The Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) will explore the impressive concrete structures of the former Yugoslavia, highlighting the urban vision created during the years of communism, at an exhibition which will be opened this summer.
The name of the exhibition is “Toward a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948-1980” and will present examples of different architectural styles which appeared in the former state. Among the works, there will be examples of large public squares such as the Republic Square in Ljubljana.
A total of 400 drawings, models, photographs and films will show the most impressive samples in the architecture, plans and construction of the region, from skyscrapers in the international style to brutal socialist buildings. All of this, according to the announcement, is part of the manifestation of radical pluralism, hybridism and idealism, which encompassed Yugoslavia itself.
Because of its turbulent history, Yugoslavia is a unique example of study. The community created after the First World War in 1929 was renamed in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, thus the monarchy was abolished and communist government was established, which spurred many monumental construction projects and huge utopian urban plans similar to those in the Soviet Union during that period.
Architects such as Bogdan Bogdanovic, Juraj Neidhardt, Svetlana Kana Radevic, Edward Ravnikar, Vjenceslav Richter and Milica Steric have become important persons. Among the examples of prominent projects that will be presented at the exhibition in New York, there will be the interior of the White Mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reconstruction of Skopje after the devastating earthquake, as well as Novi Beograd with its huge residential blocks.
The exhibition at the MoMA Museum will be organized by Martino Stierli with the help of Anne Kats and guest, curator Vladimir Kulic, and will be open from July 15th 2018 to January 13th 2019.
(Source: klix.ba/Photo: archinect.com)
