DANUBIANA Meulensteen Art Museum is showing a photo exhibition by Frenchman Gérard Rancinan – which is exceptional for its concept.
The gallery situated on a man-made peninsula on the Danube River near Bratislava otherwise presents mainly modern art by international artists, focusing on paintings and sculptures. It was closed for reconstruction in spring 2013 and although offering some exhibition spaces, it will be fully opened after an expansion in summer 2014.
“The exception of Danubiana to present an exhibition of a photographer after more than 12 years is reason for a new start,” said the head of Danubiana, Vincent Polakovič, in the foreword to the exhibition.
The current exhibition, to run until September 1, is called Trilogy of the Moderns + Chaos and “one visit to his exhibition is enough to understand the art history in its full diversity”, Polakovič claims. The exhibition was made in collaboration with independent journalist Caroline Gaudriault who delivered texts accompanying the photos (in French, English and Slovak).
In his impressive photos, “Moderns” are special creatures without names, origin, language, culture or confession. Without borders, without real issues to deal with, the Moderns are immerged in the global space, and are the premises of the mankind of tomorrow. In three sections, The Metamorphoses, The Hypotheses and – the climactic - A Wonderful World, Rancinan outlines his vision of the world that visitors may like or dislike, but surely will be touched by. He makes references to classical works of art, but quotes them in a disturbing way, critiquing notorious phenomena of the modern era, sometimes mocking them with a nostalgic shade.
Part of the exhibition is also a documentary movie presenting the work that went into this project that lasted for several years and included contributions from art theoreticians, philosophers, and men of faith. The photos and the texts of the exhibition are two independent media, not accompanying each other, but expressing similar things in complementing ways.
Rancincan said, in an interview for the Madam Eva magazine, that a good picture is the one that radiates emotions and makes you ponder several levels of its interpretations, not just admire the beauty. His photos in the Trilogy of the Moderns + Chaos exhibition fully live up to this statement.
What: Trilogy of the Moderns + Chaos, photo exhibition
Where: Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum
When: Tue-Sun 11:00-19:00 until Sep 1
Admission: €3-€6
More info: www.danubiana.eu
