31 Aug 2009

Opening of the 28th Biennial of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana

Opening:
Friday, 4 September, 6.30 p.m., in front of International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana
Welcome speeches by: Majda Širca, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia; Zoran Janković, Mayor of the City of Ljubljana; Vojmir Urlep, President of the Management Board of Lek, a Sandoz company. Following by the opening party.
Openings at other venues: 12 noon Alkatraz Gallery, 1 p.m. Kapsula Gallery, 2 p.m. Škuc Gallery, 3 p.m. Jakopič Gallery, 4 p.m. Cankarjev Dom Gallery, 5 p.m. Ganes Pratt Gallery

Artist's Book Salon
Saturday, 5 September 2009, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m., fair and talks
Sunday, 6 September 2009, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., fair
location: International Centre of Graphic Arts , admission is free
The Biennial of Graphic Arts devotes a special event to the artist's book, a form of artistic expression that is appearing with increasing frequency in Slovenia and abroad. The Artist's Book Salon offers a selection of contemporary works from independent international publishers and individual artists. Along with a fair where visitors may buy artist's books, the event also includes a series of talks.
Talks program:
Saturday, 5 September, 4:00 p.m. Darko Šimičić: The Artists' Magazines Gorgona and Maj 75
4:30 p.m. Chto Delat (Dmitry Vilensky), (from Russia)
5:00 p.m. the art group Bas/BENT (from Turkey)
5:30 p.m. Jan Voss: the online bookstore Boekie Woekie
fair exhibitors: Bas/BENT, Eloisa Cartonera, Chto Delat (Dmitry Vilensky), Jesper Fabricius (Space Poetry), Maja Franković, Tadej Pogačar (Zavod P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E.), István Szirányi (Hungarian Artist's Books Association)
co-ordinator: Breda Škrjanec


EXHIBITIONS

The Matrix: An Unstable Reality
the central exhibition of the 28th Biennial of Graphic Arts
The exhibition responds to certain vital questions for society and art raised by the cult movie trilogy The Matrix. Does a medium stay the same once it incorporates new technologies in its discourse? Does this increase the audience for art? What is the social power of those who possess the matrix? Is the possession of the matrix enough to also justify exclusive reproduction rights? Can we create a perfect world, whether real or virtual? The exhibition offers a selection of more than eighty internationally established and emerging artists. Their work extends from traditional and contemporary printmaking to artist's books and interventions in the public space, in the mass media, and on computers.
artists: Afsoon, Vahram Aghasyan, Julieta Aranda, Nika Autor, BAS/Bent, Viktor Bernik, Anita di Bianco, Sabine Bitter & Helmut Weber, BridA (Sendi Mango, Jurij Pavlica, Tom Kerševan), Chto Delat (Dmitry Vilensky), Lee Chul Soo, Jørgen Craig Lello & Tobias Arnell, Ksenija Čerče, Vuk Ćosić, Vesna Drnovšek, Igor Eškinja, Małgorzata Etber Warlikowska, Jesper Fabricius, Jakup Ferri, Ivan Fijolić, Ye Funa, Fernando García, Samuel Grajfoner, Ivan Grubanov, Dejan Habicht, Bu Hua, Hungarian Double-tailed Dog, Ištvan Išt Huzjan, Space Invader, JustSeeds, Dejan Kaludjerović, David Kareyan, Sameera Khan, Taiyo Kimura, Iva Kovač, Jelena Kovačević, Matej Košir, Borut Krajnc, Ana Lozica, Tanja Lažetić, Nicola López, M-City, Ján Mančuška, La Más Bella, Ines Matijević Cakić, Eva & Franco Mattes, Zhang Minjie, Tracey Moffatt, Ivan Moudov, Carlos Motta, Alban Muja, Nika Oblak & Primož Novak, Ahmet Ögüt, Juan Perez Agirregoikoa, Cesare Pietroiusti, Nada Prlja, radioCona, Société Réaliste, Betsabee Romero, Francesc Ruiz, Adrian Sauer, Klaus Schafler, Nana Shiomi, Jelena Sredanović, Katja Sudec, Therese Sunngren, Swoon, Miha Štrukelj, Marko Tadić, Tomaž Tomažin, Nasan Tur, Ignacio Uriarte, Huiqin Wang, Patrick Ward, Maria Alicia Zamora Noguera, Moises Yagües Fernandez, Katarina Zdjelar
art director: Božidar Zrinski
curators: Gülsen Bal & Alenka Gregorič, Petja Grafenauer, Jadranka Ljubičič, Tadej Pogačar
venues: International Centre of Graphic Arts, Gallery Alkatraz, Gallery Ganes Pratt, Gallery Jakopič, Gallery Kapsula, Gallery Škuc; also Europlakat billboards in Ljubljana, media spaces and the 28th Biennial of Graphic Arts catalogue

After Gogo: A New Era of Korean Art
based on a proposal by Jeon Joon-ho, the winner of the Grand Prize of the 2007 Biennial
The exhibition presents the 'post-gogo' generation of South Korean artists. Their work re-examines various issues in contemporary Korean society – a society divided between North and South in which the Cold War is still very much alive. These artists were born in the 1960s, when their parents were working hard to rebuild the country after the Korean War. They grew up in the 1970s, when American soldiers brought 'gogo' music to Korea and the country was inundated with mass dance parties in 'gogo clubs' (also known as 'chicken coops') and gogo became a synonym for the pleasure culture of the younger generation. They began making art in the 1980s. What especially distinguishes them from the previous generation is the fact that they are well aware of the world outside the chicken coop.
artists: Kim Kira, Jang Minseung & Kim Check, Jeon Joonho, Lee Yongbaek, MOON Kyungwon, Lee Sea Hyun, Moon Hyungmin, Ligyung
curator: Kim Jyeong-Yeon
venue: Cankarjev dom Gallery


ACCOMPANYING EXHIBITIONS

Impressions
an accompanying exhibition by Pionirski dom
The two displays present art prints created by children over the past fifty years; these prints are part of the vast art archives of Pionirski dom in Ljubljana.
Jakopičeva promenada, Tivoli, 4 September–29 November 2009 (curator Tina Pleško)
Pionirski dom – Art Center, 8 September–29 November 2009 (curator Iztok Amon)

Motivation, Creativity and Innovation in Prints by Children and Youth
an accompanying educational exhibition by Žalec Elementary School
The exhibition is part of the international conference Motivation for Creativity and Innovation in Youth and presents a selection of the finest award-winning art prints from the collection of school, which has presented the Biennial of Children's Prints since 1981.
International Centre of Graphic Arts, 13–18 October 2009 (curator Neli Šuler)

Greetings from Cartoonia
an accompanying exhibition is an international comic-strip project produced by Forum Ljubljana, Stripburger magazine, and a number of associated Slovene and foreign organizations.
artists: Filipe Abranches, Kaja Avberšek, Matei Branea, Andrea Bruno, Jyrki Heikkinen, Bendik Kaltenborn, Jakob Klemenčič, Marko Kociper, Matej Lavrenčič, Gašper Rus, Mateusz Skutnik, Matej Stupica (curator Stripburger)
Slovene Ethnographic Museum, 22 October–29 November 2009

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Grand Prize Award Jury of the 28th Biennial of Graphic Arts:
Katia Anguelova, Milano; Jota Castro, Brussels; Bassam El Baroni, Alexandria; Valeriya Ibrayeva, Almaty; Kim Jyeong-Yeon, Seoul; Eha Komissarov, Tallinn; Julia Moritz, Leipzig

Catalogue of the 28th Biennial of Graphic Arts:
This large illustrated catalogue, in Slovene and English, is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Zoran Kržišnik, the founder of the Biennial and for many years its director. The catalogue offers a complete overview of the exhibiting artists with essays by the curators of the Biennial exhibitions. In addition, the catalogue is itself one of the venues for the show The Matrix: An Unstable Reality.
price: 32.90 € / to order by telephone: 01 2413 808; by e-mail: petra.klucar@mglc-lj.si

Producer: International Centre of Graphic Arts
Co-producers: Cankarjev dom, Culture and Congress Centre, Gallery Alkatraz, Gallery Ganes Pratt, Gallery Jakopič, Gallery Kapsula, Gallery Škuc, Pionirski dom – Art center, Stripburger/Forum Ljubljana, The National Education Institute
Main sponsor: Lek, a Sandoz company
Sponsors: Gorenje, Hyundai Avto Trade, d.o.o Ljubljana, Mercator, d. d. Petrol, Slovenian Energy Company, d.d., Vileda
Media sponsors: Delo, Europlakat, d.o.o.; Radio Center, d.o.o., Radio Študent
Supported by: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia; City of Ljubljana; Arts Council Korea; Culture Programme (2007-2013); Austrian Culture Forum of the Embassy of the Republic of Austria in Ljubljana; Italian Culture Centre in Ljubljana; México 2010, Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes; Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia; Mondriaan Foundation; Embassy of the Republic of Turkey; Embassy of the United States of America; Statens Kunstraad – Denmark