TRIENNIALS:8th Triennial of Contemporary Art U3

The U3-Triennial of Contemporary Slovene Arts was established in 1994 by the Moderna galerija with the aim to provide a periodic overview of the current situation in contemporary Slovene art through the subjective eye of a curator/selector, drawing attention to works which are, according to the selector, the best and closest to the sensibility of the time.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Institute of Modern Art Brisbane Archive

To assure a certain level of objectivity, the selector of every second U3 Triennial is a foreign curator, since this emphasises the purpose of the event: to underline differences in aesthetic concepts as well as in professional, critical, cultural, political, and social positions. “Beyond the Globe“, the 8th edition of U3 brings an important change: it takes the exhibition outside the Slovenian framework. The new concept of U3 focuses on a dialogue between Slovene space and other contexts that are relevant for it. In this it follow the good practice of certain established “peripheral” biennials that focus on their specific time and place and function as a platform for produced meanings and contents with long-term, positive effects on their spaces. The main topic of the 2016 U3 Triennial is the cosmos. In the cultural imagination, the cosmos functions as a code word for the danger of the final extinction of life on Earth and at the same time for the most radical utopian aspiration for universal harmony. The exhibition presents many possibilities for the artistic exploration of the topic at hand: the connection between artistic and scientific imagination, the cosmos as analysis of sci-fi culture, perspectives of corporeal immortality and critique of contemporary technology.

Info: Curator: Boris Groys, Moderna galerija, Windischerjeva 2, Ljubljana, Duration: 3/6-18/9/16, Days & Hours: Tue-sun 10:00-18:00, www.mg-lj.si