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Igor Zabel (14 August 1958 – 23 July 2005) was a Slovene art historian,
curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...
, and
essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal ...
ist. He was curator at the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, ...
in
Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the a ...
and one of the most prominent writers on modern and
contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic co ...
in Slovenia. In 2007 he was posthumously awarded the
Rožanc Award The Rožanc Award ( sl, Rožančeva nagrada) is a literary award in Slovenia awarded each year for the best collection of essays in Slovene. It has been bestowed since 1993. It is named after the author, playwright and journalist Marjan Rožanc ...
for his essays on Modern and Contemporary Art. ''The Igor Zabel Association for Culture and Theory'' and its ''Igor Zabel Award'' carry his name, in the memory of his work.


Life

Zabel was born in
Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the a ...
. He graduated in Philosophy,
History of Art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetic vis ...
, and
Comparative literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...
at the
University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...
in 1982. In 1989, he received his
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
from the same university. Between 1984 and 1986, Igor Zabel worked as a freelance writer. In 1986, he started working as curator at the Ljubljana Museum of Modern Art, later gaining the title of senior curator. In 2003 he worked as a curator for the
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
. Hi died on 23 July 2005 due to complications that followed a knee surgery.


The Igor Zabel Association for Culture and Theory

Two years after Igor Zabel's sudden death, in 2007, his family members along the
ERSTE Foundation ERSTE Foundation (in German DIE ERSTE österreichische Spar-Casse Privatstiftung or in short: ERSTE Stiftung) is the biggest Austrian savings bank foundation. In 2003, it evolved from the Erste Oesterreichische Spar-Casse, the first Austrian savin ...
founded ''The Igor Zabel Association for Culture and Theory''. The association reports its goal as the promotion of the ongoing importance of Zabel's work "for art and cultural understanding between East and West" Europe. The ''Igor Zabel Award'' for outstanding cultural activities related to the
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
and South Eastern European region and the ''Igor Zabel Competition'' for innovative curatorial approaches and theoretical research in contemporary visual arts are both named after him.


Work

Zabel's research focused on
post-communist Post-communism is the period of political and economic transformation or transition in former communist states located in Eastern Europe and parts of Africa and Asia in which new governments aimed to create free market-oriented capitalist econo ...
literature and art in Eastern and Central Europe. His complete bibliography can be found at the Associatio
website


Exhibitions


In Ljubljana

* Aspects of the Minimal: Minimal Art in Slovenia 1968–1980 (1990); * OHO–A Retrospective (1994); * Inexplicable Presence: Curator's Working Place (1997); * Tank! Slovene Historical Avant-Garde (1998, with Breda Ilich Klančnik); * The Eye and Its Truth (2001); * Seven Sins: Ljubljana - Moscow (2004; with
Zdenka Badovinac Zdenka Badovinac is a curator and writer, is the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb, Croatia. She served between 1993 and 2021 as director of the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana, comprised since 2011 of two locations: the Museum o ...
and Viktor Misiano); * Slovene Art 1975–2005 (2003–05, with Igor Španjol). * Individual Systems, at the 50th Venice Biennale (2003) * 33rd Zagreb Salon, at the Museum and Gallery Centre Zagreb (1998); * Aspects/Positions, at the Museum moderner Kunst – Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna (1999, along with the chief curator: Lóránd Hegyi); * The Future Is Not What It Used To Be,
Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig The Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig (GfZK) (English: Gallery for Contemporary Art) is an exhibition center for contemporary art and a museum for art post 1945 in Leipzig, Germany, in a beautiful location opposite Johannapark. Histor ...
(2004, with
Barbara Steiner Barbara Steiner (born 1964) is an Austrian art historian, curator, author, and editor. Steiner is the director of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation. She served as the director of the Leipzig Museum of Contemporary Art from 2001 to 2011, and as the d ...
)


Published works


Short stories

* ''Strategije, taktike'' (1985) * ''Lise na steni'' (1993) *Magazine of Moderna galerija Ljubljana M’ars


Collection of Essays

* ''Vmesni prostor: eseji o slikarstvu Emerika Bernarda'' ntermediate Space: Essays on Emeric Bernard's Painting(1991) * Speculationes (1997) * ''Connected Cities'' (1999); * ''L’autre moitié de l’Europe'' (The Other Half of Europe) (2000); * Primary Documents: A Primer of Critical Writing on Critical Art in Eastern Central Europe (2002). * ''Eseji I'' and ''II'' [Essays I and II; posthumously (2006 and 2008) * Igor Zabel: Contemporary Art Theory (after his death)


Edition and Translation

He edited the Manifesta Journal: Journal of Contemporary Curatorship (with Viktor Misiano) and the Magazine of Moderna galerija Ljubljana M’ars. He also translated to translations numerous texts and books from the field of humanities and literature: Thomas Pynchon, Edward W. Said, Oscar Wilde, Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein, Sigmund Freud, Michael Baxandall, Erwin Panofsky.


Published works

* ''Strategije, taktike'', short stories, 1985 * ''Vmesni prostor: eseji o slikarstvu Emerika Bernarda'', collection of essays, 1991 * ''Lise na steni'', short stories, 1993 * ''Speculationes'', collection of essays, 1997 * ''Eseji I'', collection of essays, 2006 * ''Eseji II'', collection of essays, 2008


References


External links


Igor Zabel Association for Culture and Theory site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zabel, Igor Slovenian art historians Slovenian essayists Writers from Ljubljana 1958 births 2005 deaths University of Ljubljana alumni 20th-century essayists