 2004.
1983, Skopje, Macedonia
Portrait of a Roma Man, 2016
Pastel on paper, 110 x 75 cm
Acquisition: Gift by the artist
Reference: 05276
1898, Lawton, United States – 1976, New York, United States
Red Polygon, 1961
Metal, red flat oil paint
Mobile sculpture with variable dimensions
Acquisition: Donated by the artist, 1964
Reference: 00999
In 1964 Boris Petkovski, the first director of the MoCA Skopje, addressed Calder, and in the letter, he stated a request to receive his work as a gift to newly established Museum of Contemporary Art. The answer came promptly and included in it was the artist’s wish to meet and choose the work in person. At their meeting in Calder’s atelier in Saché, village in France, Calder’s decision was to donate one of his mobiles. Additionally, surprised by the modesty of Boris Petkovski, the artist decided to donate another work, a gouache which he dedicated to the city of Skopje.
Biography
Alexander Calder (July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, his static “stabiles”, and his monumental public sculptures. Calder preferred not to analyze his work, saying, “Theories may be all very well for the artist himself, but they shouldn’t be broadcast to other people.”
This biography is from Wikipedia under an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License.
The full article is on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Calder
1940, Zelino, Greece – 2006, Skopje, Macedonia
Untitled, 1984
Acrylic on canvas, 100 х 100 сm
Acquisition: Purchased
Reference: 04799
Born in Skopje, Macedonia | 1934 – 1997
Southern Star, 1965 | Instant of the Time, 1966 | Composition, 1966 | Non-Functional Mechanism, 1966/1967 | Morbid Nucleus, 1966/1967 | Drawing, 1963 | Town Burning Down, 1964 | Untitled, 1968 | Wing Sculpture, 1968Reflecting Nucleus, 1968 | Sculpture 1, 1970 | Sculpture 2, 1970 | Sculpture 7, 1973 | Sculpture 12, 1972/1973 | Untitled, 1978 | Sculpture 10-2, 1977 | Sculpture 10-1, 1978 | Light Informer 2, 1983
Born in Skopje, Macedonia | 1928
We present Petar’s artworks from the series of works signed by Hadzi Boškov and included in the collection of MoCA, metal, lithography, polyester installation, sculpture, terracota:
Sculpture 3/4 , 1964 | Print No. 10, 1979 | Sculpture, 1980 | Street, 2004 | Dialogue, 1978 | Form, 1959 | Head 2, 1962/1963 | Sculpture 12 (from the series Skopje After the Earthquake), 1965 | Head 1, 1962 | Head 3, 1962 | Wing Sculpture, 1967 | Circle Sculpture, 1970 | Sculpture – Study 6, 1971 | Terracottas, 1974 | Associated Forms 2, 1986
Born in Kavadarci, Macedonia | 1927 – 1993
Kurban, 1978
Portrait, 1985
Red Arabesque, 1972
Black Arabesque, 1973
Couple, 1981
Revolt, 1981
Portrait of Woman in Pink, 1987
1948, Karlovac, Croatia
Moment of Action 2, 1976
Polyester, 62 х 46 х 32 сm
Acquisition: Purchased
Reference: 04592
Biography
Olga Milić was born in 1948 in Karlovec, Croatia. She graduated from the Academy of Applied Arts in Belgrade in 1974, and post-graduate studies at the St. Martins School of Art in London in 1978/79. From 1974 to 1979 she lived in Skopje. Permanently lives in Niš, Serbia. Works in sculpture and three dimensional drawings.
Born in Prilep | 1925 – 1986
We present works from Jordan Grabul which are included in the collection of MoCA, colored plywood, ink on paper, terra – cotta:
Crescendo, 1961 | Sculptural Environment, 1968 | Communication – Space Marks, 1985 | Woman in an Armchair, 1953 | Paradox of the Existence, 1969
1945, Bitola, Macedonia – 2022, Bitola, Macedonia
Landscape, 1995
Serigraphy on paper, 50 x 70 cm
Edition: 3/20; Inscription: b.m.: Илија Кочовски, Предел, 3/20 сериграфија 95′
Acquisition: Gift
Reference: 03859
