Tomas Bata University in Zlín

biennal exhibition

International Biennial of Fine Arts in Bratislava

After a successful premiere in Zlín, the International Biennial of Fine Arts Zlín – Bratislava (MBVU) is moving to Bratislava. The exhibition titled Sense of Self?! The Search for Identity through the Senses – Materiality of the Body presents works by 43 artists from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. Various art forms are represented – drawing, painting, graphics, sculpture, glass, installation, video and photography. The exhibition will run from 15 to 30 May at the Umelka Gallery.

The organiser of the MBVU is the Faculty of Multimedia Communications of Tomas Bata University in Zlín and the curators of the exhibition are Mgr. Lívia Kožušková, ArtD. and MgA. Miroslava Ptáčková, Ph.D. Nine art universities from the V4 countries also participated. The exhibition focuses on physicality as a bearer of identity and reflects on the individual experience of the body through various artistic approaches. The emphasis is on material expressiveness, detail and confrontation with social norms.

Slovak opera singer and scenographer Peter Mazalán will open the exhibition with an original performance Swan Song. “This Slovak artist is currently collaborating on original intermedia projects moving between art song, contemporary theatre, performance and visual art,” said Lívie Kožušková.

The Umelka Gallery offers not only space for large-format and three-dimensional works, but also intimate contact between the visitor and the artwork. The exhibition creates an environment for intergenerational dialogue, where established artists meet with students and graduates of art schools. The project builds on the FIGURAMA platform supporting the teaching of figurative drawing and brings new impulses to art education and international cooperation. “We would like to create a platform for cross-border cooperation between Zlín and Bratislava, where we would like to establish a new tradition of organising an art biennial,” adds Lívie Kožušková.

MBVU is not just an exhibition – it is a space for dialogue, discovery and growth. It creates a lively artistic environment where academia and experimental work intersect, and expands the boundaries of contemporary visual art in Central Europe.

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