On 15 July, the City Museum Virovitica opened the exhibition Phenomenology of Disquiet, presented as part of the NMMU on Tour exhibition series. The exhibition is one in a sequence of projects through which the National Museum of Modern Art, while its historic home —the Vranyczany-Dobrinović Palace—undergoes renovation, collaborates with museums and galleries in Croatia and abroad to present selected highlights from its valuable collection to the public.
The opening ceremony featured welcoming remarks by Mihaela Kulej, Director of the City Museum Virovitica. The exhibition concept was presented by Tea Hatadi, Phd.art, Assistant Director of the National Museum of Modern Art and curator of the exhibition. The exhibition was officially opened by Martina Horvat, Head of the City of Virovitica's ITU Mechanism Implementation Department.
Phenomenology of Disquiet brings together a selection of 24 outstanding works by leading figures of Croatian modern and high modern art from the National Museum of Modern Art's collections. The exhibition includes paintings, sculptures, objects, installations, photographs, and works on paper, all connected by the theme of unrest, particularly the inner unease arising from the individual's intimate experience.
According to curator Tea Hatadi, Phd.art, the sense of unrest found in modern art is no longer tied to the traditional canon of sacred subjects such as the Apocalypse. Instead, it reflects anxieties rooted in the present, shifting from collective concerns to deeply personal and individual experiences.
Within both the European and Croatian artistic context, influenced by existentialist philosophy, awareness of the many contemporary sources of anxiety became increasingly pronounced. As Hatadi explains, the featured works communicate this unrest through their imagery, form, surface, and materiality. They embody the artists' internalised — often traumatic—experiences while inviting curiosity and encouraging viewers to engage in their own autonomous interpretations.
The exhibition features works by Marijan Detoni, Boris Demur, Ivo Friščić, Ivo Gattin, Željko Jerman, Marijan Jevšovar, Ivan Kožarić, Josip Klarica, Kuzma Kovačić, Antun Maračić, Valerije Michieli, Matko Mijić, Edo Murtić, Goranka Vrus Murtić, Šime Perić, Renata Poljak, Miroslav Šutej, and Đurđica Zanoški-Gudlin.
The exhibition at the City Museum Virovitica will remain on view until 6 September. It has been realised with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia and the City of Virovitica.

A Croatian-language exhibition catalogue featuring a text by Dr. Tea Hatadi has been published by the City Museum Virovitica. The catalogue was designed by Ivan Borbaš.
Installation view: Photo / Goran Vranić