MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków

Economics in Art

17 May–29 September 2013

MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow
4 Lipowa St
30-702 Krakow
www.mocak.pl

Economics in Art is the third in the series of exhibitions presented by MOCAK the Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow to relate art to the most significant domains of civilisation such as history, sport, science, religion and art. To date, two exhibitions in the series have taken place: History in Art and Sport in Art.

The juxtaposition of economics and art is not self-explanatory. However, the encounter of these two areas turns out to be fascinating. Economics has provided a source of inspiration for many contemporary artists, frequently provoking non-obvious artistic actions. Today, with the world facing a global economic crisis, the voice of the artist has become particularly topical and noteworthy; the themes that artists take on board have become crucial in the discourse on civilisation.

The exhibition Economics in Art is a collection of works of a few dozen artists from Poland and other countries, who represent various techniques and media. The exhibition has been structured around a number of issues: value, the ethics of market activities and mechanisms, humanist aspects of economics, and art's dependence on market forces.

Artists: Banksy, Zanny Begg & Oliver Ressler, Joseph Beuys, Bernhard Blume, Liena Bondare, Luchezar Boyadjiev, Rafał Bujnowski, Christoph Büchel, Jose Maria Cano, Jota Castro, Josef Dabernig, Oskar Dawicki, Pola Dwurnik, Eva Grubinger, Andreas Gursky, Alfredo Jaar, Christian Jankowski, Toril Johannessen, Laura Kalauz & Martin Schick, Leopold Kessler, Olga Kisseleva, Robin Klassnik, Karolina Kowalska, Jarosław Kozłowski, Michael Landy, Hipolit Lipiński, Pavlo Makov, Antoni Muntadas, Lada Nakonechna, Dan Perjovschi, Santiago Sierra, Klaus Staeck, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Mona Vătămanu and Florin Tudor, Whielki Krasnal

Curators: Monika Kozioł, Delfina Piekarska, Maria Anna Potocka

Other exhibitions:

Spokojna Tour Now – the Opening of Re Gallery
17 May–29 September 2013

The new exhibition space at MOCAK - Re Gallery is located in the former Gatehouse of Schindler's Factory and designated for art school students from Poland and abroad.

The opening of the Re Gallery took place on 16 May 2013. The students of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw led by Mirosław Bałka inaugurated the gallery, performing a composition inspired by the history and culture of Krakow. A group of artists usually creative in the field of visual and performing arts created an orchestra and a choir. The gallery is presented unchanged, remaining in the state in which the musicians left it, when they departed with their instruments. In the Re Gallery a recording documenting the event can be viewed.

Curator: Mirosław Bałka

New Collection
from 17 May 2013
The theme of the new display of the MOCAK Collection is artistic media. We present their most important forms: photography, painting, sculpture, drawing and video.

When it comes to contemporary art, media have no absolute boundaries; they can be broadened, combined and hybridised. So many possible permutations exist that individual artists can invent or come up with a medium that will help them reveal their talent and formulate their own artistic theme. In this exhibition, we also want to illustrate the artists' ideas on how to individualise media.

The MOCAK Collection is financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.