Dear Art

Participating artists: Bassam Ramlawi; Cesare Pietroiusti; Fokus Grupa (Iva Kovač & Elvis Krstulović); Gregory Sholette; Halil Altındere; Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša; Lutz Krüger; Marina Naprushkina; Mladen Stilinović; Mounira Al Solh; Public Library; Rossella Biscotti; Sanja Iveković; Siniša Ilić; The platform Chto delat (What is to be done?); Wendelien van Oldenborgh; Hila Peleg

“Dear art, I am writing you a love letter to cheer you up and encourage you to come and visit me some time.” – Mladen Stilinovic, 1999

Inspired by a letter addressed to art by the Croatian conceptual artist Mladen Stilinović, Zagreb collective What, How and for Whom present an 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, poverty, manipulation and political content; the works question the relationship between art and commerce, or as Stilinović puts it ‘quick manipulation, quick money, quick oblivion’.

“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

WHW/What, How & for Whom are a critically acclaimed curatorial collective from Zagreb, Croatia, with a decade of international curatorial practice behind them, including the curatorship of the 2009 Istanbul Biennial. Dear Art is their first UK exhibition.

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

Curated by What, How & for Whom / WHW.