COLLECTION OF 20th AND 21st CENTURY ART

Muzeum Sztuki in Lodz owns one of the most interesting and rich collections of 20th and 21st century art, mostly from the area of experimental art. The primary value of the collection, is its constant opening to modernity. The heart of the collection – setting its historical and aesthetical roots – is the International Collection of Modern Art of the “a.r.” group. It’s a phenomenon on a global scale, as it has been initiated by the artists themselves and formed as a result of a joint effort to act beyond and against any boundaries. In the ms2, the Muzeum’s collection would be arranged on the surface of 3000 m2 – certainly larger than in previous building.
Formulation of the idea of permanent exhibition was preceded by the Drafts to the Collection of 20th and 21st Century Art: Art & Politics, Power of Formalism and Beyond the Reality Principle – three exhibitions showing works of art from a new perspective. The Drafts became a preview of the forthcoming permanent exhibition. The basic aim of the new idea is to constantly update and stimulate the potential of art presented in the museum. Therefore it breaks off from the chronological principle, as the works of art situated in this order become nothing more than an illustration of some epoch or artistic movement.
The ms2 exhibition presents an artwork not only as a memento of the elapsed time, but also as an occurrence and a statement that is important for us today. The key element that organizes the exhibition is represented by four groups of terms – crucial for interpreting contemporary culture, and on the other hand coming from the “a.r.” collection. Among them are such notions as: “utopia”, “image”, “body” or “phantasm”. As a result, the proposed narration offers the viewers an alternative form of perception of 20th century art that concentrates not on the historical context but on the meaning of art, which can refer to problems significant for us in the present day.

VERNISSAGE: 20.11. 2008 (Thursday), 6p.m.
Curators: Jarosław Suchan with the Modern Art Department