Ljubljana
MGML
Rabih Mroué: Something of Something
© Matevž Paternoster/MGML

City Art Gallery Ljubljana

Mestni trg 5
1000 Ljubljana


General information:
T +386 1 24 11 785
E mestna.galerija@mgml.si

School programs:
T +386 1 24 12 506
E prijava@mgml.si

Public relations:
T +386 41 669 599
E mateja.dimnik@mgml.si


Tuesday–Sunday: 11:00–19:00
Monday: Closed
1 January, 1 November, 25 December: Closed
24 and 31 December: 11:00–14:00

Free entry.



City Art Gallery Ljubljana is a dog-friendly gallery.

overview exhibition

Rabih Mroué: Something of Something

Nekaj nečesa

11. 9. 2014–2. 11. 2014

The Lebanese artist Rabih Mroué is active as an actor, theatre director, playwright and, not least, as a visual artist. It was this segment of his multi-faceted production that has been repeatedly presented in a number of important international manifestations of contemporary art. The personal experience of war and unrest, the result of the unstable political situation and social upheaval, is reflected in his body of work directly or through his astute interpretation.

Every year the City Art Gallery Ljubljana schedules an extensive presentation of an artist from the international arena in its annual program. This is done by following the dynamics of the international currents of contemporary art, within which cooperation with other institutions is almost inevitable. In such a manner, an exhibition of works by Jan Fabre was prepared four years ago in cooperation with the Exodus Festival, a show by Goran Đorđević was staged the following year in collaboration with the Belgrade Museum of Contemporary Art, last year an in situ display of a body of work by Jannis Kounellis was organized, whereas this year an extensive overview of the work of Rabih Mroué has been prepared.

This Lebanese artist is not entirely unknown in Slovenia and his presence is primarily the result of his many years of collaboration with the Maska Institute. Mroué is active as an actor, theatre director, playwright, and, not least, as a visual artist. It was this segment of his multi-faceted production that has often been presented in a number of important international manifestations of contemporary art, for example, at Documenta (13), the Sidney Biennale, the Istanbul Biennial, and Manifesta 8. He speaks about the fluidity of genres in his work in the interview included in the book that was published to accompany the exhibition: “No matter what the designation, for me, what is important is what is offered as material to think about, what the work provokes in our beliefs, what it will shake in our norms and traditions and stereotypes.”

Mroué belongs to a generation of Lebanese artists who became recognizable in the decade after the official end of the Lebanese civil war in 1990. His personal experience of war and unrest, the result of the unstable political situation and social upheaval, is reflected in his body of work directly or through his astute interpretation. In his videos, installations, performances, and lectures, Mroué examines the mechanisms of storytelling, he polemicizes historical and personal narratives, and questions the political, geographical, and cultural conditions. He meanders along a never quite clearly defined boundary between fiction and reality, communicating and translating social paradigms into the realm of the personal, by which interpretation is inevitably subjugated to the subjective gaze. Throughout, he addresses and explores the use and possibility of manipulating images, which play a vital role in providing “truth” in the world of contemporary media and fast-moving information. As he explains his understanding of truth in the above-mentioned book, “I assume that there is not only one truth, but an infinite number of truths; uncountable points of view and limitless angles to stand at and view the same event. No one can pretend to capture all the versions that talk about that specific event.”

Rabih Mroué: Something of Something

This is not an exhibition catalogue. Neither is it a monograph of an artist. And it is not an artist’s book either. It is a book. A book, whose dramaturgy ...

Colophon

Production: Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana Exhibition curator: Alenka GregoričArtist: Rabih MrouéText: Alenka GregoričDesign: Ajdin BašićInstallation photos: Matevž Paternoster / MGMLThe exhibition was made possible by: City of Ljubljana, Department for Culture

City Art Gallery Ljubljana

Mestni trg 5
1000 Ljubljana


General information:
T +386 1 24 11 785
E mestna.galerija@mgml.si

School programs:
T +386 1 24 12 506
E prijava@mgml.si

Public relations:
T +386 41 669 599
E mateja.dimnik@mgml.si


Tuesday–Sunday: 11:00–19:00
Monday: Closed
1 January, 1 November, 25 December: Closed
24 and 31 December: 11:00–14:00

Free entry.



City Art Gallery Ljubljana is a dog-friendly gallery.

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