Defragmentation

Donated works from Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia

The exhibition “Defragmentation” is organized as a result of the joint cooperation of the Embassies of the respective countries of the Visegrád Group and the Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje. This exhibition that is also a commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Skopje earthquake, will present a selection 96 works by 86 artists from Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – paintings, sculptures and graphic works that were created throughout the 20th century. More precisely, they belong to the period from 1905 to 1989, being a representative overview of achievements in art of several generations of artists from Central Europe. Among the total of more than 5291 artworks are kept in the collection of MoCA Skopje, there are 22 works by 11 artists from Slovakia, 56 works by 27 artists from Hungary, 266 works by 105 artists from Czechia and 224 works by 136 artists from Poland. Both quantitatively and qualitatively, the works from these collections represent essential part of the collection, and the very concept on which our Museum is based.

Immediately after the news about the earthquake in Skopje, a large number of artists from all over the world donated works to the city of Skopje and the newly formed Museum of Contemporary Art as a sign of solidarity. Among the artists, an extremely important place is occupied by individuals and associations from Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary, who donated numerous works in various artistic disciplines, thus forming a significant part of the core of the collection. Through the works of Wojciech Priessig and František Muzika, then followed by Jerzy Nowosielski and Tereza Pagowska, all the way to the works of Jozef Jankovich and Aleksander Trižuljak, Orsolya Drozdik and Jerzy Trelinski, this exhibition is a follow-up and re-examination of all the previous presentations of the works from national collections. In that sense, exhibitions of works from the collection are always a good occasion for re-examining the collection itself, as a necessary process of defragmentation, for both metaphorically freeing the space and enabling normal system functioning.

After a longer period of time, the general public will have the opportunity to see some of the significant works from the MoCA Skopje collection, together with archival materials, related to exhibitions and donations. The concept of solidarity on which MoCA Skopje is based is especially important today, in times of hoible military conflicts that burden the everyday contemporaneity . That is why we think it is very important to constantly remind about the importance of international cooperation, which is the basis for advancing the social sphere and dealing with common challenges.