International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana

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Mednarodni grafični likovni center
Pod turnom 3, SI-1000 Ljubljana
Phone386 (0) 1 241 3800
Barbara Savenc, Acting Director
Past Events
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Established in 1986, the International Centre of Graphic Arts (MGLC) is housed in the Tivoli Mansion. It runs the Ljubljana International Biennial of Graphic Art, maintains an international collection of graphic arts and artists books, and organises personal and thematic contemporary arts exhibitions, often reflecting political or social atmospheres of the chosen periods.

MGLC 2009 Tivoli Mansion Photo Borut Peterlin.jpgThe International Centre of Graphic Arts (MGLC) is located in Tivoli Mansion, Ljubljana.


Background

The idea of establishing MGLC dates back to the mid 1970s as a direct consequence of the development of International Graphic Art Biennials and the enormous growth of contemporary graphic art production in Slovenia during that period, especially represented by the Ljubljana Graphic Art School.

This idea was advanced by the secretary of the Ljubljana International Biennial of Graphic Art Zoran Kržišnik, then director of the Museum of Modern Art. In 1981 the MGLC Foundation commenced its first activities and began to adapt the Tivoli Mansion. In 1987 the MGLC moved from the Museum of Modern Art to the renovated mansion positioned majestically at the end of the Plečnik "promenade" in Ljubljana's Tivoli Park.

Mission

Beside the organisation of the Ljubljana International Biennial of Graphic Art and the organisation of other contemporary art exhibitions MGLC maintains also the Slovene and international collection of prints, artist books, art projects in magazines and on billboards, and other printed art materials. It also edits limited print editions in the techniques of lithography, silkscreen and intaglio and offers the workshops about printing techniques.

Collection

The MGLC collection comprises over 3,600 fine art prints, 800 artist books and numerous other art publications dating from 1955 on. The works are mostly donations of participants at the Ljubljana International Biennial of Graphic Art and other artists producing prints in the MGLC print workshops.

The collection also comprises art prints of some representatives of the École de Paris as Zadkine and Picasso, works of international established artists as Robert Rauschenberg, Victor Vasarely, Emilio Vedova, Maria Bonomi and also representatives of the Ljubljana Graphics School. The collection also includes artist books of international and Slovene artists such as OHO Group, West East Publications edited by Franci Zagoričnik, Damien Hirst and further great names of art history as Boltansky, Lewitt, Opalka, Buren, Roth, Reiner, and Yves Klein.

Each year MGLC acquires some works. Beside the works of 4 Slovene artists (Vesna Črnivec, Janez Knez, Tanja Lažetić and Petra Varl) in 2008 the MGLC also acquired 4 works of foreign artists including White Cube Book of James Lee Byars from 1986 and 54 publications of Bernard Villers entitled Publishing House Remorqueur and Nouveau Remorqueur Archives.

Programme

In addition to the organisation of the Ljubljana International Biennial of Graphic Art the MGLC organises regular contemporary arts exhibitions, including surveys of national artistic creativity and exhibitions by individual artists, often in collaboration with international institutions such as the British Council Slovenia, French Cultural Institute Charles Nodier, Ljubljana or private collection such as Rene Block Edition from Berlin.

In 2009 MGLC featured May ’68 in Paris and the Student Movement in Ljubljana, 1968–1972. Posters, Film, and Photographs – the exhibition presenting around 80 posters, loaned by the Centre de la Gravure et de l’Image imprimée in La Louvière (Belgium). Created for the events in Paris, these images has become synonymous of the urban struggle. The protests changing the traditional values of society soon spread across the world, encompassed Yugoslavia as well, including Ljubljana. The student movement in Ljubljana, from 1968 to 1972 presented the exhibition by documentary film of Majda Širca, the student newspapers Tribuna and SP (standing for slovensko podzemlje – the Slovene underground), leaflets and announcements, and photographs of Tone Stojko, Edi Šelhaus, and Žare Veselič.

In non-biennial years MGLC prepares 4 to 8 exhibitions. In 2009 it featured for the very first time in Slovenia the exhibition inspired in and mirroring the phenomenon of computer games entitled Screenshots: I Was Disappointed by Lara Croft and prepared by external group of Slovene curators Milan Kleč, Lev Menaše, Helena Pivec, Barbara Novakovič and Boštjan Borič.

In 2008 the MGLC featured the exhibition conveying the tumultuous times of the 1980s in Slovenia entitled FV, Alternative Scene of the Eighties shedding light on the important social and artistic events of a period in which significant shifts were happening on the margins of the socialist society that made also possible the appearance of the first gay and lesbian clubs, independent publishing houses, multimedia groups, and other forms of countercultural creativity. On this occasion Neven Korda, a video artist and one of the protagonists, donated his entire archive to the MGLC collection.

MGLC stages as well solo presentations of Slovene and foreign artists. Recently were featured projects by Štefan Galič, Regina Pessoa, Gabrijel Stupica, Zora Stančič and Petra Varl, Herman Gvardjančič, Ivo Mršnik, Laibach and others.

Education

Beside the workshops for professional artists, the Centre organises workshops of various graphic techniques (linocut, lithography or silkscreen) for children, a graffiti art workshop and traditional Graphic Art Flea.

Occasionally the MGLC organises also symposia, lectures and public discussions with invited artists, publishers, curators and experts from abroad and guided visits to accompany exhibitions.

See also

External Links

Gallery