Distant Gaze: New Objectivity and Realisms in Central Europe (1925-1933)

The international exhibition Distant Gaze: New Objectivity and Realisms in Central Europe (1925-1933) focuses on the historical period of the second half of the 1920s and early 1930s in Central Europe, when expressionism, then dominant movement in modern art, lost its momentum and gave way to new artistic tendencies. After the traumatic experience of the World War I, the 1920s saw a major turning point, not only in politics and economy but also in arts and culture. Visual arts of the 1920s developed the style of new realisms, whose often objective, resigned and ironic expression corresponded with the Zeitgeist of that era.

After the end of the World War I and the Spanish flu epidemic, Central Europe remained stuck in a period of turbulent political, social and cultural upheaval. This caused notions of helplessness and consequent cynicism among many people, especially in the urban centres, since it was clear that the social, economic and political system was unsustainable in the long term. Therefore, art followed the general sociopolitical situation and new objectivity or new realisms were a logical reaction to what was happening in the society; the turn towards purified realisms, classicisms and new visual media reflected common aspiration to return to order and hope that tumultuous political and economic situation would defuse. On the other hand, the new realisms were a highly engaged artistic movement that in a way anticipated the future radicalisation of society, the totalitarianisms of the 1930s and, ultimately, the upcoming war.

The exhibition aims to contribute to a more profound insight into artistic production in the period 1925-1933 in the wider Central European geographical and cultural context, and to offer an opportunity to analyse the social processes of the time through art, which is, after all, always a mirror of a Zeitgeist. Furthermore, the exhibition focuses on the peripheral manifestations of new objectivity and new realisms in Central Europe, focusing in particular on some of the smaller but no less important cultural (urban) hubs, such as Chemnitz, Halle, Graz, Budapest, Brno, Sofia, Rijeka, Zagreb, Maribor and Ljubljana.

The exhibition will showcase works by number of artists from the wider Central European cultural milieu, such as Tone Kralj, Božidar Jakac, Nande Vidmar, Franjo Stiplovšek, Stane Cuderman, Elda Piščanec and Ivan Kos, Janko Skerlep, Vladimir Becić, Vladimir Varlaj, Sava Šumanović, Tošo Dabac, Ivana Tomljenović Meller, Otto Dix, Georg Schrimpf, Gustav Wunderwald, Johannes Wohlfart, Jaromír Funke, József Pécsi and many others.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a comprehensive publication with contributions from an interdisciplinary team of experts.