What moves young artists nowadays? How do they cope with social, political and cultural shifts and sea changes? What role
do national cultural traditions play, which international art trends are reflected? Which is their preferred media? >TRANSCEDING CULTURES< opens up a space for cross border dialogues and diverse discourse.
With the exhibition >TRANSCENDING CULTURES< the Essl Museum gives a topical and impressive insight into the young art scene
of Central and South-Eastern Europe. The works of 20 young artists from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania,
Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey will be on show. The exhibition in the Essl Museum breaks away from a conventional country-by-country presentation. As the title >TRANSCENDING
CULTURES< suggests, diverse cross-border dialogues and new possibilities for discourse define the exhibition. On show will be the works of the winners of the ESSL ART AWARD CEE 2013 as well as the Collector’s Invitations by Prof. Agnes
Essl, which had been selected by the international jury for their highly artistic quality and individuality. What moves young artists nowadays, how do they cope with social, political and cultural shifts and sea changes? What role
does their private life play for them, what role play national cultural traditions and what international art trends are reflected
in their work? Do they react to the ever-progressing phenomenon of globalisation? Which media do the artists preferably use and is there any emphasis at all by the selection of the media? A recurring theme is subjective and societal identity, and several works explore the socio-political history of the artists’
own country as well as their personal (family) history. References to literature and music are the starting point for several works in the exhibition, found particularly in video
works. The highly poetic and aesthetic visual language used in these works is characteristic of several award winners. Another
central aspect, translated into very different formal outcomes, is the connection between art and life. “This opportunity [the ESSL ART AWARD CEE] creates a dialogue not only within each artist’s country but also across and beyond
borders, hence culminating in the finalists’ exhibition rightfully and meaningfully entitled >Transcending Cultures<”, so
Lora Sariaslan, jury member for Turkey. Conferred every two years since 2005, the ESSL ART AWARD CEE is dedicated to the support of art students from Bulgaria, Croatia,
the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey. From more than 500 applicants, an international expert-jury
from the creative field selected 10 Nominees per country online. Presented in the “Nominees’ Exhibitions”, taking place in
a main city of each participating country, the jury chose two award winners per country on site (one of the two award winners
per country additionally received the “VIG Special Invitation”). Additionally art-collector Prof. Agnes Essl eagerly embraced
the opportunity to issue four “Collector’s Invitations” to complement the exhibition in the Essl Museum. These 20 artistic positions are now on show in the exhibition >TRANSCENDING CULTURES<.
Further information on the ESSL ART AWARD CEE Artists of the exhibition Dan Adle¨ič E, V Karíma Al-Mukhtarová E Vanja Babić E Bashir Borlakov C Alin Bozbiciu C Daniel Nicolae Djamo E Zoran Georgiev E, V Volkan Kızıltunç E, V Kund Kopacz E, V Gábor Kristóf C Mario Leko C Jelena Lovrec E, V Marcel Mali¨ E Gregor Maver E Andra Nedelcu E, V Viktor Takáč E, V İrem Tok E Leda Vaneva E Zuzana ´abková E, V Dia Zékány E E Award Winner ESSL ART AWARD CEE 2013 V Award Winner VIG Special Invitation C Collector’s Invitation
