Irwin exhibition BACK TO THE USA

To mark the thirtieth anniversary of Irwin, the exhibition Back to the USA, which originally opened on 2 April 1984 and closed on 7 April 1984, will be repeated. The original exhibition was a reconstruction of a group exhibition of contemporary American art which toured several Western European capitals in 1983 and 1984. Due to the size of the gallery, the Ljubljana show featured only a selection of works from the original show. Back to the USA was the first Irwin exhibition in a gallery, and as time has shown, it was their first major exhibition.

Because it was open for only a week, it was seen by only a limited yet excellent audience, most of them regular ŠKUC-goers. Because little has been written about the exhibition and because, since the establishment of the term re-enactment in contemporary art in the last decade, it has come to be considered an early example of re-enactment, we decided to present the exhibition to the Slovenian public again.

Dušan Mandić, Untitled, 1984. Graffiti paint and car lacquer, 315 x 600 cm. Image courtesy of Galerija Škuc, Ljubljana, and Galerija Gregor Podnar, Ljubljana and Berlin. Photo by Dejan Habicht.

Roman Uranjek, Untitled, 1984/2013. Print on fabric, 377 x 792 cm. Image courtesy of Galerija Škuc, Ljubljana, and Galerija Gregor Podnar, Ljubljana and Berlin. Photo by Dejan Habicht.

The exhibition will be in the same space, but reduced in scope, as the majority of works were meant to be used only once and made from the cheapest materials and paper. Only half of the works from the original exhibition thirty years ago will be on display: those which were presented or which could be mechanically reproduced.

Realisation of the Back to the USA exhibition:
Kovačič Marko, Mandič Dušan, Savski Andrej, Štokelj Bojan, Uranjek Roman, Vogelnik Borut