The Museum of Contemporary Art ( hr, Muzej suvremene umjetnosti, often abbreviated to MSU) is a

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 ...

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and th ...

located on

Dubrovnik Avenue Dubrovnik Avenue ( hr, Avenija Dubrovnik) is an avenue located in the Novi Zagreb part of Zagreb, Croatia. It is mostly six or eight lanes wide. Built in the mid 1950s, it runs for 4 kilometers between the roundabout beneath the southward extens ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. It is the biggest and most modern museum in the country.

History

The museum traces its origins from the ''City Gallery of Contemporary Art'' which was established in 1954. The gallery was located at the

Kulmer Palace Ferdinand Kulmer (29 January 1925 – 11 November 1998) was a Croatian abstract painter and teacher. He studied at the Budapest Academy of Fine Arts, the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts, and took special classes with Đuro Tiljak. Kulmer worked in th ...

in the Upper Town area and also housed the ''Center for Photography, Film and Television'' and a museum library. Due to lack of space the original museum never had a permanent display.

Architecture

In 1998, a decision was made to move the museum to a brand new building on the corner of Dubrovnik and Većeslav Holjevac avenues in

Novi Zagreb Novi Zagreb () is the part of the City of Zagreb located south of the Sava river. Novi Zagreb forms a distinct whole because it is separated from the northern part of the city both by the river and by the levees around Sava. At the same time, it i ...

district. A competition for the building's design was held, and architect

Igor Franić Igor Franić (born 1963) is a Croatian architect, best known for designing the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Franić won a competition for the building's design, his design winning out of 85 entries submitted. T ...

's design was chosen out of 85 entries submitted. The cornerstone for the new building was laid in November 2003, and the new museum finally opened on 11 December 2009, after six years of construction which was beset with several delays. Originally planned to cost around 200 million HRK, the cost eventually amounted to 450 million HRK (around 84 million US$), invested in equal parts by the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry ...

and the City of Zagreb. Msu-museum-contemporary-art-zagreb-2

The present building has a total area of 14,600 m², out of which 3,500 m² is reserved for its permanent collection and around 1,500 m² is designated for occasional exhibitions. The building also houses a library, a multimedia hall, a bookstore, cafe and a restaurant.

Permanent Collection

The museum houses a total of 12,000 objects (of which around 600 are on permanent display) and numerous works by contemporary Croatian artists, including

Vojin Bakić Vojin Bakić ( sr-cyrl, Војин Бакић; 5 June 1915 – 18 December 1992) was a prominent Yugoslav sculptor. Educated at the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts and by Ivan Meštrović and Frano Kršinić, Bakić's early works were dominated by ...

Boris Bućan Boris may refer to: People * Boris (given name), a male given name *:''See'': List of people with given name Boris * Boris (surname) * Boris I of Bulgaria (died 907), the first Christian ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, canonized after his d ...

, Tošo Dabac, Braco Dimitrijević, Tomislav Gotovac, Benko Horvat, Alexandar Battista Ilić, Sanja Iveković, Anto Jerković, Julije Knifer, Zlatko Kopljar, Ivan Kožarić,

Vlado Kristl Vladislav "Vlado" Kristl (24 January 1923, Zagreb, Croatia – 7 July 2004, Munich, Germany) was a filmmaker and artist, best known for his animations and short films. Biography Vladislav "Vlado" Kristl was born 24 January 1923 in Zagreb, Croati ...

, Vlado Martek,

Dalibor Martinis Dalibor may refer to: * Dalibor (name), Slavic surname and masculine given name * ''Dalibor'' (film), a 1956 Czech film * ''Dalibor'' (opera), 1868 opera by Bedřich Smetana, based on the life of Dalibor z Kozojed, the 15th century Czech knight ...

, Ivan Picelj,

Vjenceslav Richter Vjenceslav Richter (; 8 April 1917 – 2 December 2002) was a Croatian architect. He was also known for his work in the fields of urbanism, sculpture, graphic arts, painting and stage design. Career In 1949, Richter graduated at the Department o ...

, Edita Schubert, Mladen Stilinović, Miroslav Šutej; as well as international contemporary artists such as

Getulio Alviani Getulio Alviani (5 September 1939 in Udine – 24 February 2018 in Milan) was an Italian painter based in Milan. He is considered to be an important International Optical - kinetic artist. Life and work Alviani was born in Udine, where he sho ...

, Alberto Biasi,

Max Bill Max Bill (22 December 1908 – 9 December 1994) was a Swiss architect, artist, painter, typeface designer, industrial designer and graphic designer. Early life and education Bill was born in Winterthur. After an apprenticeship as a silversmit ...

, Piero Dorazio, Julio Le Parc, Richard Mortensen,

Otto Piene Otto Piene (pronounced PEE-nah, 18 April 1928 – 17 July 2014) was a German-American artist specializing in kinetic and technology-based art, often working collaboratively. He lived and worked in Düsseldorf, Germany; Cambridge, Massachusetts; a ...

Jesús Rafael Soto Jesús Rafael Soto (June 5, 1923 – January 17, 2005) was a Venezuelan op and kinetic artist, a sculptor and a painter. His works can be found in the collections of the main museums of the world, including Tate (London), Museum Ludwig (Germany ...

Victor Vasarely Victor Vasarely (; born Győző Vásárhelyi, ; 9 April 1906 – 15 March 1997) was a Hungarian-French artist, who is widely accepted as a "grandfather" and leader of the Op art movement. His work entitled ''Zebra'', created in 1937, is consid ...

Marina Abramović Marina Abramović ( sr-Cyrl, Марина Абрамовић, ; born November 30, 1946) is a Serbian conceptual and performance artist. Her work explores body art, endurance art, feminist art, the relationship between the performer and aud ...

, Dorothy Cross, Katarzyna Kozyra, etc. The '' Test Site'' metal sculpture by

Carsten Höller Carsten Höller (born December 1961) is a German artist. He lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden.Alice Rawsthorn (January 2012)"Cliff Hanger - The Ghanaian home of artists Carsten Höller and Marcel Odenbach goes above—and beyond" '' W Magazin ...

was installed in the entrance hall of the museum in time for the official opening, as were installations by Braco Dimitrijević and Mirosław Bałka in front of the building's south side entrance.

References

External links

Official websiteBrochure with basic information about the museum in EnglishArticle about museum's history
published in ''

Vijenac ''Vijenac'' ( English: '' The Wreath'') is a biweekly magazine for literature, art and science, established in December 1993 and published by ''Matica hrvatska'', the central national cultural institution in Croatia. Historical background The ...

'' {{authority control Art museums and galleries in Zagreb Contemporary art galleries in Europe Novi Zagreb 1954 establishments in Croatia Art museums established in 1954 Art museums established in 2009 Modernist architecture in Croatia

History

Architecture

Permanent Collection

See also

References

External links