The legacy of Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) is a deep dive into the essence of human existence. His words and descriptions elevate the everyday from banality, revealing to it the depths of time and space. His writings, novels, and plays echo through the experiences that have shaped contemporary visual art. In these layered works, allusions and myths intertwine, conveying a dense atmosphere of restlessness, wonder, loneliness, and the power of memory.
Beckett’s presence on the cultural map of the Balkans begins early — with the illegal Belgrade performance of the play “Waiting for Godot” in 1955, as a response to geopolitical changes. Through his words we perceive the world and its limits of endurance:
“To give expression to the fact that there is nothing to express, and that there is nothing with which to express it, even nothing from which to move towards expression, where there is neither the power nor the desire to express, and yet the obligation remains – to be expressed.”
In the unstable 21st century, his tragicomic vision takes on new meaning. Today’s reality, filled with dark secrets, neurotic information and absurd incidents, increasingly confirms Beckett’s powerlessness as a universal voice of contemporary society.
The exhibition “Beckett is with us” offers works that provoke and disturb. Artists reshape objects and environments into complex visual structures, creating textures that reflect the internal tensions of today. These visual narratives not only continue Beckett’s thought, but transform it into a bodily and sensory experience for the viewer.
MARIJA ĆALIĆ
She graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Belgrade, as well as photography at St. Martin’s School of Art in London. She is a member of ULUPUDS (photography section) in Belgrade, Republic of Serbia. She has published her author’s photographs in daily and weekly newspapers, as well as in monthly magazines in Belgrade and Serbia. She has worked on photographic contributions for books, exhibition catalogues, film productions and other media. She was the photography editor of the weekly magazine (Europa Press Holding), Belgrade, 2003–2011. Residency in the Kulturreferat of the city of Munich, Germany – Villa Waldberta, 2010 and Cité des arts, Paris, 2017.
From participation in various group exhibitions, the following thematic units stand out: Closed Circuits, 2005 at the Konak of Princess Ljubica, Museum of the City of Belgrade; Micro-narratives within the framework of the October Salon in Belgrade, 2007; Musée d’art moderne de Saint-Étienne, France, 2008; as well as at the International Biennial of Visual Arts in Pancevo, 2012.
Recent solo exhibitions (2012–2017), primarily in Belgrade, consist of thematic cycles of photographs: Post-memorija, The Spell of the Past, Moj Dom, Nothing is Left To Tell, Cache Memory, Izbor posrodnosti, Info – Stanar, Stern-Berg – October Salon 2018.
VANA UROŠEVIĆ
She was born in Skopje, North Macedonia. She graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade in 1984 in the class of Professor Mladen Srbinović, and in 1987 at the same faculty, postgraduate studies in the class of Professor Radomir Reljić.
In 1987, she had a study stay in Paris. In the period 1988/1989, she was on specialist studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice in the class of Professor Borella.
She is the winner of the Dimitar Kondovski Award at the Winter Salon in Skopje and the First Prize for the work Alchemical Box at the IX International Biennial of Miniature Art in Gornji Milanovac. In 2003, she represented North Macedonia at the Venice Biennale of Art.
She has exhibited solo and in groups in Skopje, Belgrade, Cetinje, Podgorica, New York, Ljubljana, Venice, Bitola, Struga, London, Tallinn, Sarajevo, Vienna, Čačak, Gornji Milanovac, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, Murska Sobota, Geneva, Sofia, Osnabrück, Thessaloniki, Subotica, Rome, etc.
She works at the National Gallery of North Macedonia. Since 2010, in addition to solo exhibitions, she has also realized joint projects with Zoran Todović.
ZORAN TODOVIĆ
He was born in 1958 in Gornji Milanovac, Serbia. He graduated from the Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade in the class of Professor Božidar Đmerković in 1983. He completed his postgraduate studies in 1985 at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade, in the class of Professor Miodrag Rogić.
He had a study stay in Paris in 1991. He is the recipient of several international and domestic awards and recognitions (Politika Award, Varna Grand Prix, the Grand Seal of the Graphic Collective, Award of the October Salon in Belgrade, Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant).
He has exhibited individually and in groups in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Zagreb, Rijeka, Ljubljana, Podgorica, Bar, Stockholm, Ronneby, Eskilstuna, Krakow, Katowice, Wroclaw, Frechen, Berlin, Catania, Biela, Kyoto, Wakayama, Osaka, Bhopal, Varna, Buenos Aires, Couven, Verviers, Ferrol, Menton, Paris, Maastricht, Skopje, Győr, Miskolc, Banská Bystrica, Thessaloniki, Martini, Subotica, Guanlan, etc.
He has been a member of the Association of Fine Artists of Serbia since 1984. He is a professor at the Academy of Arts at the University of Novi Sad. Since 2010, in addition to solo exhibitions, he has also been implementing joint projects with Vana Urošević.
NIKOLA ŠUICA
Born in Belgrade, Republic of Serbia – former Yugoslavia. He graduated and received his master’s degree in art history from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade; PhD at the University of Arts in Belgrade.
Professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts and at the postgraduate and doctoral studies at the University of Arts in Belgrade.
Selected publications: Anatomical Measures, Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, 2017; 57th International Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia: Enclavia – Painting as a Consequence of Such a Life (Vladislav Šćepanović – Milena Dragičević – Dragan Zdravković), Pavilion of Serbia, La Biennale Viva Arte Viva, Belgrade, 2017; History of Art in Serbia in the 20th Century (Volume II and III), 2012; 2014; Trajković Collection, Belgrade, 2010; Milan Blanuša – Paintings, Drawings and Graphics (Monography), Vršac, 2009; Closed Flows, International Group Exhibition, with artists from Serbia, participation of Joscelyn Pook, Martha Rosler, Tom Phillips, Istvan Horkay, Peter Greenaway; Tom Phillips – New Moment, 2003; Sculpture by Milun Vidić, ULUS, Belgrade, 2003; Leon Cohen (1859–1934), Yugoslav Gallery of Fine Arts, Belgrade, 2001.
Tragedy of Equality IV (T.O.E. IV) – Arm Wrestling is the first solo exhibition of Ariel Hassan in North Macedonia.
The project Tragedy of Equality (T.O.E.) has had three previous distinct iterations: Headshaving Battle (Tokyo), Mud Wrestling (Adelaide), and Knife Fight (Berlin). The fourth act at the Skopje Museum of Contemporary Art in the period July–September 2025, presents an arm-wrestling match between two equal contestants, occurring within a triangular elevated platform designed by the artist, and built especially for this occasion.
The opening of the exhibition is on 03 July 2025 at 20:00 with a performance under the same title.
Born in Argentina, Ariel Hassan spent formative years across Argentina, the United States, and spain before establishing his practice in Australia in 2005. A subsequent relocation to Germany in 2008 marked the beginning of an ongoing transnational existence, with the artist now maintaining studios and projects between both continents. By interrogating painting as a portal to human consciousness, Hassan has transcended the medium’s traditional boundaries, cultivating a singular visual language that unfolds across diverse forms of expression—a practice marked by both expansive experimentation and unmistakable individuality. His work, characterised by self-imposed rules and unpredictable outcomes, forms the foundation for intricate visual narratives to emerge. He has held several solo exhibitions in Australia, Spain, Japan, Singapore, Austria, and China, and participated in various group exhibitions including the Kochi-Muziris Biennale and the Cairo Biennale. His work is represented in several public collections.
Curated by d-r Melentie Pandilovski, JOLT ARTS Melbourne. Melentie Pandilovski is a director, theorist and curator. His research, which includes over 200 curated projects and numerous publications, examines the connections between art, culture, science and technology. He lives and works in Melbourne, Australia. His roles include Creative Producer International at JOLT Arts in Melbourne, Australia; Vice President of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) Macedonia; Member of the ACM SIGGRAPH Digital Arts Committee.
The project is financially supported by The Government of South Australia, CreateSA, and GAG Art Advisory
Moderna galerija + Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova, Ljubljana, Slovenia
A celebration in the village, a rest in the field, a family portrait, a pair of yoked oxen, a crowd in front of the fortune teller’s house, a forest above the village, majestic trees, a lamb in her arms… People and animals are united in the free-spirited, good-natured simplicity of living beings. This is how poetically Oto Bihalji-Merin interpreted naive art, which he understood stylistically and substantively as a devotion to everything earthly and as a silent rebellion against excessive burdens, but today this interpretation is in complete contrast to the world we live in. These works, created around the middle of the 20th century, testify to the endless enjoyment of the blessings of nature. Today, anthropocentric dominance over nature, under the influence of capitalist appetites, has exploited nature almost to the extreme.
The failure to recognize the interconnectedness of the human and the more-than-human, of culture and nature, has led to the ongoing destruction and exploitation of nature. The Anthropocene or Capitalocene, characterized by humanity’s devastating impact on nature, driven by capitalism’s excessive thirst for growth, has transformed the planet’s ecosystems and pushed them to the brink of collapse. Is it possible that, faced with ecological catastrophe, we are now seeking refuge in the rare and invaluable practices of human life in harmony with nature? What could the earth, water, fallen trees, wool, and the wider living, more-than-human world teach us if we listened carefully? By shifting our perspective from that of appropriators to that of collaborators, can we forge an ethical relationality that creates and nurtures networked connections with all forms of life?
The mantra of the farmer’s wife while working with the bees in the film Honeyland – “half for me, half for you” – embodies this ethos of balance and care. This simple principle illustrates the possibility for humanity to establish a relationship with nature not as conquerors, but as respectful participants in a shared world.
At the philosophical level, the question of establishing an equal relationship between the living and the non-living world, between the human and the more-than-human, is becoming increasingly relevant. Philosophers such as Rosi Braidotti examine the processes of self-organization of more-than-human beings and the complex, often discordant relations between these processes and cultural practices, while at the same time rethinking the sources of ethics. In this context, ethical relations form networks or rhizomes or interconnections that transcend human otherness and include the more-than-human, the post-human and the non-human. This view emphasizes human interdependence in the broadest sense and calls for the cultivation of a relational ethics of becoming that creates affirmative connections and recognizes our shared coexistence with the more-than-human world.
On the other hand, ceramics, tapestries, embroidery and textiles are artistic handiwork, created in direct contact with some of the elements of nature and are part of the worldview of harmony with nature, which was formed in the last century in opposition to the dominant currents. Although these techniques are most often viewed through the prism of applied arts and attributed a secondary and most often exclusively utilitarian value, they are now the focus of attention of the current global art world, which is frantically searching for alternative existential solutions.
Yugoslav idealism is different in terms of the issues of human emancipation as a general class issue, coexistence of all and socialist man as a creator in cooperation with nature. The techniques of ceramics, tapestry, embroidery, etc. are an equal part of artistic creative wealth. In 1978, the then Socialist Republic of Macedonia or its Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje was the first commissioner of a presentation in the Yugoslav pavilion at the Venice Biennale entitled From Nature to Art, from Art to Nature , whose theme was the de-alienation of man from nature. Or as curator Sonja Abadžieva writes, “the progressive, engaged action of the Yugoslav people” regarding the negative consequences of industrialized civilization is “directed towards the socialization and democratization of art in the closest connection with life and nature or, more precisely, towards a solid and homogeneous synthesis of human (life) and art – and their complete identity and indivisibility – absolute organic wholeness.”
The question is why does local production in North Macedonia, especially when selected and combined works such as tapestries, ceramics and works made of natural materials, dominate as a type of production, as well as a theme? And do such works perhaps also shape (political) discourse, especially if we look at them through the prism of their former secondary, subordinate treatment and modest presentation? Is it a local modernist variant or the creation of an entirely new narrative with a specific epistemological potential?
The exhibition presents works by 87 authors , mostly from North Macedonia, but also from almost all former Yugoslav republics, mainly from the field of naive art.
They are complemented by works by artists from Brazil, Poland, Bolivia, Sudan, Uruguay, Albania, Japan, South Africa, Iran, Cuba, Spain and Romania. With this wide selection, the exhibition opens up space for a different perspective, different from the Western-centric one and offers a starting point for understanding local artistic traditions. This is placed in dialogue with works that are closely connected to the environment in which they were created and to the continuity of their production. Many are works of naive art and made from natural materials (earth, hay, grass), but documentary photographs of actions in nature and installations that critically address the exploitation and destruction of nature are also exhibited.
The exhibition is based on a constructive dialogue between specific collections – the solidarity collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje and the Arteast 2000+ collection and the national collections of the Moderna galerija in Ljubljana . It focuses on works made from natural materials and works that reflect the artists’ commitment to nature. Weaving Worlds: Collections in Dialogue (the first of two complementary exhibitions that reveal the potential for weaving new worlds and present a critical-philosophical approach to collections) is dedicated to the emancipation of media and explores the relationship between culture and nature, while critically addressing environmental problems in the era of capital appreciation.
In Ljubljana, the exhibition is divided into three sections:
1. The central part of the exhibition is the Forgotten World section – works made from natural materials – earth, water, waste wood, wool, living things – or works that refer to them in their design. This section includes: Done Miljanovski, Stojanovski, Jolanta Ovidska, Patricia Velasco Wallin, Dimche Koco, Mira Spirovska, Petar Hadži Boškov, Jordan Grabul, Simon Uzunovski, Petre Nikoloski, Gligor Stefanov, Borka Avramova, Simon Šemov. A series of ceramic works is presented as part of a tradition that was very widespread in this context, most often with floral or zoomorphic depictions: Rade Perčuklievski, Dragoslava Janeva, Vladimir Avramčev, Miho Lazarov, Mohammed Ahmed Abdalla Abbaro, Marija Tuša Iljovska, Dushko Miševski, Makedonka Andonova, Vojko Janevski, Tome Andreevski, Hanibal Salvaro, Józef Sarnovski, Goce Josifovski – Rombo.
2. A similar world consists of installations that are thematically or visually inspired by the relationship with nature, and use resources from the local environment or local production, which has always been contemporaneous with the traditional (labeled as folk tradition). Included here are: Ismet Ramićević, Gordana Vrencovska, Tomo Šijak, Ibrahim Bedi, Dimitar Kondovski, Risto Kalčevski, Mira Spirovska, Gjorgji Capev, Rimer Cardillo, Sead Kazanxhiu, Dushan Perčinkov, Jozo Hamaguchi, Evgenija Demnievska.
3. The return to the relationship with nature is the theme of the World in the Making set , which consists of naive art and works that attempt to return to the relationship with nature and critically address industrialization and its relationship with nature. The artists presented here are: Maja Smrekar, Igor Toševski, Ilija Prokopiev, Kristina Pulejkova, Max Aruqiipa Chiambi, Adzem Nihat, Maria Bonomi, Peter Clark, Manollo Millares, Družina v Šempasu, Wifredo Lam, Ion Grigorescu, Jernej Vilfan, Vadim Fiškin, as well as Gjorgje Šijakovik, Ivan Kuzmiak, Stjepan Kičin, Milosav Jovanović, Julije Papić, Matija Skurjeni, Janko Brašić, Geraldo Trindade Leal, Bogosav Živković, Josip Horvat, Jano Knjazović, Vilma Ramos, Lúcia Khan, Stjepan Stolnik, unknown artist, Franjo Vujčec, Jano Venjarski, Ondrej Venjarski, Ivan Rabuzin, Antun Bahunek, Borivoje Maksimović, Pedro Soares Fogasa, Juçara Pimenta de Pádua, Maria Auxiliadora da Silva, Lourdes Guanabara, Ladyr Harris Domschke-Pulu, Stjepan Bastalec, Petar Smajić, Krste Slavkovski, Silvia de Leon Charleo, Maria Auxilliadora Silva, Waldemar de Andrade e Silva, Ivan Lacković Croata, Vangel Naumovski.
Curators: Ivana Vaseva, Blagoja Varoshanec, Iva Dimovski, Vladimir Janchevski and Bojana Piškur
The exhibition CALDER Fluid Modernity is the first of four exhibitions that offer a re-reading of selected works from the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje.
Curator: Nada Prlja
Artists: Robert Adams, Ay-O, Bob Bonies, Alexander Calder, Nicola Carrino, Dorit Chrysler, Ángel Duarte, Herbert Feurlicht, Yvonne Kracht, Borko Lazeski, Géza Perneczky, Bridget Riley, Zsuzsa Szenes, Miroslav Šutej, Žaneta Vangeli and ictor Vasarely, with works from the collection of MoCA–Skopje
Special guest artist: Dorit Chrysler with the sound piece “Calder Plays the Theremin.”
Our contemporary society, marked by rapid change, uncertainty, and instability in social, cultural, and economic domains, is often interpreted through the prism of “liquid (fluid) modernity.”(1) The term fluid highlights how social institutions—such as the family, work, and other structures—are becoming increasingly malleable (flexible working hours, less coherent family relationships, etc.). In this context of rapid change and instability, a question arises concerning the role and interpretation of twentieth-century art collections, such as that of the Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje, which encompasses over 5,300 works, predominantly reflecting the modernist heritage from 1945 to 1989.
How do contemporary generations, shaped by fluid modernity, approach twentieth-century artworks, and how do they interpret them? Which concepts, ideas, and, in turn, artworks truly resonate with present-day perspectives?
By exploring the still-present magnetism and appeal of the reductive approach in abstraction, (geometric abstraction and Op Art), conceptual art, and other non-figurative art, this exhibition serves as an open invitation to view and interpret selected works from MoCA-Skopje’s twentieth-century collection through the lens of fluid modernity.
Calder / Chrysler
In 1964, Boris Petkovski, MoCA-Skopje’s inaugural director, visited Alexander Calder’s studio in France to select an artwork for the Museum’s collection. Among the exhibited pieces, Red Polygon (1961) immediately caught Petkovski’s attention. Presented here, in this exhibition, the piece does not merely serve as a historical artefact, but also as an exploration of fundamental artistic communication, prompting questions about levitation, motion, luminosity, and geometry. While small metal components within the sculpture’s structure create their own distinct kinetic patterns, the Red Polygon thus embodies an ethos of fluidity in both its form and its meaning.
Accompanying Calder’s sculpture is Dorit Chrysler’s sound piece Calder Plays Theremin. Chrysler’s primary instrument, the theremin, was activated by the movements of Calder’s mobile(2), with the resulting sound serving as the foundation for the audio work. Together, these pieces occupy a central position in the exhibition, extending modernist concepts into contemporary practice. The interaction between the works not only pays homage to Calder’s lasting influence, but also invites visitors—through Chrysler’s sound piece—to reflect on the ongoing dialogue between modernism and the fluid, more playful, yet simultaneously unstable nature of our time.
Ay-O / Vangeli
Аy-O, Perneczky, Szenes and Vangeli practices are directly related to conceptual art and Fluxus, the presence of their works within this exhibition invites viewers to explore how those modernist movements can be reread from a contemporary perspective. Revisiting Marcel Duchamp’s radical proposition from the early twentieth century—that the meaning of an artwork should deliberately remain enigmatic—this segment, balancing between the visual aspect, the titles of the works, and even the artists’ names (Ay-O), explores how the dissolution of fixed interpretations in conceptual art empowers both the artist and the viewer to continually redefine the work’s significance and interpretation. In this regard, Žaneta Vangeli’s piece Autoreferential Plastic or Chao refuses to conform to a single, unambiguously defined narrative, allowing it to remain in perpetual flux— a condition that resonates with the ongoing need to reassess values and identities from the position of fluid modernity.
From Calder’s “geometry” in motion to the unpredictable explorations of Vangeli and Ay-O, the exhibition affirms that the legacy of the twentieth century remains vital precisely because it paves the way for the fluid, the mutable, and the elusive.
. . .
Footnotes:
(1) Zygmunt Bauman, a renowned sociologist and philosopher, developed the concept of “liquid modernity” to describe the instability and constant change in contemporary society.
(2) The term “mobile”, a play on words in French meaning both “movement” and “motive”, was coined by Marcel Duchamp to describe Alexander Calder’s abstract sculptures.
. . .
Media relations: Angelika Apsis; Conservation: Jadranka Milčovska; Coordination of artwork selection from the MoCA Skopje collection: Iva Petrova Dimovski, Blagoja Varoshanec, and Vladimir Janchevski; Technical preparation: Ivančo Velkov, Jordan Arsovski, and Toislav Karevski. MoCA–Skopje expresses its gratitude to the students from NOVA International Schools, who assisted with the installation of this exhibition, and to the Austrian Embassy in Skopje for their support of Dorit Chrysler’s work.
The exhibition Forms that Fly, International Artists in French Collections, which will be open on 08.04.2025 at 8 pm is the second of the exhibitions planned for 2025 that enable the re – reading of selected works from the Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje.
The Faculty of Fine Arts – Skopje celebrates 45 years since its foundation this year, confirming its leading role in higher art education. Since 1980, the faculty has been a center for creative development, where generations of artists are formed who leave a significant mark on the domestic and international scene. Over the decades, with constant innovations in the curricula, FLU remains dedicated to advancing contemporary artistic practices and creating space for new ideas, while maintaining the connection between tradition and modern trends in art.
The beginnings of higher art education in Macedonia are connected with the need for systematic and academic guidance of talented young artists. The Faculty of Fine Arts – Skopje was founded on March 31, 1980 by a decision of the then competent authorities, as part of the efforts to create a higher education institution dedicated to art. As an integral part of the University “Sts. Cyril and Methodius”, the faculty was established three decades after the founding of the university itself in 1949. Its creation was initiated by Dr. Toma Proshev, then director of the University Center for Arts in the Republic of Macedonia, who recognized the need for an academic institution that would educate future generations of fine artists.
A Founding Committee was formed for the organization and structuring of the new faculty, led by Vasko Popovski, Vice President of the Assembly of the City of Skopje, and supported by prominent professors and artists such as Prof. Dr. Boris Petkovski, Acad. Kosta Angeli-Radovani, Acad. Petar Mazev, Acad. Bogdan Boricin, Acad. Mile Jovanovic and Prof. Ilija Dzuvalekovski. Following their selection, on April 23, 1980, the first teachers were appointed, including academic painters Petar Mazev, Dimitar Kondovski, Rodoljub Anastasov and Dusan Perchinkov (first vice-dean), Acad. sculptor Petar Hadzi-Boskov (first dean), Acad. painter and graphic artist Dragutin Avramovski-Gute. With the adoption of the curricula, the faculty officially began its work on July 16, 1980.
On the occasion of this significant anniversary, the Faculty of Fine Arts is organizing a retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje, which displays a selection of works from the MSU collection and works owned by the artists-teaching staff of the Faculty of Fine Arts, highlighting the evolutionary course of artistic expressions and practices in the last four and a half decades. The exhibition is also accompanied by documentary contributions from the history and activities of the Faculty of Fine Arts.
In addition to the exhibition, lectures by prominent alumni have been organized that will explore the role of the Faculty of Fine Arts in the contemporary artistic and cultural discourse. The event aims not only to pay tribute to the rich heritage of the faculty, but also to open new perspectives for its future.
