e-flux Galerija Škuc MODESTY Opening reception at 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, 25 March 26 March – 3 May, 2003 Galerija Škuc Stari trg 21 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia Tel: (+386-1) 251 65 40 Fax: (+386-1) 421 31 40 galerija.skuc@guest.arnes.si http://www.galerija.skuc-dru stvo.si image: Leif Elggren, As if I was my father, 2002, still from dvd, 10 min MODESTY Jože Barši, Attila Csörgõ, Tacita Dean, Jimmie Durham & Maria Thereza Alves, Leif Elggren, Vadim Fiškin, Ceal Floyer, Alexander Gutke, CM von Hausswolff, Rivane Neuenschwander, Goran Petercol, Werner Reiterer, John Wood & Paul Harrison Curated by Lívia Páldi and Gregor Podnar Galerija Škuc, Stari trg 21 / Mala galerija, Slovenska 35 – Ljubljana 26 March – 3 May, 2003 Opening reception at 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, 25 March, at both sites. Modesty is an exhibition and publication project that derives, in part, from already existing collaborations between the participating artists and the curators, which developed in smaller group shows and solo exhibitions over the last few years. Functioning not as a theme but an umbrella term, Modesty gives space to diverse artistic practices that nevertheless connect with each other on various levels in a way that sometimes reveals unexpected similarities. By tracing the appearance of modesty – as decency, unpretentiousness and quietness, but also as understatement – the show inquires into the current position of the (art) object, in its formal, stylistic, social and institutional aspects, within the selected practices. These artists do not abandon the “classical” concept of the artwork; on the contrary, they very much operate with this notion, with either slight or significant modifications. None of them is confined to a specific medium: their work ranges from the production of incorporeal and thoroughly mirage-like optical effects to the employment or creation of technical devices. Art in the 90s was focused more on the social context and participatory practices of art, its interactive and instrumental potential for grasping the “real.” A wider engagement with different social strata and the prevailing conditions of the cultural industry have again raised the issue of the materialization of the artwork and led to a re-contextualization of aesthetics. Modesty operates within these parameters as it presents work of a transient character dealing with various models of perception, the transcription of everyday phenomena into formal (visual) language, various self-referential aspects and, last but not least, poetic intimations. Modesty makes room for the personal, as well as for a more imagistic and, in many cases, quite playful engagement with form. The show, which includes drawings, sound installations, video, painting, sculpture and photographic works, seeks to develop and transform itself with each new presentation. The current exhibition, which presents selected works by 14 artists at Galerija Škuc and Mala galerija, is the second manifestation of Modesty, which was first mounted at Pavel House in Laafeld, Austria, as part of steirischer herbst 2002. A related publication, with contributions by the artists and invited international writers, is scheduled to be released for the show’s next presentation, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb at the beginning of 2004. OPENING HOURS: Tue –Sun 12 a.m. – 8 p.m. INFORMATION: http://www.galerija.skuc-dru stvo.si (+49) 29 98 82-240, e-mail: galerija.skuc@guest.arnes.si