Calvert 22 presents Dear Art

Calvert 22 presents Dear Art on 28 September–8 December 2013.

‘Dear art, I am writing you a love letter to cheer you up and encourage you to come and visit me some time.’ – Mladen Stilinović

Inspired by a letter addressed to art by the Croatian conceptual artist Mladen Stilinovic, Zagreb-based curatorial collective What, How & for Whom / WHW present an international group exhibition that questions the standing of art in the contemporary world, its reception, distribution and value.

Through paintings, drawings, video and photography, Dear Art explores everything from issues of authorship and ownership to concerns with money, manipulation and political content. The works question the relationship between art and commerce, or, as Stilinović puts it, ‘quick manipulation, quick money, quick oblivion.’

“Taking the interconnectedness of art and politics as the grounding point for any substantial discussion about cultural production … Dear Art attempts to ask some necessary questions: Why do we still need art, and what is it that we expect to get from art today? What is its promise, and what do we promise it in return? And what happens when this promise is broken, betrayed, and just plain exhausted?”—WHW

What, How & for Whom / WHW is a curatorial collective formed in 1999 and based in Zagreb, Croatia. Since 2003, WHW has been running the program of Gallery Nova, a city-owned gallery in Zagreb. In 2013–14, WHW will curate the next edition of ‘Meeting Points,’ an international multidisciplinary event taking place in Antwerp, Beirut, Cairo, Hong Kong, Vienna, Moscow and Zagreb. They will also be working on the long-term collaborative project ‘Beginning As Well As We Can (How Do We Talk About Fascism?).’

Dear Art was first organised and produced by Museum of Modern Art Ljubljana / Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova (29 November 2012–10 February 2013). This is a new configuration of the exhibition, which includes an additional selection of works.

Mounira Al Solh & Bassam Ramlawi / Halil Altındere / Rossella Biscotti / Chto Delat? / Fokus Grupa (Iva Kovač & Elvis Krstulović) / Siniša Ilić / Sanja Iveković / Janez Janša / Janez Janša / Janez Janša / Lutz Krüger / Marina Naprushkina / Hila Peleg in collaboration with Tirdad Zolghadr and Anton Vidokle / Cesare Pietroiusti / Public Library / Greg Sholette / Mladen Stilinović / Wendelien Van Oldenborgh

Curated by What, How & for Whom / WHW

Calvert 22 Foundation
22 Calvert Avenue
London E2 7JP
Hours: Wednesday–Sunday noon–6pm;
first Thursdays noon–9pm
Admission free
T +44 (0) 20 7613 2141|
[email protected]
www.calvert22.org