Historical Overview

When the National gallery, at that time the only national collection of art, moved to its new premises in the thirties, it became apparent that a juxtaposition of historical works representing the hallowed national art tradition and contemporary works by living artists was no longer appropriate. To present contemporary art, not just a new building but a separate institution - fulfilling the twofold function of housing the museum collection and showing exhibitions, as well as functioning as an educational centre for modern art - was required. According to the original idea, the Moderna galerija was even to act as an art dealer, and its facilities were meant to include artists' studios. This ambitious project was able to begin when the heirs of the industrialist Dragotin Hribar donated a considerable sum of money to fund the museum. The initiative was provided by Dr. Izidor Cankar, an art historian, critic, writer and diplomat, who decisively cooperated throughout in the creation of the concept of the new museum of art. The architectural design was made by a renowned Slovene architect Edvard Ravnikar. The construction works, almost completed by 1941, were brought to a halt at the outbreak of war and the building served as a military warehouse until 1945. After the end of the war, building continued, and the first exhibition opened in November 1947; in line with the spirit of the time, four prominent Soviet artists of Socialist Realism were presented. The Moderna galerija was formally founded by decree of the government of the People's Republic of Slovenia on 30 December 1947, which took effect on 3 January 1948. The painter Gojmir Anton Kos was the first director of the gallery (1948-49), followed by Dr. Karel Dobida (1952-57). Zoran Kržišnik, who had actually been the manager of the Moderna galerija since 1947, succeeded him in 1957 and held this position until 1986. From 1986 to 1992, the director of the Moderna galerija was Dr. Jure Mikuž, and from 1992 on Zdenka Badovinac.

Lively exhibition activities began immediately after the founding, and the first permanent exhibition presenting Slovene art from Impressionism until 1950 opened in 1951. The Moderna galerija has prepared a series of important exhibitions and other presentations, many of which have been pivotal in the development of Slovene art. Some of these are: the exhibition of Slovene Impressionism in 1949, which was an important victory over extreme ideological dogma; the exhibition of Riko Debenjak and Stane Kregar in 1953, which opened up the question of Abstract art; the Henry Moore exhibition in 1955, which gave a powerful stimulus to Modernist tendencies; and the first international graphic art exhibition in the same year, which began the important tradition of international biennials of graphic art. In later years, too, the exhibitions at the Moderna galerija were often key events. Crucial for the avant-garde movement in the sixties were the exhibitions of the OHO group in 1968 and in 1969. The 1976 exhibition of the three abstract painters, Tomo Podgornik, Tugo Šušnik and Andraž Šalamun, introduced a new understanding of the Abstract painting and its tradition. In 1979 Moderna galerija presented an important historical exhibition Slovene Art 1945 - 1978 and in 1986 an exhibition on Expressionism and the New Objectivity in Slovenia.

The Moderna galerija, of course, continued throughout these years to stage retrospective exhibitions and major survey shows presenting key Slovene artists and artistic phenomena. The Museum has started its exhibition programme of international contemporary art in the early 1950s, and it is still one of the museum's major concerns.

The significance of the international exhibition programme in the work of Moderna galerija has grown considerably and the major names in contemporary world art are regularly presented in individual and group exhibitions.

The building

The Moderna galerija is one of the first important works of Edvard Ravnikar (1907-1993), who was the central personality in Slovene architecture after the Second World War, both as an architect and urban planner and as a teacher. Ravnikar made the outline design proposals in 1936, and completed the plans in 1939. His scheme was the result of careful thought on the needs and functions of a museum of contemporary art. He designed a building in which the exhibition spaces were not hierarchically differentiated, while, at the same time, allowing sufficient flexibility for display areas to be adapted to individual works of art or collections. The idea of a central hall giving access to all the other exhibition rooms makes it possible to mount various exhibitions and displays independently, while the neutral space allows individual approaches to the presentation of particular exhibits. In general, the Moderna galerija building has managed to synthesize the tradition of Plečnik's architecture, which is best seen in the stone facade and windows, with the principles and forms of contemporary rationalist and functionalist architecture. This duality shows the way in which Ravnikar's architectural language changed during this time, since from a starting point in Plečnik's school he had arrived at the principles of Modern rationalism. (In fact, in 1939, Ravnikar worked for a time with Le Corbusier.) However, in this synthesis of languages there is no eclecticism, but an approach which matches the dual needs of a Museum building, which, on the one hand, has to fulfil a representative function, and on the other, must be laid out as practically and functionally as possible.