Description
An exhibition of MODEM’s public collection through the lens of generational theory
“We understand each other without finishing our sentences!?”
Founded in 2006, the MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Arts reached an important milestone in 2023: having previously operated as a gallery, it joined the network of museum institutions. The most significant outcome of this transition was that its collection became a public collection, accessible to the wider community.
What Year Were You Born? is the permanent exhibition of the collection of the MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Arts in Debrecen.
The exhibition draws on a collection that has continued to grow over the past 18 years through collecting activities, artwork acquisitions, works produced at the Debrecen International Artists’ Colony, and donations from artists. The curatorial selection applies the perspectives of generational research, presenting works across various artistic media that reflect the institution’s professional profile. Drawing on generational theory, the exhibition’s sections are organised according to the artists’ years of birth, rather than the aesthetic, art-theoretical, or art-historical categories associated with their practices or works. The exhibition features works by nearly fifty artists, spanning the so-called Lost Generation through to Generation Z.
In selecting the works, the curators also sought to ensure that the exhibition would provide a fitting representation of MODEM’s cultural activities over the past 18 years. The selection therefore includes artists who have shaped the institution’s identity through solo exhibitions or as key participants in major group shows.
Exhibiting artists:
Lost Generation: Vilmos Aba-Novák
Founders (Builders): Judit Reigl, Vera Molnár
Veterans: Ákos Birkás, Ilona Keserü, László Lakner, István Nádler, Endre Tót, Zoltán Tölg-Molnár
Baby Boomers: Imre Bukta, Lajos Csontó, Ágnes Eperjesi, László Fehér, László feLugossy, Imre Gábor, Pál Gerber, Balázs Kicsiny, Ilona Lovas, Sándor Pinczehelyi, Gyula Várnai
Generation X: Zsolt Asztalos, Emese Benczúr, Attila Csörgő, Marcell Esterházy, Tibor Gyenis, Kriszta Nagy x-T, Péter Pettendi Szabó, Sára Richter, Katharina Roters, Société Réaliste, József Szolnoki
Generation Y: Nikolett Balázs, Kincső Bede, Máté Dobokay, Tim Freiwald, Judit Ágnes Gallai, Judit Lilla Molnár, Márton Nemes, Renata Pintérova, Judit Flóra Schuller, Lilla Váczi
Generation Z: Dorottya Szonja Koltay
Curator: Szabolcs Süli-Zakar (Generation X)
Co-curator: Krisztián Gábor Török (Generation Z)
The catalogue can be ordered by emailing jegypenztar@modemart.hu.
Please include:
Your preferred collection or delivery method: free collection from MODEM during opening hours, or delivery to your specified address following payment in advance by bank transfer.
The buyer’s name, contact details (email address or telephone number), and billing address;
The catalogue title and the number of copies requested;
