Collector as a curator and selector (II)

Collector as Curator and Selector (II) is a continuation of the project started in 2009, when the exhibition presented works from about fifteen private collections, mostly of Belgrade collectors, and in 2013, over fifty leading art collections originating from not only from Belgrade but also from other parts of Serbia, as well as the collections of collectors living abroad, who have important works of Serbian art in their possession.

During the preparation of the first stage of the project Collector as curator and selector, it could only be hinted that collectors, who for years carefully collect works of art - driven by impulses that are not always explainable and not always clear to us - really are a kind of curators of their collections, and that the conception and method of forming their collections and the reasons for selecting and collecting certain works, artists or trends, are distinguished by the systematicity, care and gradualness that is characteristic of museum collections. That is why the second exhibition Collector as a curator and selector comes forward with the idea, not to hint and encourage, but to confirm the importance and significance that private art collections have, first of all, for the local scene of modern and contemporary art, and in some further instance for the social and cultural milieu of this environment.

This publication presents selected works from about fifty collections, which mostly represent the art of the second half of the twentieth century in Serbia and the region, as well as contemporary, and current art. The reason for this selection is the fact that, although there are works of art from the first half of the 20th century in private collections that are worthy of museum collections, most of the works that museums "failed" to acquire belong to the mentioned period of the second half of the last century.Over time, collectors have opted for an era, direction or group of authors, and in order to bring these directions and groups closer to the audience, the publication is supplemented with professional articles by eminent art historians. Prominent experts such as Đorđe Kadijević, Ješa Denegri, Olivera Janković, Ivana Simeunović Ćelić, Vera Grujić gave insights into the segments, tendencies, phenomena, and artistic groups that existed and created in the second half of the last century.

The topics covered include the activities of the members of Mediala and the December Group, then new media and the neo-avant-garde that appeared in the sixties, the phenomenon of new figuration that formed in the seventies, and very significant displays that focus on post-war Yugoslav sculpture and the art of neo-primitive authors. In the text "A View of the Serbian Art Scene" there is also an overview of the artists who appeared on the art scene after 1990, because the work of these artists will soon be found in many private collections.