Grammar of Freedom / Five Lessons
Works from the Arteast 2000+ Collection
February 6–April 19, 2015
Garage Museum of Contemporary Art
Gorky Park
9 Krymsky Val
119049 Moscow
Russia
Hours: Monday–Thursday 11–21h,
Friday–Sunday 11–22h
T+7 495 645 05 20
Organized in collaboration with Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana
Curated by Zdenka Badovinac, Snejana Krasteva, and Bojana Piškur
The Arteast 2000+ Collection was the first museum initiative to focus on the work of Eastern European postwar avant-garde artists in a broader international context. Since it was established in 2000, the Collection has developed a reputation for providing an extensive overview of art from the region. Perhaps most importantly, it also offers insight into common sociopolitical concerns shared by artists from former socialist countries, charting how these have evolved from the postwar period of the 1960s, through the time of transition in the 1990s, to the current context of global neoliberal capitalism.
As the title suggests, Grammar of Freedom / Five Lessons focuses on the identification of a common struggle for artistic and individual liberties in former socialist countries, and asks, for the first time, how these resonate today in our post-socialist reality. Featuring more than 60 artists and art collectives with works ranging from the 1960s to the present, the show is organized around five open-ended “lessons,” wherein a grammar for strategies used in search of freedom is developed. Highlighting art’s potential in making individual voices heard, the works reveal dynamic approaches to confronting or overcoming ideology and conflicts, from the wars on the Balkans in the 1990s to the most recent clashes in Ukraine.
The project is the second in a series of exhibitions at Garage to explore the significance of collecting in relation to the broader activities of a contemporary museum, particularly through identifying the diversity of processes collectors and institutions engage in.
A catalogue will be published by Garage to coincide with the show, and in March 2015 an international conference will be held at the Museum to further expand the dialogues raised by the exhibition.
Featured artists: Marina Abramović, Yury Albert, Nika Autor (in collaboration with Marko Bratina, Ciril Oberstar, and Jurij Meden (Obzorniška Fronta/Newsreel Front)), Yury Avvakumov, Jože Barši, Luchezar Boyadjiev, Geta Brătescu, Alexander Brener and Barbara Schurtz, Olga Chernysheva, Chto Delat, Lana Čmajčanin, Vuk Ćosić (in collaboration with Alexey Shulgin and Andreas Broeckmann), Goran Đorđević, Nuša and Srečo Dragan, Vadim Fishkin, György Galántai, Gorgona, Tomislav Gotovac, Ion Grigorescu, Marina Gržinić and Aina Šmid, Dmitry Gutov, Jusuf Hadžifejzović, Tibor Hajas, Ibro Hasanović, IRWIN, Sanja Iveković, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid, Alexander Kosolapov, Jarosław Kozłowski, Katarzyna Kozyra, Oleg Kulik, Zofia Kulik, Andreja Kulunčić (in collaboration with Ibrahim Ćurić, Said Mujić, and Osman Pezić), Vladimir Kupriyanov, KwieKulik, Laibach, Yury Leiderman, Kazimir Malevič, Yerbossyn Meldibekov, Jan Mlčoch, Andrey Monastyrsky, Ivan Moudov, Via Negativa, Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK), Timur Novikov, OHO, Anatoly Osmolovsky, Marko Pejhan, Dan Perjovschi, Tadej Pogačar, Darinka Pop-Mitić, Zoran Popović, Dmitry Prigov, Franc Purg (in collaboration with Sara Heitlinger), Guia Rigvava, Józef Robakowski, Alexander Roitburd, Mykola Rydny, Arsen Savadov, Kalin Serapionov, Nebojša Šerić–Šoba, Nedko Solakov, SOSka, Ilija Šoškić, Petr Štembera, Mladen Stilinović, Krassimir Terziev, Raša Todosijević, Slaven Tolj, Milica Tomić, Goran Trbuljak, Josip Vaništa, Sašo Vrabič, Vadim Zakharov, Dragan Živadinov with Dunja Zupančič and Miha Turšič, and Konstantin Zvezdochetov.
Garage Museum of Contemporary Art
Garage Museum of Contemporary Art is a place for people, art, and ideas to create history. Through an extensive program of exhibitions, events, education, research, and publishing, the institution reflects on current developments in Russian and international culture, creating opportunities for public dialogue, as well as the production of new work and ideas in Moscow. At the center of all these activities is the Museum’s collection, which is the first archive in the country related to the development of Russian contemporary art from the 1950s through the present.
Garage Exhibitions spark engagement with art and culture while exploring issues of local and global relevance; Garage Education draws audiences of all ages through pioneering programs for both families and professionals; Garage Publishing makes major cultural texts available in Russian for the first time and innovates new publications related to Garage Archive, Exhibitions, and other activities; Garage Field Research invites practitioners to develop fresh perspectives on Russian art and culture; Garage Grants program supports young Russian artists and spearheads a range of activities that incorporate Russian artists into the global art community—all of which contribute to the Museum’s role as a multifaceted hub for arts and culture.
Founded in 2008 by Dasha Zhukova, the institution is currently based in a temporary pavilion in Gorky Park created specifically for Garage by architect Shigeru Ban. In 2015, the Museum will move to its first permanent home—a groundbreaking renovation of the famous 1960s Vremena Goda (Seasons of the Year) pavilion in Gorky Park—designed by Rem Koolhaas.
Garage is a non-profit project of The IRIS Foundation.
Adam Abdalla / Molly Rowe
Nadine Johnson Inc.
T +1 212 228 5555 / adam [at] nadinejohnson.com / molly [at] nadinejohnson.com
*Image: György Galántai, Homage to Vera Mukhina. Performance with the participation of Julia Klaniczay and Guglielmo Achille Cavellini, Heroes’ Square, Budapest, May 1980. Photo: György Hegedűs. Courtesy of Artpool Art Research Center, Budapest.
