Photo: Ema Sabo
Artget Gallery, KCB – Cultural Centre of Belgrade, Belgrade
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Mladen Bizumic
Archaeology of the Modern – The Case of Hotel Jugoslavija and Other Psychographies
“Mladen Bizumic: Archaeology of the Modern–The Case of Hotel Jugoslavija and Other Psychographies” uniquely activates the Artget Gallery space on the first floor of the Cultural Centre of Belgrade. The artist engages with the gallery’s location, oriented towards Republic Square, envisioning it as a public site where urban architecture, photography, and the viewer’s presence intersect. Across three distinct series BARYTA (2017–), Hotel Jugoslavija (2011–2025), and UNESCO’s Children (2019–) Bizumić engages the image as a site for negotiating the artist’s role in relation to broader questions of environmental and social consciousness. Rather than offering resolution, the works stage a critical reflection on how artistic practice can register and respond to the complex entanglements of nature, society, and perception.
Bizumić’s practice emerges from an ongoing investigation into the conditions of image production, with a particular focus on the intersections between digital and analogue formats and the contexts in which images appear. His works often take shape as site- and time-specific installations, structured to respond to their environment and to engage viewers directly. Developed over long periods, his research returns to recurring motifs, allowing their meanings to shift and accumulate through repetition and reinterpretation.
The series titled BARYTA gestures towards a critical interrogation of the photographic medium itself, referencing baryta paper (one of the most historically significant materials in photographic printing). The works depict samples of barite, a barium-based mineral housed in the Natural History Museum in Vienna. Each image functions as a fragment of a planetary landscape, a visual index of the geological site from which the specimen was extracted. Bizumić draws attention to the paradoxes embedded in the promotion of so-called ‘green alternatives’ in energy production, such as lithium for batteries, exposing the environmental degradation and ecological blind spots often obscured within prevailing narratives of progress.
Bizumić’s engagement with the case of Hotel Jugoslavija unfolds across two distinct temporal moments: first, between 2011 and 2013, following the building’s removal from the register of protected cultural sites; and later, in 2024 to 2025, as its demolition became all but inevitable. What began as an inquiry into the potential futures of modernist heritage becomes, upon return, a critique of the state’s systematic disavowal of cultural memory. The work traces the physical decline of a landmark alongside the ideological deterioration of modernism’s core ideals—collective progress, social ambition, and faith in industrial and technological advancement.
In UNESCO’s Children (Miró, the Serra de Tramuntana) (2019), these concerns crystallise around the vulnerability of both photography as a medium and the World Heritage sites it depicts, which are recognised for their exceptional cultural or natural value. Each image is hand-printed, with the photographic negative displayed alongside the print within a single frame. The pairing of negative and print rejects photography’s usual logic of reproduction. It foregrounds the material conditions and means of photographic production.
“Archaeology of the Modern – The Case of Hotel Jugoslavija and Other Psychographies” insists on the viewer’s active involvement, disrupting passive modes of seeing. By reconfiguring the gallery space and employing techniques such as double exposure, collage, and mixed media, Bizumić exposes the layered tensions between memory, materiality, and modernity. The works resist closure, prompting meaning to emerge through the viewer’s engagement with both the artwork and its location. This lends the exhibition a distinct site-sensitive quality.
Biography
Solo Exhibitions
2025
Archeologies of the Future, KCB-Cultural Centre of Belgrade, Serbien
2023
COPIA: Collection of Post-Industrial Arts, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
2019
The Ecology of Attention, Georg Kargl BOX, Vienna
Interiors of Photography (with Sophie Thun), Camera Austria, Graz
2018
Kunstbüro (with Yuki Hugashino), Vienna
BOOK (Photo Boom Photo Box), Kunstraum, Retz
2016
Kodak Employed 140.000 People. Instagram 13., MOSTYN. Wales
2015
Kodak: Reorganization Plan, Georg Kargl BOX, Vienna
Artissima (with David Maljkovic), Oval, Turin
2014
Bankruptcy and Reorganisation, ZAMEK Centre for Culture, Poznan
Kodak: la présence de l’image, galerie frank elbaz, Paris
2013
Kodachrome Presents, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Keep Me. Protect Me. Share Me, Galerie Karin Sachs, Munich
2012
Hotel Jugoslavija, Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade
180° (with Andreas Fogarasi), Neuer Kunstverein Wien, Vienna
Hotel Jugoslavija: A Repository with a View, Georg Kargl BOX, Vienna
2011
Untitled (Window Painting #5) (with Benjamin Hirte), Ve.sch, Vienna
2010
From Cube To Ball (Chapter 1), Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
From Cube To Ball (Chapter 2), Adam Art Gallery, Wellington
2009
Global Truths vs. Local Reflections, Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
America (with Ovul Durmusoglu), Parallel Event/Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul
After the Party, Hirschfeld, Berlin
Everyone is Welcome!, Uszynska Schaufenster, Vienna
2008
1st Translator’s Note – Le desir de philosophie, Zoo Galerie, Nantes
Everyone is Welcome!. Te Tuhi - Centre for the Arts, Auckland
2007
How If - A Translation in III Acts, Künstlerhaus Bethanien & PROGRAM, Berlin
Colonial Atmospheres, Physics Room, Christchurch
An Expedition Yet To Happen, Two Rooms, Auckland
2006
Superstructure Doubled (with Øystein Aasan), Korridor, Berlin
Crystal Memorial, Charim Galerie, Vienna
2005
Planet Wittgenstein, Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
2004
event.horizon.black.hole, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin
Aipotu: Love Will Tear Us Apart, Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
Aipotu: Love Will Tear Us Apart (again), Hocken Collections, Dunedin
2003
Fiji Biennele Pavilions, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth
The Night Shift, Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
event.horizon, Ramp Gallery, Hamilton
2002
Tauranga Guggenheim, ARTSPACE, Auckland
A Beautiful Afterlife, Window, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
7000 Rimu Trees, Rear Window, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin
2001
Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
Group Exhibitions
2024
By the Means at Hand: Vlatka Horvat, Croatian Pavilion, 60th Venice Biennale
Bringing Owls from Athens, Georg Kargl BOX x Callirrhoë, Athens, Georg Kargl BOX, Vienna
2023
Synchron, Ela Nord Studio, Vienna
Unearthing the Collection: October Salon Collection, Cultural Center, Belgrade
Little Precious Things, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
2022
Metadata: Rethinking Photography from the 21st Century, The Ringling, Sarasota, FL
AFFAIR, Savremena Galerijy Contemporary Gallery Subotice, Szabadka
Mutual Aid, Neadertal, London
2021
Enjoy - the mumok Collection in Change, mumok, Vienna
GEORG KARGL EDITIONS, Georg Kargl Permanent, Vienna
2020
OUTGOING DISPATCH, Artspace Aotearoa, Auckland
Would You Be Available…, Georg Kargl Permanent, Vienna
Bakelite: The Georg Kargl Collection, MAK, Vienna
Mulberry Tubes, Galerie Göttlicher, Krems
2019
Uncanny Values, 3rd Vienna Biennale, MAK, Vienna
Dialogue, Gesellschaft für projektive Ästhetik, Georg Kargl, Vienna
2018
Futurs Antérieurs, Maison Guerlain, Parcours Privé de la Fiac, Paris
Between Us, Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade
Concentration - A Tribute, Gesellschaft für projektive Ästhetik, Georg Kargl, Vienna
Reduction, Gesellschaft für projektive Ästhetik, Georg Kargl, Vienna
2017
Traces of Time, Leopold Museum, Vienna
Ponovo Upotrebiti, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
Out of Site, Adam Art Gallery, Victoria University, Wellington
Secret Art Sale, Te Tuhi – Centre for the Arts, Auckland
2016
A Matter of Memory, Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York
This Is Your Replacement, Sies + Höke, Düsseldorf
Ouverture pour inventaire, FRAC Pays de la Loire, Nantes
Undreamed of..., Dunedin Public Gallery & Hocken Collections, Dunedin
2015
Le bon ton, Cultural Centre Belgrad, Belgrade
Repeat / Personal, Porous Space, Vienna
New Acquisitions, Moderna Galerija, Subotica
Etiquette: New Acquisitions October Salon, Cultural Centre of Belgrade
Our Hearts of Darkness, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth
2014
Hier & Jetzt, Stift Klosterneuburg, Klosterneuburg
Cut it, Scratch it, Stitch it, Keep it, Fotogalleriet, Oslo
Artists Using Photography, GESSO, Vienna
Freedom Farmers, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
2013
Chambres de luxe, Kunstmuseum, Thun
Memory of Space – Space of Memory, Moderna Galerija, Subotica
Was ist Kunst? Resuming Fragmented Histories, KM – Künstlerhaus, Graz
Ephemeral Self, Finite Projections, The Gallery of the National Technical Library, Prague
21st Century Collecting, Adam Art Gallery, Victoria University, Wellington
2012
Good Life, 53rd October Salon, Belgrade
Long Day, Fei Contemporary Art Centre, Shanghai
2011
Erschaute Bauten, MAK, Vienna
Dancing in the Rhyme, Kumho Art Museum, Seoul
Pawn Shop, Kopfbau, Basel
This is Happening II, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
Opening Borders/Opening Objects, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
Wallpaper, Motel Campo – espace d’art polyvalent, Geneva
Drift of Summer, RM, Auckland
Dienstag Abend Editions, Ve.Sch, Vienna
First Impressions, TSB Wallace Arts Centre, Auckland
All Black, Tauranga Art Gallery, Tauranga
2010
Phoenix vs. Babel, Fondation d'Entreprise Ricard, Paris
Thriller, Rigaerstr. 69, Berlin
The Forgotten Bar, Galerie Im Regierungsviertel, Berlin
2009
Video from Aotearoa, Heidelberger Kunstverein, Heidelberg
For Keeps, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
2008
Common Affairs, steirischer herbst festival, Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz
Space Chase, Magnus Müller Galerie, Berlin
Zapping Unit, Le Ferme du Buisson, Paris
If You Carry A Hammer A Lot of Things Look Like Nails, Skalitzerstr. 64, Berlin
Earth Matters, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Video from Aotearoa, Co-Lab, Copenhagen
In Shifting Light, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Drawings, Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
2007
Istanbul Biennale, Istanbul
00s’, Lyon Biennale, Museum Of Contemporary Art, Lyon
Art of the Nation, Te Papa – Museum of New Zealand, Wellington
Through the Painting, 2nd Moscow Biennale, Federation Tower, Moscow
Invisible/Invincible, Curators Without Borders, Berlin
2006
Hidetide, Zacheta National Art Gallery, Warsaw
Hidetide, CAC, Vilnius
Busan Biennale, Metropolitan Art Museum, Busan
Don't Misbehave, SCAPE Biennale, Christchurch
Play, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Perth
Play, Adam Art Gallery, Wellington
2005
Re: Modern, Künstlerhaus Wien, Vienna
Truer Than the Truth, Charim Galerie, Vienna
Playground, Art Play Architecture & Design Centre, Moscow
Skin Oil, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Small World, Big Town, City Gallery, Wellington
Showcase, The Wallace Trust Gallery, Auckland
2004
We are the World, Chelsea Art Museum, New York
Everyday Minimal, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Break-Shift, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth
International Art Fair and Cake Stall, Blue Oyster Gallery, Dunedin
2003
Vecu, Conical Artspace, Melbourne
Break, Govett-Brewster Gallery, New Plymouth
2002
Sublime Indigo, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton
Botanica, Gus Fisher Gallery, Auckland
7000 Rimu Trees, Rear Window, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin
Video, Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
I See, The Croft Institute, Melbourne
2001
Bright Paradise, 1st Auckland Triennial, Auckland
Public Collections / Museumssammlungen
MUMOK - Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Vienna
MAK – Museum für angewandte Kunst / Gegenwartskunst Vienna
Fotosammlung des Bundes – Museum der Moderne Salzburg
FRAC - Fonds Régional d'Art Contemporain, Nantes
Te Papa - Museum of New Zealand, Wellington
Victoria University Art Collection, Wellington
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Wallace Arts Trust, Auckland
Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth
Hocken Collections, University of Otago, Dunedin
Moderna Galerija, Subotica
October Salon Collection, Kulturni Centar, Belgrade
Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York
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