Art Collection Telekom: Fragile Sense of Hope

A panorama of the most exciting art from Eastern and Southern Europe

The title “Fragile Sense of Hope” expresses the basic mood of an entire region. The fall of the Iron Curtain a little over twenty-five years ago has led to dramatic changes in the structures of everyday life in the societies of Eastern Europe, accompanied by a tenuous sense that a better future is within reach. Ideological systems of value dictated by the state fell apart overnight. Entire generations had to reinvent their lives and aspirations. People must decide what to commemorate and what to reassess. Artists are especially sensitive to the repression of the memory of an entire era. They call the constructions of historiographers in question and create works in which forgetting and remembering are central issues. In this book, Deutsche Telekom presents a first survey of selected holdings from its Art Collection Telekom that exemplify the narrative energy of Eastern and Southern Europe’s art scenes. The collection, which was established in 2010 and acquires works in all media, including drawings, paintings, photographs, and videos/films, seeks to capture the exciting artistic developments in the countries of Eastern Europe and shed lights on their social and political transformation. The volume showcases seventy works by twenty artists.

With essays by Yane Calovski, Dorota Monkiewicz, Joanna Mytkowska, Walter Seidl, Rainald Schumacher, and Nathalie Hoyos and a preface by Hans-Christian Schwingen.

Artists: Mihuț Boșcu Kafchin, Danica Dakić, Stanisław Dróżdż, Petra Feriancová, Igor Grubić, Aneta Grzeszykowska, Nilbar Güreş, Petrit Halilaj, Vladimír Houdek, Šejla Kamerić, Ali Kazma, Genti Korini, Eva Kotátková, Zofia Kulik, Şükran Moral, Ciprian Mureșan, Vlad Nancă, Paul Neagu, Paulina Ołowska, Roman Ondák, Dan Perjovschi, Agnieszka Polska, Nedko Solakov, Mladen Stilinović, Nil Yalter