The Polish artistic tandem Pawel Althamer and Artur Żmijewski were exclusive guests of the Museum of Contemporary Art - Skopje from July 1 to 14, where they created new works in one of the museum's halls.

It was exciting to witness their collaborative work process, titled "Open Studio," within which the artists created the works that will be exhibited at the upcoming exhibition on Thursday.

It is about 30 artistic paintings on cardboard with acrylic paint and collages of old history books, maps, charts, atlases, posters, and educational charts.

It is significant that Žmievski and Altamer will donate a part of the works to the Museum and thus enrich the valuable collection. This gesture re-actualizes the donation of works by world-famous authors. Poland's role in the creation of the MSU building is of invaluable importance. MSU is a symbol of a united Skopje, when after the catastrophic earthquake in 1963, the United Nations passed a resolution stating that not only material aid is important, but also culture to lift the spirits of the victims. It was that resolution and the decision of the World Congress of Artists in New York that called on all world artists to donate their works for the destroyed Skopje and to break the foundations of the new building. At the announced competition, the first prize was won by the famous architectural studio "Tigri" from Poland. The Government of Poland, as a sign of solidarity, donated this project to Skopje, and today the MSU, among other significant works, has over 200 artistic donations from Polish artists (212 works by 135 artists) in its collection.

Given that the previous donations are from the period 1964-1990, Žmijevsky and Althamer are continuing the series of donations with contemporary works.

Last year, Zhmijevski had his first major solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Skopje. This presentation followed his participation in the international group exhibition "Everything We Have in Common" in 2019 at the museum. Another exclusivity is that this will be the first presentation of Pavel Althamer in Skopje.

Artur Żmieński (1966) is a visual artist living and working in Warsaw, an author with a rich artistic career, who is focused on creating installations, consisting of photography, film and video. In his works, he reveals the world of the “others”, who often go unnoticed. He records their everyday life, showing how physical and psychological limitations condemn these people to be marginalized in society. Through experiments with the participation of selected groups, he tries to understand difficult experiences and taboo topics. He has exhibited at some of the most important art events, such as the Venice Biennale and Documenta in Kassel, and was also the curator of the Berlin Biennale in 2012. His works are included in the collections of some of the most renowned art institutions in the world, such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Modern in London, and the Neue Pinakothek in Munich.

Pawel Althamer (1967) is a visual artist living and working in Warsaw. He works in various media such as sculpture, performance, installation, video. He creates sculptural self-portraits, appears in performances and videos, striving to experience the materiality of the body and define his own mental boundaries. Through actions involving entire communities, he wants to create social communities, confronting people through art. He questions the meaning of monumental monuments by the scale of his works and the randomness of his materials. His works call upon both Beuys' social sculpture and the legacy of Oskar Hansen's "Open Form". He can also be described as an artist with an affinity for "relational aesthetics". He has participated in the most important world exhibitions, including Documenta 10 (1997), the Venice Biennale (2003, 2013), the Berlin Biennale (2012), Skulptur Projekte Münster (2017). He is also the recipient of numerous awards, such as the Biennial Vincent van Gogh Prize for Contemporary Art in Europe in 2004.

Curators: Vladimir Jancevski, Iva Dimovski, Blagoja Varoshanec

The project is part of the Interdisciplinary Program of the MSU and is being implemented with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of North Macedonia and EVN Macedonia.