Birth as Criterion

The 32nd Biennial of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana will open on June 16, 2017 with events across the city. Founded in Yugoslavia in 1955, at the height of the Cold War, it is one of the oldest biennials in the world and one of the first dedicated to the graphic arts. It has served as a radical site for producing and distributing images and artworks for more than 60 years, relentlessly responding to ever-changing socio-political contexts.

The main exhibition, Birth as Criterion, will be on display at the International Centre of Graphic Arts (MGLC) and in the newly renovated Švicarija Creative Centre. Avoiding the unifying principle of a central theme or concept, the Biennial takes its title from a poem by 20th century Slovene poet Jure Detela (1951–1992) to which all participating artists have been asked to respond. Unlike in previous years, the Biennial will not have a curator. The recipients of the Grand Prize of the past five editions of the Biennial were invited to propose one artist to participate in this year’s event. Those artists then nominated the next five artists and so on with the resulting exhibition involving 19 new commissions from 27 artists from 12 countries.

Thus the organic structure of the Biennial resists the hierarchical logic of the central persona of the curator and the narrativizing of curatorial concepts, instead proposing a myriad of potential interactions. Renouncing comfort zones both in terms of the Biennial’s own traditions and the established protocols of contemporary exhibition-making, the Biennial will set in motion a transgressive moment in its history, aiming to transform radically the event’s structure and content.

In addition to the main exhibition there will be several other presentations, including solo exhibitions of the prizewinners from the 31st edition of the Biennial. They are Ištvan Išt Huzjan (b. 1981), winner of the Grand Prize; Peter Gidal (b. 1946), winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award; and Meta Grgurevič (b. 1979), winner of the Audience Award.

Ištvan Išt Huzjan’s exhibition Measures will be held at the City Art Gallery, Ljubljana. The Peter Gidal exhibition will take place at Švicarija Creative Centre and Meta Grgurevič’s Silenzio, eternal loopholes and braided lines, will be performed at Švicarija Creative Centre, a co-production with the Slovene National Opera and Ballet Theatre.

A retrospective exhibition of printmaker and installation artist Maria Bonomi (b. 1935), one of the most prominent figures in Brazilian contemporary art and culture, will take place at the Jakopič Gallery and there will be a performative installation by Leja Jurišić (b. 1978) at the Slovenian Ministry of Culture.

Furthermore, the Biennial will incorporate the launch of Nocturnal Singer, a major publication of Argentine poet Alejandra Pizarnik (1936–1972), as well as This is not a name at Škuc Gallery, a curated reflection on the genesis of the experimental Biennial concept, building on the transgressive impulse of poetry.

A print portfolio including five of the Biennial artists will be on display at Kresija Gallery and there will also be a symposium and discursive programme. In addition, the Biennial is collaborating with the 15th Istanbul Biennial, curated by Elmgreen & Dragset, on its “international billboard project.”

Participating artists: Michelle Andrade / Leo Junsuk Bang / Maria Bonomi / Stephanie Brooks / Erica Ferrari / Peter Gidal / Meta Grgurevič / Riley Harmon / Ištvan Išt Huzjan / Leja Jurišić / Jarrett Key / Jon Key / Eric Khoo / Gabriel Kuri / Moon Kyungwon / Jelsen Lee Innocent / Carlos Monroy / Ebecho Muslimova / Christopher Myers / Asuka Ohsawa / Alejandro Paz / Josse Pyl / Alberto Rodríguez Collía / Gabriel Rodríguez Pellecer / Kaitlynn Redell / Mario Santizo / Jennifer Schmidt / Slavs and Tatars / Johanne Teigen / Nora Turato / Jess X. Snow / Oli Watt

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