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| New Tendencies | |
|---|---|
| Name | New Tendencies |
| Year | 1961–1973 |
| Location | Zagreb, Yugoslavia |
| Notable figures | Almir Mavignier, Benni Efrat, Vlado Martek, Julijonas Urbonas, Juraj Dobrović, Braco Dimitrijević, Viktor Vasarely, Sofia Barańska |
| Influences | Constructivism, Op Art, Concrete Art, Kinetic Art, Fluxus |
New Tendencies
New Tendencies was a series of art exhibitions and an associated movement centered in Zagreb between 1961 and 1973 that explored systematic, technological, and conceptual approaches to visual art. It brought together artists, theorists, and institutions from across Europe, the United States, and Japan, engaging with developments in Op Art, Concrete Art, Kinetic Art, and early computational aesthetics. The project fostered networks linking galleries, museums, universities, and artists' collectives including collaborations with figures from Paris, Milan, London, and New York City.
New Tendencies originated as a curatorial and research program that challenged pictorial tradition through seriality, algorithmic processes, and perceptual investigation. Organizers drew on resources from institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb and connected with international venues like the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Museum of Modern Art (New York), Tate Gallery, and Centre Pompidou to circulate exhibitions, publications, and critical discourse. The initiative also intersected with academic settings including University of Zagreb and technical institutes in Milan, creating dialogues with engineers, mathematicians, and computer scientists from ETH Zurich and University of Cambridge.
The origins trace to curators and critics in Zagreb responding to postwar currents embodied by figures such as Max Bill, Theo van Doesburg (via Concrete art lineage), and practitioners from Bauhaus legacies. Early organizers referenced precedents like the Constructivist exhibitions in Moscow and the serial experiments associated with Victor Vasarely in Paris. The program evolved alongside the rise of Op Art exhibitions (notably at Museum of Modern Art (New York)), kinetic experiments by artists connected to Bruxelles and Venice, and conceptual provocations emerging from collectives like Fluxus and happenings curated by George Maciunas and Allan Kaprow.
Major iterations were mounted cyclically in Zagreb and toured to partner institutions in cities such as Prague, Belgrade, Ljubljana, Berlin, and Rotterdam. Exhibitions showcased work by returning participants from the Venice Biennale, the Documenta series in Kassel, and international surveys in São Paulo and Tokyo. Related events included symposia and screenings that engaged speakers connected to Institute of Contemporary Arts, researchers at Bell Labs, and lecturers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Publications and catalogues were distributed through networks involving galleries in London, New York City, and Milan.
A matrix of movements informed the program: Concrete Art and Constructivism provided geometric rigor; Op Art contributed perceptual strategies linked to practitioners like Victor Vasarely; Kinetic Art supplied mechanized or time-based systems associated with artists who showed at the Hirshhorn Museum and in São Paulo Biennial presentations. Conceptual and process-oriented tendencies intersected with experiments by members of Fluxus, diplomatic cultural exchanges with institutions such as the British Council, and theoretical inputs from critics affiliated with Artforum and October (magazine).
Participants included a broad swath of international artists and thinkers: representatives of European geometric abstraction like Max Bill, exponents of perceptual experimentation such as Bridget Riley, proponents of technological art like Frieder Nake, and conceptual practitioners connected to Joseph Kosuth and Robert Morris. Contributors from the region included Julije Knifer, Juraj Dobrović, Vlado Martek, Braco Dimitrijević, and curators who liaised with institutions like the Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb and the Croatian Association of Artists. Engineers and theorists such as Gottfried Michael Koenig and Iannis Xenakis influenced sound and algorithmic pieces, while galleries representing figures like Galleria Milano and Galerie Denise René helped circulate works.
Works ranged from serial paintings and reliefs to kinetic sculptures, analog computer graphics, early plotter drawings, and audiovisual installations produced using technologies disseminated through centers like Bell Labs, Philips Research Laboratories, and university computing labs at University of California, Berkeley and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Media included algorithmic drawings by practitioners linked to Konrad Zuse-era computation, mechanical pieces resonant with Naum Gabo's legacy, and filmic works shown alongside programmes curated by festivals in Venice and Rotterdam. Publications and exhibition catalogues documented experiments in pattern, chance operations, and systems aesthetics informed by theorists publishing in Leonardo (journal) and other periodicals.
The program's legacy is visible in renewed scholarly attention from museums and universities, retrospectives staged at institutions like the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and renewed curatorial projects in Berlin and Zagreb. It influenced subsequent generations engaged with generative art, media art, and digital aesthetics, creating continuities with artists and institutions involved in festivals such as Ars Electronica and media centers like Zentrum für Kunst und Medien Karlsruhe. Collections at major museums including Museum of Modern Art (New York), Tate Modern, and regional archives preserve documentation, while contemporary artists and theoreticians reference its synthesis of geometry, computation, and perception in exhibitions at venues such as Serpentine Galleries and Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.
Category:Art movements Category:1960s in art Category:Zagreb art history