CUT / REZ

The history of collage as an artistic practice in its own right begins in the 20th century, in the framework of the avant-garde and unfolding by conceptual art practices. Up until the beginning of the 20th century, the collage has only appeared marginally in European Art. Since the first collages in the practice of the avant-garde, the technique has penetrated into the very heart of the artistic system. Along with film montage, collage represents the artistic language, medium and procedure of the 20th century that underwent major changes.

The exhibition (REZ) CUT – Examples of collage in artistic practices in Central and Eastern Europe from the Avant-garde until today explores relations of collage in contemporary artistic practices following a historical trajectory of the avant-garde art that saw the emergence of experiments in collage / montage as radical artistic language, in relation to economic, ideological and institutional framework.

The exhibition is developing around different issues and a range of collage techniques exploring criticality, representation, feminist collage, social and political messages, relations between collage and architecture and collage and film; unfolding questions of the archive and the document, popular culture, image as found object, the fragmented image—image of dis/continuity. Collage is a medium that by definition incorporates fragments and deals with opposing tensions, broken images, hidden desires, and collective myths. Historically the reappearance of collage has dovetailed with times of trauma, violence and social change. Historical trauma and discontinuity marked the events throughout the 20th century in a way that informed refusal of rationality and coherence, showcasing subversive fantasies and new formal possibilities seen in collage as a radically critical practice. As a consequence of this crisis of representation, fragmented identity, unstable and decentred subject are explored in fragmented images of collapse. Following practices of appropriation, re-contextualization, reconstruction, repetition, displacement artists are exploring a de-centered contemporary reality. As a critical practice, collage formed in relation to ideological, economical, and social context. In artistic practices, the collage represents a space for experimentation by creating an artistic language of fragments, unstable, uncertain shapes, and found images.

The exhibition brings into light collage as a marginal and fragile practice, opening a field for critical positions and formal experiments that continue to inspire the production of contemporary art today. It brings together different generations of international artists, artists from Central and Eastern Europe, ranging from the historical avant-gardes, neo avant-garde, conceptual art, contemporary artists and emerging artists.

Th exhibition unfolds as a dialogue departing from collage in collections of the Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art, Marinko Sudac Collection, MMSU Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Rijeka, and selected contemporary artists.

Exhibiting artists
József Ács, Karel Adamus, Dalibor Barić, Dalibor Chatrný, Jasmina Cibic, Attila Csernik, Boris Demur, Stano Filko, Vera Fisher, Ivan Ladislav Galeta, Tibor Gàyor, Tomislav Gotovac, Igor Grubić, Ibro Hasanović, Károly Halász, Vlatka Horvat, Sanja Iveković, Željko Jerman, Goran Jureša, Ivo Kalina, Miroslav Klivar, Milan Knižak, László Kerekeš, Jiří Kolář, Július Koller, Ivan Kožarić, Jure Labaš, Katalin Ladik, David Maljković, Dušan Mandič, Vlado Martek, Dalibor Martinis, Slavko Matković, Ivana Tomljenović Meller, Radenko Milak, Antun Motika, Vlad Nancă, Damir Očko, Nada Orel, Vladimir Petek, Ivan Picelj, Ugo La Pietra, Bogdanka Poznanović, Zvonimir Radić, Vjenceslav Richter, Josip Seissel, Edita Schubert, Rudolf Sikora, Aleksandar Srnec, Jan Steklik, Mladen Stilinović, Sven Stilinović, Bálint Szombathy, Marko Tadić, Goran Trbuljak, Roman Uranjek, Ivan Volarič-Feo, Jiří  Valoch, Josip Vaništa, Jan Woynar

Curated by: Branka Benčić and Tihomir Milovac

The exhibition has been financially supported by the City of Zagreb and Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia