Igor Zabel Association for Culture and Theory

27/08/2025

[Javni poziv / Open call]

Ne pozabite na rok za prijavo na rezidenco v dunajski Muzejski četrti, ki je namenjena umetnikom, kuratorjem in teoretikom iz Slovenije, Češke, Hrvaške, Madžarske, Romunije, Slovaške in Ukrajine, aktivnim na področju sodobne vizualne umetnosti!

🗓️ Rok za prijavo: 14. september 2025

🔗Več informacij: https://igorzabel.org/sl/novice/2025/AiR-MQ-Dunaj-2026

/ENG/

Don't miss the deadline for the open call for the Artist-in-Residence programme in Vienna (MQ – MuseumsQuartier Wien), aimed at artists, curators, and theoreticians from Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, the Slovak Republic, and Ukraine working in the field of contemporary visual art!

🗓️ Deadline: 14 September 2025

🔗More info: https://igorzabel.org/en/news/2025/AiR-MQ-Vienna-2026

V sodelovanju z / In collaboration with: ERSTE Foundation, tranzit.at, tranzit.cz, tranzit.hu, tranzit.ro, Kontakt Collection / WHW Akademija

Join the open call for the Artist-in-Residence programme aimed for artists, curators, and theoreticians from Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine working in the field of contemporary visual art. 

21/08/2025

[Na današnji dan / On this day]

Na današnji dan pred petindvajsetimi leti so v Moderni galeriji v Ljubljani odprli razstavo “Vidiki minimalnega: Minimalizem v slovenski umetnosti 1968–1980”, ki jo je kuriral Igor Zabel. Kot je zapisal v spremnem katalogu, “minimalizma v ‘čisti’ ali celo konceptualno in programatsko utemeljeni obliki v slovenski umetnosti skorajda ne najdemo.” Kot še poudarja, je problematika, ki jo odpira minimalizem, v slovenski umetnosti praviloma nastopala v kontekstu z drugimi umetniškimi vprašanji in tendencami - predvsem glede statusa umetniškega dela oz. medija. Vidike minimalizma v obravnavanem obdobju je tako predstavil skozi dela Neokonstruktivistov (Toneta Lapajne in Dragice Čadež), skupine OHO, Tuga Šušnika, Andreja Jemca, Gustava Gnamuša, Lojzeta Logarja, Luja Vodopivca, Dube Sambolec in Matjaža Počivavška.

/ENG/

Today, twenty-five years ago, the exhibition entitled “Aspects of the Minimal: Minimalism in Slovenian Art 1968–1980”, curated by Igor Zabel, opened at the Moderna galerija in Ljubljana. As Zabel wrote in the accompanying catalogue, “minimalism in a ‘pure’ or even conceptually and programmatically based form is almost impossible to find in Slovenian art.” As he emphasizes, the issues raised by minimalism have had in Slovenian art generally appeared in the context of other artistic issues and tendencies - primarily regarding the status of the work of art or art medium. He presented aspects of minimalism in the period under consideration through the works of the Neo-constructivists (Tone Lapajne and Dragica Čadež), the group OHO, Tugo Šušnik, Andrej Jemec, Gustav Gnamuš, Lojze Logar, Lujo Vodopivec, Duba Sambolec, and Matjaž Počivavšek.

Fotografije / Photographs: Matija Pavlovec. Z dovoljenjem Moderne galerije, Ljubljana / Courtesy of Moderna galerija, Ljubljana.

Moderna galerija

11/08/2025

SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL is approaching, hosting the international premiere of the documentary OHO Film about the avant-garde movement and the group OHO.

The film, directed by Damjan Kozole, was co-written by the Igor Zabel Association's program manager, Urška Jurman.

More information about the film can be found in the post below.

/SLO/

Približuje se Sarajevski filmski festival, ki gosti mednarodno premiero dokumentarca OHO Film o avantgardnem gibanju in skupini OHO.

Pri filmu režiserja Damjana Kozoleta je kot koscenaristka sodelovala programska vodja Društva Igor Zabel, Urška Jurman.

Več informacij o filmu najdete v spodnji objavi.

OHO FILM about Slovenian avant-garde art movement and group OHO will have its international premiere at the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival.

With Marko Pogačnik, Iztok Geister, Naško Križnar, Milenko Matanovič, Matjaž Hanžek, David Nez, Marika Pogačnik, Biljana Tomić, Marina Abramović, Tomaž Brejc and Ješa Denegri

DIRECTOR Damjan Kozole
WRITERS Urška Jurman, Damjan Kozole, Matic Drakulić
PRODUCERS Danijel Hočevar, Zala Opara
CO-PRODUCER Marinko Sudac
CINEMATOGRAPHER Sašo Štih
MUSIC by Laibach
EDITOR Matic Drakulić
COLORIST Jure Teržan
SOUND DESIGNER Julij Zornik
PRODUCED by Vertigo and co-produced by RTV Slovenija and Marinko Sudac

In collaboration with GO! European Capital of Culture 2025 and FS Viba Film with financial support from the Slovenian Film Centre, Creative Europe MEDIA and the Ministry of Public Administration of the Republic of Slovenia.
Big thank you to Moderna galerija Ljubljana.

Still from 19th Nervous Breakdown by Naško Križnar, courtesy of Marinko Sudac Collection

23/07/2025

[Na današnji dan / On this day]

Na današnji dan pred dvajsetimi leti je umrl Igor Zabel (1958–2005), vsestranski intelektualec, ki je bil dejavno vpet v širše kulturno-umetniško področje – kot umetnostni zgodovinar, kustos, kritik, urednik, avtor literarnih del, kolumnist in esejist, prevajalec in mentor novim generacijam kustosov in kritikov sodobne umetnosti.

V njegov spomin Društvo Igor Zabel in Moderna galerija, Ljubljana, kjer je bil zaposlen od leta 1986, 24. septembra 2025 odpiramo razstavo, s katero b***a kustosa Vladimir Vidmar in Christophe Barbeau na temelju izbranih Zabelovih razstav in besedil osvetlila ideje, koncepte in vrednote, ki jim je sledil in jih raziskoval v svojem delu. O razsežnosti Zabelovega pisanja in kuriranja pričata tudi njegova bibliografija in seznam projektov, ki ju bomo septembra osveženi objavili v sodelovanju z oddelkom Arhiv-dokumentacija Moderne galerije. Program sklepamo s seminarjem, ki bo oktobra letos potekal v Moderni galeriji, in z razširjenim ponatisom knjige Igor Zabel: Contemporary Art Theory (JRP|Editions).

Podpora: ERSTE sklad, Ministrstvo za kulturo RS.
Fotografije: Portret Igorja Zabela. Z dovoljenjem: Borut Krajnc; Igor Zabel, Nerazložljiva prisotnost, 1997, Matija Pavlovec / Z dovoljenjem: Moderna galerija, Ljubljana.

/ENG/

Twenty years ago today, Igor Zabel (1958-2005), a versatile intellectual who was actively involved in many fields of art and culture – as an art historian, curator, critic, editor, author of short stories, columnist and essayist, translator, and mentor for new generations of curators and critics of contemporary art –, passed away.

In his memory, the Igor Zabel Association and Moderna galerija in Ljubljana, where he was employed since 1986, are opening an exhibition on September 24, 2025. With the exhibition, curators Vladimir Vidmar and Christophe Barbeau will, based on selected Zabel’s exhibitions and texts, shed light on the ideas, concepts, and values that he pursued and explored in his work. The scope of Zabel's writing and curating is also evident by his bibliography and list of projects, which will be updated and published in September, in collaboration with the Archive-Documentation Department of the Moderna galerija. We will conclude the programme with a seminar at the Moderna galerija in October this year, and with an expanded reprint of the book Igor Zabel: Contemporary Art Theory (JRP|Editions).

Supported by: ERSTE Foundation, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia
Photographs: Igor Zabel by Borut Krajnc; Igor Zabel, Inexplicable Presence, 1997, Matija Pavlovec / Courtesy of Moderna galerija, Ljubljana.

14/07/2025

[Javni poziv / Open call]

Vabljeni k prijavi na rezidenco v dunajski Muzejski četrti, ki je namenjena umetnikom, kuratorjem in teoretikom iz Slovenije, Češke, Hrvaške, Madžarske, Romunije, Slovaške in Ukrajine, aktivnim na področju sodobne vizualne umetnosti!

🗓️ Rok za prijavo: 14. september 2025

🔗Več informacij: https://igorzabel.org/sl/novice/2025/AiR-MQ-Dunaj-2026

/ENG/

Join the open call for the Artist-in-Residence programme in Vienna (MQ – MuseumsQuartier Wien), aimed at artists, curators, and theoreticians from Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, the Slovak Republic, and Ukraine working in the field of contemporary visual art!

🗓️ Deadline: 14 September 2025

🔗More info: https://igorzabel.org/en/news/2025/AiR-MQ-Vienna-2026

V sodelovanju z / In collaboration with: ERSTE Foundation, tranzit.at, tranzit.cz, tranzit.hu, tranzit.ro, Kontakt Collection / WHW Akademija

C͟A͟L͟L͟ ͟f͟o͟r͟ ͟A͟P͟P͟L͟I͟C͟A͟T͟I͟O͟N͟S͟ ͟2͟0͟2͟6͟ – the Artist-in-Residence Programme at MQ – MuseumsQuartier Wien is now open u͟n͟t͟i͟l͟ ͟S͟e͟p͟t͟e͟m͟b͟e͟r͟ ͟1͟4͟,͟ ͟2͟0͟2͟5͟

All details: tranzit.org

The residencies are aimed at artists and curators from Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia, working in the field of contemporary art, to do research in their respective area. Taking into consideration the urgencies raised by the ongoing war against Ukraine, we would like to express our solidarity and add a grant of a two-month stay for a participant from Ukraine.

ERSTE Foundation tranzit.hu tranzit.cz tranzit.ro tranzit.sk Igor Zabel Association for Culture and Theory WHW AkademijaOffice Ukraine. Support for Ukrainian Artists

Image © MuseumsQuartier, Photo: Thomas Meyer

29/06/2025

Pridružite se nam danes na svetovni predpremieri dokumentarnega filma o avantgardnem umetniškem gibanju in skupini OHO.

🗓 danes, 29. junij 2025 ob 20.00
📍 Vipavski Križ, Vipavska dolina

🎞 Film bo predstavil režiser Damjan Kozole, projekcije pa se bodo udeležili člani skupine OHO: Marko Pogačnik, Iztok Geister, Naško Križnar, Milenko Matanovič, David Nez, Matjaž Hanžek, Marika Pogačnik in Tomaž Brejc. Pred projekcijo bo z njimi pogovor, zbrane pa bo nagovorila tudi ministrica za kulturo dr. Asta Vrečko.

/ENG/

Join us today for the world pre-premiere of the documentary film about avant-garde art movement and group OHO.

🗓 today, 29 June 2025 at 20:00
📍 Vipavski Križ, Vipava Valley

🎞 The film will be introduced by director Damjan Kozole, with members of OHO in attendance: Marko Pogačnik, Iztok Geister, Naško Križnar, Milenko Matanovič, David Nez, Matjaž Hanžek, Marika Pogačnik and Tomaž Brejc, and with opening remarks by Slovenian Minister of Culture Dr. Asta Vrečko.

23/06/2025

[Na današnji dan / On this day]

Na današnji dan leta 2000 so v Ljubljani odprli tretjo edicijo Manifeste, evropskega bienale sodobne umetnosti, ki so jo kurirali Francesco Bonami, Ole Bouman, Mária Hlavajova in Kathrin Rhomberg, koordinator dogodka pa je bil Igor Zabel. Dela 57 mednarodnih umetnikov, umetnic in umetniških kolektivov so bila razstavljena na različnih prizoriščih in javnih mestih ter v okviru programa TV Slovenija.

Prvič je dogodek imel tematsko usmeritev - pod naslovom Borderline Syndrome. Energies of Defence (Mejni sindrom. Energije obrambe) je kolektiv kuratorjev razmišljal o tem, kaj opredeljuje sodobno Evropo ter kako vprašanja širjenja in obrambe identitete, zaščite in upora vplivajo na umetniško, geopolitično, družbeno in osebno raven. Gostovanje Manifeste v Ljubljani je bilo povezano z željo organizatorjev po vzpostavitvi dialoga med vzhodnoevropskim in zahodnoevropskim kulturnim prostorom, hkrati pa je predstavljalo pomembno priložnost, ki je Ljubljano mednarodnemu občinstvu predstavila kot živahno prizorišče sodobne umetnosti.

/ENG/

On this day in 2000, the third edition of Manifesta, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, curated by Francesco Bonami, Ole Bouman, Mária Hlavajova and Kathrin Rhomberg, and coordinated by Igor Zabel, opened in Ljubljana. The works of 57 international artists and collectives were exhibited in several public sites in the city and five institutional venues, including TV Slovenia programme.

For the first time, the event had a thematic focus - under the title Borderline Syndrome. Energies of Defence, a collective of curators reflected on what defines contemporary Europe and how issues of identity diffusion and defence, protection and resistance impact the artistic, geopolitical, social, and personal levels. Hosting Manifesta in Ljubljana was linked to the organizers' desire to establish a dialogue between the Eastern and Western European cultural space, while at the same time representing an important opportunity to introduce Ljubljana to an international audience as a vibrant contemporary art scene.

Photos: Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana and Manifesta Biennial Foundation.

20/06/2025

Vabljeni na svetovno predpremiero dokumentarnega filma o avantgardnem umetniškem gibanju in skupini OHO, pri katerem je kot koscenaristka sodelovala tudi programska vodja Društva Igor Zabel, Urška Jurman.

OHO FILM – predpremiera celovečernega dokumentarca v režiji Damjana Kozoleta
🗓 Nedelja, 29. junij 2025 ob 20.00
📍 Vipavski Križ, Vipavska dolina

🎞 Film bo predstavil režiser Damjan Kozole, projekcije pa se bodo udeležili člani skupine OHO: Marko Pogačnik, Iztok Geister, Naško Križnar, Milenko Matanovič, David Nez, Matjaž Hanžek, Marika Pogačnik in Tomaž Brejc. Pred projekcijo bo z njimi pogovor, zbrane pa bo nagovorila tudi ministrica za kulturo dr. Asta Vrečko.
Projekcija bo predvidoma ob 21.00.

🎟 Brezplačne vstopnice:
🔗 https://www.go-borderless.eu/event/damjan-kozole-oho-predpremiera-celovecernega-dokumentarca-25/register

/ENG/

We cordially invite you to the world pre-premiere of the documentary film about avant-garde art movement and group OHO , in which the program manager of the Igor Zabel Association, Urška Jurman, also participated as a co-writer.

OHO FILM – Pre-Preview of the Feature-Length Documentary
Directed by Damjan Kozole
🗓 Sunday, 29 June 2025 at 20:00
📍 Vipavski Križ, Vipava Valley

🎞 The film will be introduced by director Damjan Kozole, with members of OHO in attendance: Marko Pogačnik, Iztok Geister, Naško Križnar, Milenko Matanovič, David Nez, Matjaž Hanžek, Marika Pogačnik and Tomaž Brejc, and with opening remarks by Slovenian Minister of Culture Dr. Asta Vrečko.
Screening begins at approximately 21:00.

🎟 Free registration:
🔗 https://www.go-borderless.eu/en/event/damjan-kozole-oho-pre-preview-of-the-feature-length-documentary-25/register

European Capital of Culture 2025 Nova Gorica - Gorizia & Vertigo Ljubljana

Piškotke uporabljamo za prilagoditev vsebin in oglasov, za zagotavljanje funkcij družbenih medijev in za analize našega prometa. Poleg tega delimo informacije o vaši uporabi našega mesta z našimi partnerji s področja družbenih medijev, oglaševanja in analitike, ki jih morda kombinirajo z dr...

19/06/2025

[Na današnji dan / On this day]

Na današnji dan pred dvajsetimi leti se je zaključil spletni projekt Moderne galerije z naslovom Towards Zero Gravity: Težnost v slovenski likovni umetnosti 20. in 21. stoletja. Spletna razstava, ki jo je vsebinsko zasnoval Igor Zabel, je predstavila 157 del slovenske umetnosti od impresionizma do sodobnosti, ki iščejo razmerje med težnostjo in preseganjem težnosti.

Spletna stran, ki je še vedno dostopna na: http://zerogravity.mg-lj.si/, je predstavljala nov način predstavljanja slovenske umetnosti in začetek združevanja podatkovnih in slikovnih baz dokumentacije v Moderni galeriji.

/ENG/

Twenty years ago today, Moderna galerija's online project Towards Zero Gravity: Gravity in 20th and 21st Century Slovenian Visual Art came to an end. The online exhibition, conceptualized by Igor Zabel, presented 157 works of Slovenian art, from Impressionism to Contemporary Art, that seek to explore the relationship between gravity and the transcendence of gravity.

The website, which is still accessible at http://zerogravity.mg-lj.si/, represented a new way of presenting Slovenian art and the beginning of the integration of the data and image documentation databases at the Moderna galerija.

Moderna galerija

10/06/2025

[Na današnji dan / On this day]

Na današnji dan pred dvajsetimi leti so v okviru 51. beneškega bienala v slovenskem paviljonu odprli razstavo Vadima Fiškina z naslovom “Še en hiter dan”, pri kateri je sodeloval tudi Igor Zabel kot pomočnik komisarke Zdenke Badovinac.

V prostorski postavitvi v galeriji A+A je Fiškin – kot je zapisal tudi Zabel v spremnem besedilu – raziskoval vprašanja časa, letnih časov, paradoksov relativnosti prostora-časa in virtualnega okolja. Na podlagi Einsteinove teorije o paradoksu dvojčkov, po kateri se dvojčka starata različno, če eden od njiju potuje s svetlobno hitrostjo, je delo združilo znanost in domišljijo ter gledalcem omogočilo doživeti 24-urni dan v samo 12 minutah.

/ENG/

Twenty years ago today, Vadim Fiškin's exhibition “Another Speedy Day” opened at the Slovenian Pavilion as part of the 51st Venice Biennale, in which Igor Zabel participated as assistant commissioner to Zdenka Badovinac.

In the spatial installation in the A+A Gallery, Fiškin – as Zabel also wrote in the accompanying text – explored questions of time, the seasons, paradoxes of the relativity of space-time, and the virtual environment. Drawing from Einstein's twin paradox theory, according to which twins age differently if one travels near light speed, the work blended science and imagination, letting viewers experience a 24-hour day in just 12 minutes.
_
Fotografije / Photographs: Dejan Habicht. Z dovoljenjem Moderne galerije, Ljubljana / Courtesy of Moderna galerija, Ljubljana.

08/06/2025

[Na današnji dan / On this day]

Na današnji dan leta 1990 se je v ljubljanski Galeriji Škuc zaključila skupinska razstava “Slike?”, ki je pomembno prispevala k tedanjem premisleku novih pristopov k mediju slikarstva. Na razstavi so se predstavili slikarji in slikarka mlajše generacije Zmago Lenardič, Alenka Pirman, Silvester Plotajs, Tadej Pogačar in Marko Tušek.

Pri pobudi za razstavo in izboru umetnikov je sodeloval Igor Zabel, ki je v enem od pisem galeriji poudaril pomembnost tovrstne predstavitve: »Stvar je takšna: medtem, ko v našem prostoru že obstaja fenomen “mladega kiparstva”, se zdi kot da slikarjev preprosto ni oziroma da v slikarstvu ni niti ekvivalentnih potencialov niti ustreznih konceptualnih premikov. Verjamem pa, (...), da je tako razmerje bolj navidezno in je bolj posledica tega, ker slikarji niso niti generacijsko organizirani niti ustrezno prezentirani.«

/ENG/

On this day in 1990, the group exhibition "Paintings?" closed at the Škuc Gallery in Ljubljana, which significantly contributed to the then-current rethinking of new approaches to the medium of painting. The exhibition featured painters of the younger generation: Zmago Lenardič, Alenka Pirman, Silvester Plotajs, Tadej Pogačar, and Marko Tušek.

Igor Zabel was involved in the initiative for the exhibition and the selection of the artists, and in one of his letters to the gallery stressed the importance of such a presentation: “Here's the thing: while there is already a phenomenon of ‘young sculpture’ in our space, it seems as if there are simply no painters or rather that there are neither equivalent potentials in painting, nor corresponding conceptual shifts. I believe, however, (...) that such a relationship is more illusory and is more a consequence of the fact that painters are neither generationally organised nor adequately represented.”
_
Fotografije / Photographs: Arhiv galerije Škuc / Škuc Gallery Archive.

27/05/2025

[Igor Zabel Award 2024]

Read the in-depth interview with the Igor Zabel Award 2024 Laureate Edit Ándras by Ewa Borysiewicz and Vera Zalutskaya in Most Magazine.

"I would say that the award is not just a recognition of one individual – it goes beyond that and serves as an acknowledgment of a whole generation of people like Igor Zabel, Piotr Piotrowski, Bojana Pejić. (...) I think that we were a generation of “lonely wolves.” And to use this metaphor further, the Igor Zabel Award means that you are included in the pack of people for whom it was very important to see the big picture, from the moment on when we were liberated from the very closed society and we could breathe freely. Piotrowski, for example, wanted to create a theory on how to position East Central Europe in the newly extended world. Bojana organized Gender Check with the same aim from a specific aspect. And my obsession: how we can use Western critical theories for our experiences and for artworks produced in this region. So I’m simply very pleased to belong to this pack of wolves. It is absolutely wonderful that this activity, this lonely intellectual activity without institutional power, is now acknowledged."

Edit András, Igor Zabel Award 2024 Ceremony, Photo: Nada Žgank / Courtesy of the Igor Zabel Association for Culture and Theory The Lonely Wolves Generation: Conversation with Edit András, the Recipient of 2024 Igor Zabel Award for Culture and Theory May 27, 2025May 27, 2025 CONVERSATIONEDIT ANDRA...