Last night, an exhibition by Icelandic artist Erró was opened at the Petrović’s Castle and House of King’s Guard of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro.

Speaking at the opening were the director of the MCAM,  Vladislav Šćepanović, and the exhibition curators, Maša Vlaović and Danielle Kvaran.

“For me, Erro’s exhibition carries a dual symbolism – he comes from a country that was the first to recognize Montenegro’s independence in recent history, and also because he is an artist whose work I admired since I was a young artist, dreaming of how wonderful it would be for his works to be seen by audiences in Montenegro,” emphasized Šćepanović.

Curator of Erró’s collection at the Reykjavik Art Museum, Danielle Kvaran, stated that the exhibition represents a selection of works from Erró’s collection at the Reykjavik Art Museum.

“This collection, which comprises over 4000 works, is the result of the artist’s donation to Reykjavik. The exhibition is conceived as a mini-retrospective, emphasizing Erró’s major contribution to art history: the invention of ‘painted collage,’ or paintings made from collages. The exhibition showcases various series of works – collages, paintings, and graphics – that Erró has created from the late 1950s to the present day.”

Vlaović stated that Erró’s art represents a kind of social activism that opposes and criticizes global capitalism, where the artist takes the position of an observer and critic of social movements, facing the challenges of constantly questioning various phenomena.

“He is an engaged creator who, in a social and artistic sense, reacts and fights against the alienated world and consumer society, emphasizing primarily aesthetic, humane, and ethical values.”

Vlaović emphasized that at the core of Erró’s painting, there are always grand ideas for which he actively fights, namely that the audience should not be passive recipients of a molded way of thinking and living.

“This is why Erró emphasizes in his interviews that he is a critic artist who has never fit into predetermined molds. His great creative energy, recognizable style, dedicated and committed work offer new insights into different events and categorize Erró among those artists who are focused on the future and have the courage to convey very significant messages through their visionary art, disrupting the observer from the field of prescribed schemes and conformities, because, as Tolkien said – courage can be found in unexpected places,” concluded Vlaović.

Finally, Vlaović expressed gratitude to the MCAM team for their dedicated and exhaustive work on the realization of this significant project.

The exhibition is the result of collaboration between the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro and the Reykjavik Art Museum, providing Montenegrin audiences with the opportunity to explore the rich legacy and essential contribution of the prominent Icelandic artist Erro to the global art scene.

The exhibition was supported by the Montenegro Police Administration, Montenegro Airports, the Secretariat for Traffic of the Capital City of Podgorica, and the Radio Television of Montenegro.

The exhibition will be open to the public until May 6, 2024.