The 20th Century. Continuities and Ruptures exhibition breaks with traditional linearity by introducing the topics of the 20th century avant-gardes and of the art of the Partisan resistance, bringing them into the national history of art on an equal footing with more familiar trends and, as a consequence, casting new light on the latter.
The exhibition begins with the entry of modernism into Slovenian art and ends with the ten-day war for Slovenian independence. The main novelties in this exhibition are the presentation of the avant-garde of the 1920s and the second reconstruction of the Trieste Constructivist Space (1927), headed by Dragan Živadinov and Miha Turšič (Production House Delak), the art of the Partisan resistance, photography, and an overview of the art system in Slovenia in the 20th century. The exhibition design, created by the New Collectivism, does not follow the neutral white cube concept of the previous displays, but offers a number of alternative approaches: in addition to the linear, chronological path, there is the theme route, encompassing the entry of modernism into Slovenian art, the avant-garde of the 1920s, the art of the Partisan resistance, OHO, and the retro-avant-garde of the 1980s, and highlighting the issue of the close entanglement of art, politics, and life, and other paths visitors can choose to suit their particular areas of interest. The layout of the exhibition rooms, which has served as the basis for the theme route, offers a view of the end of the show (yet not of the end of history) from the entry point into the first room. There are more ways than one to enter the 20th century.
The continuation of this exhibition at the Moderna galerija in a chronological - and to a certain extent thematic - sense is being staged at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Metelkova. Linking the two Moderna galerija departments - the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art - are thus the issues they have in common: art policies, searching for and creating the horizon of the new (hopefully, beyond chasing mere novelties), the modern and the contemporary or the questions of the art of the 20th and 21st centuries. Supplementing this selection of works from Moderna galerija's national collection are a number of works from other Slovenian or foreign public institutions and private collections. The exhibition is the result of the joint efforts of renowned experts Sergej Kapus, Miklavž Komelj, and Beti Žerovc and the Moderna galerija curators Zdenka Badovinac, Breda Ilich-Klančnik, Marko Jenko, Bojana Piškur, Igor Španjol, Lara Štrumej, Mojca Štuhec, and Martina Vovk.