Zvest Apollonio - Slovenian Contemporary Art

Zvest Apollonio ( 1935 – 2009, in Bertoki) was a Slovenian painter and scenographer.
Apollonio was born of an Italian father and a Slovenian mother and grew up bilingually. He entered the Ljubljana Academy of Fine Arts in 1960 where he studied under Gabrijel Stupica. He was a professor at the graphic arts department at the Academy from 1973 to 1989. He was also head of the graphics department and Associate Dean for four years. He is considered one of the most important Slovenian artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and was a recipient in 1984 of the Jakopič Award, the highest award for the arts in Slovenia. In 2003 he received the Istrian Arts Award "for special achievements in shaping, researching and preserving the cultural identity of Istria."
Apollonio worked in various mediums, including painting, graphics, sculpture, drawing, illustration, art equipment, mosaics and scenery. He has held over 40 solo exhibitions in galleries in Slovenia and around the world. He has also participated in many group exhibitions and international shows. He has won more than 30 national and international awards.Wikipedia

Serge Spitzer - Art Installation

Serge Spitzer (1951 – 2012) Romanian-born American artist, known for his site-specific installations, sculpture, photographs and video.
Spitzer's work was exhibited internationally in numerous museums and art institutions.
"Serge Spitzer, a Romanian-born New York-based artist known for his labyrinths of installations that explore the ways in which the passage of time influences public space and, subsequently, shared reality and collective memory, has passed away at the age of sixty-one. Spitzer also utilizes sculpture, works on paper, photography, and video to reflect on these issues. He has participated in a variety of international exhibitions, notably Documenta and the Venice Biennale, and his work is represented in a number of public and private collections including the Neue Nationalgalerie, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Menil Collection.
Some significant works include his installation at the Palais de Tokyo, originally made for the 1997 Biennial of Lyon, which included nearly 2300 feet of plastic tubes that wrapped through the space, soaring into the air and across the ceiling, sliding about corners and over the floor. Here, the artist aimed to reflect a system of tubes that were installed in Paris prior to telephones as a way to send messages quickly from one end of the city to the other. Said Spitzer: “The message of the work is to create something which is a question to itself. You build structures, which seem to be very clear in their functions. But as you realize the work, you discover the irrationalities in the system. The narrative is about reality. You think the piece is about itself but it’s actually about the world around it, about the people, architecture, and about the structure.”
His 2010 installation at the Mayor Synagogue in Majorca was similarly monumental; the artist laid four tons of green and blue marbles over the former main hall of the building. The color and brightness of the marbles changed with various shades of natural daylight, which as the artist, noted in a New York Times article, symbolized the splintered qualities of life and time, which betrayed the temple’s complexity as both a contemporary and historical entity. “I tried to make sure that the work will force a blended reading of reality at all levels,” said Spitzer, “confronting and melting issues in an attempt to succeed alchemy.”(artforum.com)

Alexander Kostetsky - Magical Realism

Alexander Kostetsky ( 1954 - 2010 ) was a Ukrainian painter and sculptor, his artist stile is Magic Realism.During his childhood, Kostetsky began to create a distinctive style based on his love of mysterious alien civilizations and science fiction. At school he worked on sculpture, learning from his sculptor mother, and in the seventh grade he created a set of chess pieces intricately carved like medieval knights. Later he sculpted in clay, porcelain and other materials. At Kiev Art School and the Kiev State Institute, he began to master different styles of drawing in the style of the old masters. At the same time he developed his own style and technique of oil painting, wishing to capture his unique artistic visions. However, while studying at the institute, the young Kostetsky had to obey to the canons of socialist realism and his early works do not always reflect his true interests. 

The settlement of Slavs and Vikings Wolin Poland

"Anyone who would like to learn about Wolin’s history and listen to the echoes of bygone days is welcome to enter the gates of the Slavs and Vikings’ Center, one of Poland’s most interesting tourist attractions. This recreated settlement offers a glimpse into the everyday life of Wolin’s inhabitants in the period from the 9th to the 12th century. Its buildings have been painstakingly recreated on the basis of archaeological research from the area of Wolin. It currently features a defensive gate with a palisade, craftsmen's shelters, a wooden wharf for boat replicas and 27 reconstructions of early medieval houses. These cottages are created in five different styles, their structure heavily inspired by the abundance of wood in the local forests and historical events, such as raids and the burning of the city. The center presents the Slavic and Scandinavian cultures, which had the most impact on the development of the city. Make no mistake, this is not a traditional museum. There are no historical items on display here, only reconstructions and stylizations of cottages, along with their furnishings. This lets you freely roam around the area, go everywhere, touch everything, sit on a bench at a table, lie down on a bed, try on costumes or armor, train archery or taste the products of old cuisine. Photos taken in such scenery are truly unique and make for wonderful souvenirs."(exarc.net)