Museum of Parallel Narratives14 May–2 October 2011MACBA, Barcelona

Dimitrije Bašicevic Mangelos, "Manifest vlaškovulicanski," 1977–78. Moderna galerija, Ljubljana / Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana.*

MACBA presents, in the context of transinstitutional organisation ‘l’Internationale’, Museum of Parallel Narratives. This exhibition offers a possibility to (re)discover art forms, collectives and documented actions developed within and representing post-war Eastern Europe. The works are part of the Arteast 2000+ Collection of the Moderna galerija in Ljubljana and includes sixty-two artists, eight artist groups with more than a hundred art pieces, mostly originating between 1961 and 1986.

The show is structured around eight relatively defined groups sharing similar themes, artistic intentions and political concerns. Marina Abramović, the OHO Group, Dalibor Martinis, amongst many others - from the avant-garde to performance art and documents extracted from the mass media, the exhibition presents a variety of practices that unveils a complex art system, one that developed against the establishment, the authorities and the dominant ideology of the time.

Walking into the large galleries of the MACBA feels like travelling through a fragmented constellation of micro-politics, self-organised groups and alternative movements. Dense in nature, the exhibition could use a stronger sense of direction. It presents however an extremely valuable collection of documents that enable visitors to grasp some elements and narratives of a historical period marked by the emergence and demise of an ideology.

The project has its own website http://internacionala.mg-lj.si/

Curator: Zdenka Badovinac. Organised and produced by: Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA); Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana; the Július Koller Society (SJK), Bratislava; the Van Abbemuseum (VAM), Eindhoven; and Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst (M HKA), Antwerp.

This work programme has been funded with support from the European Comission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Comission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.