Page 32 - Studio International - December 1973

THE BIENNALE

OF GRAPHICS,

LJUBLJANA,1973
This year the tenth biennale exhibition of
graphics was held in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia. The
first Ljubljana exhibition was also the first
international graphics exhibition ever held, and
the Ljubljana biennale remains to this day the
largest. Why ?
In 1948, when Yugoslavia broke off relations
with Russia, the way was opened to the West.
In the arts, as in everything, there was a
desperate rush to take full advantage of it. In
Ljbuljana, the capital of Slovenia, the best
possibilities seemed to lie in the direction of
graphics.
Firstly, at that time the Slovene artists
Bozidar Jakàc and Milac Males were among the
only resident Yugoslav artists interested in
graphics. During the early 195os a number of
exhibitions of specific kinds of graphics were
held: that of the Swiss group, SELON,
concerned with woodcuts and the Cincinnati
Group specializing in woodcuts. Then Jakac
suggested that it might be a good idea to hold an
international exhibition of graphics, not confined
to any category.
This suggestion was accepted, and the director (Above)
of the Modern Gallery, Zoran Krizisnik, went Adriana Maraz
to Paris where he contacted the Yugoslav artist Razdvojenost 1972
Zoran Surma Music. Through him Krizisnik (Left)
was able to contact most of the School of Paris : Vladimir Velickovic
Naissance d'une bate 5972
Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Léger and others.
This formed the nucleus of the first exhibition in
1955, and the School of Paris continued to
exhibit as a group until 1965. Since then artists
have exhibited almost exclusively by
nationalities (the exceptions will be referred to
in a moment). In this year's exhibition 47
countries took part; they were represented in
the main exhibition alone by nearly 40o artists
and over i000 works. Because the choice by the
official bodies was not always satisfactory and
because there is a need to limit the number of the Frenchman, Henri Georges Adam, who won in succession to Rauschenberg and Vasarely was
works, there is a proposal that in 1975 the the prize in 1957, as his work was more an attempt to assert standards of excellence as
choice will be made by an international abstract, but the technique was rather similar. against avant-garde trends.
selection committee, who would invite artists to A break was made in style and technique with The next two prize winners, the Yugoslav
exhibit and, as is done at present, select from the choice of Soulages's abstract expressionist Janez Bernik and the Japanese Kosuke
works submitted unsolicited. A formidable and (tachist) aquatints of 1959, but there was a Kimura, have much in common. They both
hazardous undertaking. reversion to traditional print-making in 1961 work with a photo-montage or collage
One feature of this year's exhibition was of when the delicate mezzotints of the Japanese technique, which is related to Rauschenberg's
considerable interest. Because it was the tenth artist, Yozo Hamaguchi, were chosen. In 1963 work of the early 1960s. Had Bernik been
biennale, it was decided to exhibit work by the there was a great leap forward in the choice of selected in 1967 in place of Tapies, which
grand prix winners of each of the previous nine Rauschenberg's lithographs. Incredible though might have been the case were it not for the
biennales. These works were housed in a cool it may seem now, this was the first international Yugoslays' modest reluctance to push their own
basement gallery away from the other exhibits award Rauschenberg had won. In the claimants, we might have had a smoother
and they enabled the spectator to study the path exhibition there was only one work from this picture of the development of graphics. But,
of graphics over the last two decades, and also period (1964), the rest were an extremely much as I admire the work of Bernik, there is
to adjust his standards before coming to grips impressive set of studies of the anatomy of little at the moment to beat the complete
with the current exhibition. boxes, the Tampa series, 1972. The choice of assurance and nonchalance of Kimura: he can
In 1955 the grand prix was won by an seriographs by Vasarely in 1965 was also far- put together the face of a clown, an athlete, the
American artist, Armin Landeck. 1955 may not sighted: it was his first international prize also. head of a girl and bits of architecture, and
seem so very long ago, yet Landeck's etchings The choice in 1967 of Tapies may seem to they gel.
could have been done any time since Piranesi. have been retrograde, but these were among One criticism of the choice of prizewinners
The same could not be said of the etchings of Tapies's finest prints and the choice of Tapies over the last twenty years might be that, with

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