{"id":52406,"date":"2026-04-15T20:53:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T20:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?p=52406"},"modified":"2026-04-15T20:53:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T20:53:43","slug":"izlozba-when-politics-strategised-aesthetics-works-from-the-national-museum-of-modern-art-zagreb-1945-1960-u-berlinu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?p=52406","title":{"rendered":"Izlo\u017eba \u201eWHEN POLITICS STRATEGISED AESTHETICS \u2013 Works from the National Museum of Modern Art Zagreb 1945\u20131960\u201c u Berlinu"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kunsthaus Dahlem – Berlin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With the exhibition When Politics Strategised Aesthetics<\/em>, Kunsthaus Dahlem traces the trajectory of Yugoslav art from Socialist Realism to abstraction between 1945 and 1960. While broader developments within the Yugoslav cultural context at the time are examined, the focus is on artists from Croatia. Through significant works from the National Museum of Modern Art (NMMU) in Zagreb, it becomes clear how political upheavals fostered the emergence of an independent artistic language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curators: Branko Franceschi<\/strong> (Director, NMMU) and Marta Radman<\/strong> (Curator, NMMU)

From socialist realism to abstraction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After World War II, Socialist Realism became the dominant artistic doctrine in many socialist states, including East Germany (GDR). Art was expected to make the construction of the new society visible, convey political ideals, and function as a tool of state ideology. While this style dominated in the GDR for many years, Yugoslavia embarked on its own path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, socialist authorities and public cultural institutions also promoted heroic depictions of the partisan resistance and the reconstruction of the war-torn country. Portraits of leading communist officials \u2013 above all the omnipresent head of state Tito \u2013 formed another central motif. After the break with Stalin in 1948, however, Yugoslavia increasingly opened to the West politically, economically, and culturally. In the arts this shift brought about a remarkable transformation: abstraction, experimentation, and existential figuration gained growing importance. Art also became a means of cultural diplomacy, helping Zagreb develop into an international centre of modern art from the 1950s through the 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, this aesthetic development was shaped by dramatic political experiences. While Yugoslavia cautiously moved closer to the West, the Communist Party maintained its power domestically through repression, violence, and the persecution of political opponents. This darker historical background forms the tension against which an art emerged that expressed hope, control, resistance, and new beginnings.

About the exhibition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through representative works from the collection of the National Museum of Modern Art in Zagreb, the exhibition traces the development from state-aligned figurative art to free, abstract visual languages and introduces artists who sought their own forms of expression between political control and artistic freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The selection comprises sculptures, paintings, works on paper, as well as medals and ephemera.

Artists<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antun Augustin\u010di\u0107, Vojin Baki\u0107, Marijan Detoni, Du\u0161an D\u017eamonja, Ivo Gattin, Ivan Jeger, Ksenija Kantoci, Julije Knifer, Slavko Kopa\u010d, Vladimir Kristl, Ferdinand Kulmer, Milena Lah, Aurelije Luke\u017ei\u0107, Valerije Michieli, Edo Murti\u0107, Ivan Paleka, \u0160ime Peri\u0107, Ivan Picelj, Vanja Radau\u0161, Bo\u017eidar Ra\u0161ica, Ivan Saboli\u0107, Aleksandar Srnec, Marino Tartaglia and Josip Vani\u0161ta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Press coverage<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n