exhibition opening: 1. 10. 2020 at 18:00
exhibition duration: 2. 10. 2020 - 29. 8. 2021
curator: Štefánia Ďuricová
East Slovak Gallery, Alžbetina 22
The Exhibition The Enchantment of Appearances documents the presence of fashion in selected works of artists working within the area of today’s Slovakia in the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, mainly in the urban environment. The title of the exhibition is a reference to the first part of Gilles Lipovetsky's book The Empire of Fashion, in which the author deals with the history of fashion, and points to the emergence of marketing strategies and a free market from the perspective of consumer society. On the one hand, fashion illustrates the aristocratic ethos of pomp and spending, while standing in contrast to the modern bourgeois spirit of frugality. On the other hand, fashion fits into the structure of modern society and affects the playful superficiality of the fashionable world. With the advent of mass production as a result of the industrial revolution, the turn of the century witnessed the formation of the fashion industry in large cities. Until then, the concept of a free selection of goods had been almost unknown.
Fashion trends of the time are represented in selected works mainly from the collection of the East Slovak Gallery, supplemented by loans from various institutions. The exhibition does not aim to present an in-depth analysis of clothing in this period, but thematically analyses the importance of taste and status demonstrated by the fashion pursuits of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie. Cosmopolitan and bohemian fashion trends can be observed in the works of artists such as Elemír Halász-Hradil, Ernest Rákosi, Ákos Aranyossy, Maximilián Kurth, Július Éder, Konštantín Kövári-Kačmarik, Július Rudnay, Andrej Bača, Koloman Hažlinský, Ľudovít Čordák, Emil Alexay-Olexák, Leopold Horovitz, Július Török, István Csók and others.
The exhibition project prepared by the East Slovak Gallery presents a microview of bourgeois fashion in the period between 1890 and 1914, which is represented in 60 works – paintings, drawings and graphic prints. The exhibition is complemented by reproductions of period photographs from the East Slovak Museum. Fashion trends of the time are represented in selected works mainly from the collection of the East Slovak Gallery, supplemented by loans from various institutions.
Collaborating organisations: Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava City Gallery, Spiš Artists’ Gallery,Šariš Gallery in Prešov, East Slovak Museum, Liptov Gallery of Peter Michal Bohúň, Central Slovak Gallery in Banská Bystrica, State Research Library in Košice, Kogart Budapest.
The East Slovak Gallery owes its thanks for the financial support to the Košice Self-Governing Region.
