Igor Zabel (14 August 1958 – 23 July 2005) was a Slovene

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

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 a ...

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 between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

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 ar ...

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 com ...

in Slovenia. In 2007 he was posthumously awarded the Rožanc Award 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

. He graduated in

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

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 as ...

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 economi ...

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 (2004, with Barbara Steiner)

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