Articles

Abstract

The article describes features of the space where contemporary art can be exhibited and installed organically, as contrasted with the space of museification reserved for the fine art. When avant-garde art was first exhibited in galleries in the early 20th century exhibitions, the new art clashed with the pre-existing artworks and the exhibition space itself. It became obvious that contemporary art needs different kinds of spaces to be shown properly. By the end of the century, new forms of contemporary art and widely ranging art practices have left galleries and museums to explore the unusual spaces: decommissioned and desolate industrial and urban territories, as well as city streets and squares. At the same time, contemporary art of the early 21st century has re-discovered traditional — although considerably changed — exhibition spaces in specially designed galleries and art museums of multi-purpose cultural complexes. How does the changing culture influence the chronotope of contemporary art? What grounds, artistically and aesthetically, the spatial transformation of contemporary art and its positioning? Finally, how do these conditions influence the public’s interaction with the art? These are the questions addressed in this article.