Vedran Perkov’s environment at G-MK represents a direct critical reflection on the power relations within the world of art, old and new hegemonies, the disbalance of the periphery/center relations, and the still pervading matrix of exotization and neocolonialism.’Everything In Its Right Place’ questions the possibility of artists’ critical positioning and acting on the one hand, and the social and institutional paralysis on the other. In his encouragement of, as the artist says – intelletual interactivity, Perkov focuses the attention on the question of the crisis of audience in contemporary art, touching upon real challenges of participation. Bringing the audience to direct contact with the ‘unclean’ and unrepresentational place of ‘physical work’, the artist at the same time points to the invisible work, preceding the presentation.
In the architectural intervention at Galerija Miroslav Kraljević, using cheap materials that reflect the conditions of production in the local contemporary art scene, Perkov creates an environment that warns of the general crisis of art institutions and the devaluation of the social status of contemporary art as well as its accomplishemnts as critical activity and the artist as social agent.
With this project, Perkov continues to question the mechanisms at work within the field of contemporary art playing also, not witout (self)irony, with predetermined positions of models of production and presentation, reacting at the same time to the same models that Galerija Miroslav Kraljevic frequently questions and destabilises within its program, pointing to the need for critical reexamining, displacing and increased flexibility of positions and expectations of all included.
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Vedran Perkov’s exhibition at Galerija Miroslav Kraljević is part of the Radoslav Putar Award program, initiated and organized by the Institute for Contemporary Art, Zagreb. It follows the artist’s 6-week residency, during February and March, 2008, at ISCP, New York, where the artist stayed as the winner of the 2007 Award. Galerija Miroslav Kraljević , has the role of co-producer and organizer of the Award winning artist solo exhibition. Each year, the exhibition at G-MK marks also the closing of one, and beginning of the next cycle of the Radoslav Putar Award. So far, the winners of the Award have been: Tanja Dabo (2002), Nika Radić (2003), Igor Eškinja (2004), Antun Bozicevic (2005), Tina Gverović (2006) and Vedran Perkov (2007).
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Vedran Perkov was born in Split in 1972. He has graduated painting at Art Academy Brera in Milan, Italy. He is now teaching at painting department of Art Academy at Split University. He is member of HULU, Split and HZSU; he exhibits since 1997 in Croatia and abroad.