Contemporary Slovakian Photography

Twelve Contemporary Slovakian PhotographersOrganized by the Mucsarnok and the FOTOFO Bratislava

Curated by Vaclav Macek Assistant curator: Gábor Hushegyi Slovakian photography in the eighties was characterized by a sympathy towards the performing arts, especially dance and theater, as well as the elements of humor and playfulness used by younger artists. The use of this medium has gone through several significant changes in recent years and not necessarily due to political events but rather because of a disillusionment with the postmodernist flow of visual games and information. In the nineties, the concept of plurality has ceased to be synonymous with various styles presented within one work but rather with different photographic styles and genres. Compared to earlier decades there has also been a great deal of change in the field of neo-conceptualist photography, since these movements have passed almost without any notice. The material of this exhibition can be categorized into three large groups. The first consists of the documentary photographs of Andrej Ban, Pavol Breier and Tibor Takats presenting Slovakia from various different perspectives. Into the second group belong the "blow-ups" of Peter Zupnikas as well as the works of Ingrid Patockova and L´uba Lauffova. The third group includes the poetic-playful collages of Robo Kocan and the work of Slovakian imaginative photographers Jozef Sedlak and Vasil Stanko. The exhibition is completed by the photo installations of Rudo Sikora, Ronai Peter and Ladislav Carny. This show intends to present the various aspects of contemporary Slovakian photography without the claim of being complete yet it aims at reflecting on its most significant tendencies.