Michal Novotny | Artists in Residence | Kamov Residency

Michal Novotny

Michal Novotný studied art history and philosophical anthropology at Charles University in Prague. Independent curator and art critic, since 2011 chief curator and director of Centre for contemporary art FUTURA Prague. Editor for gallery section in A2 magazine, regular contributor to Flash Art, Artalk, Atelier, Labyrint, Fotograf. Curatorial research projects and residencies at: Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans; Villa Arson, Nice; Contemporary Art Museum, Rijeka; Independent Curators International, New York; Design Cloud, Chicago. Recent exhibition projects include A Glass of Water in cooperation with FRAC Lorraine, 2013, Centre for contemporary art FUTURA, Prague and this years retrospectiveof Harun Farocki and Zbyněk Baladrán, 2013, Centre for contemporary art FUTURA, Prague as much as series of exhibitions in Czech Centres in Paris, Milan and Rotterdam throughout 2015.

Towards the Object- the exhibition, Mali salon, 07 - 30/8/2015

01.-08.08.2015.

The exhibition Towards the Object takes its title from the work of Russian artist Avdey Ter-Oganyan. In 1992 at Trekhprudny Lane Gallery in Moscow, a space for artists co-founded by Ter-Oganyan himself, the artist drank himself to the point of unconsciousness and lied passed out on the floor in the middle of the gallery for the duration of the one-night exhibition.The Ter-Oganyan’s act was an expression of attitudes about the relationship of object and performance and a reflection of the brutal reality imposed by economic transformations in the 1990s Russia, reality that has continued since then. It is important to note that the artist himself doesn’t remember anything of that night. Therefore, his act has become a statement on the loss of man’s self-awareness. As a live sculpture, Ter-Oganyan speaks about the effect of economic, historical, political and other processes to which people are constantly exposed. Finally, isn’t our consciousness what gives us the illusion of freedom of choice? Why shouldn’t we become objects then?

Artists: Julie Bena, Chiara Fumai, Riccardo Giacconi, Martin Horák, Zhana Ivanova, Carsten Recksik, Marina Sula, Petr Štembera, Avdey Ter-Organyan and Torsten Schlopsnies

Museum of modern and contemporary art

→ www.mmsu.hr

Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art, Rijeka (HR) - MMSU

MMSU in Rijeka founded in 1948, in its long tradition offers a committed support to innovative ways of approaching, producing and presenting art. From its very beginning the Museum has been building reputation of one of the most prominent visual art institutions in Croatia, entrusted with presentation of Croatian artists at prestigious international art events such as: Venice Biennial 1962, 1997, 2007, 2010, Sao Paolo Biennial 1967, 2004 etc. 

The Museum rounds its programming around visual art education, parallel to different modes of exhibition concepts that address new discursive possibilities and transform it into a place of inspiration, idea exchange and active participation. Under the motto openness, creativity & engagement, together with artistic, cultural and community organizations, Museum furthers visual arts research, collaboration and exchange within the region and internationally, while aspiring to reach increasingly diverse audiences and to work in a close relationship with the community.

Museum’s collection offers a diverse range of artistic visions with over 8,000 artworks dated from the end of the 19^th century to the present day. From 2017 Museum is located at new address, Krešimirova 26c, in ex-industrial complex Rikard Benčić. Since then, some important exhibitions were organized at MMSU in the framework of the pre-program and program of Rijeka 2020 - European Capital of Culture, i.e. Tomislav Gotovac: Crisis Anticipator - Don't Ask Where We're Going (2017), Vlado Martek: Exhibition with Many Titles and Goran Petercol: Don't Worry About Poetics, They Will Arrive on Their Own in 2019 and David Maljković: With the Collection in 2020..