Major New Exhibition by TU Dublin's Barbara Knežević to Tour Ireland
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TU Dublin is delighted to announce the nationwide tour of Gvozdene Kapije (The Iron Gates), a significant new exhibition by TU Dublin School of Art and Design Lecturer and artist Barbara Knežević. This compelling body of work, commissioned by Solstice Arts Centre, Navan, Co. Meath, will travel to four venues across Ireland, supported by the Arts Council of Ireland and the National Sculpture Factory, Cork.
At the heart of the exhibition is a newly commissioned 46-minute film alongside a series of large-scale sculptures. The works engage with the Iron Gates region—a dramatic gorge on the Danube River that spans the border between Serbia and Romania—interpreting its histories, narratives, and material transformations. For the first time, Knežević explicitly incorporates her Yugoslav diasporic identity into her work, setting personal family experiences against the broader historical context of the Balkans.
The film, described by Knežević as a "sculptural film," offers a first-person narrative that gives agency to non-human elements, such as landscapes, infrastructures, and historical artifacts. It also explores the Mesolithic sculptures of Lepenski Vir—among the earliest known European monumental sculptures—unearthed during the construction of the Iron Gates dam in 1964. The film weaves together original footage, archival materials, testimonies, and speculative storytelling, examining themes of displacement, migration, and identity through a combination of montage and choreography.
Complementing the film, Knežević’s sculptures employ a blend of industrial and domestic materials, including welded steel, ceramic, stone, and fabric. These tactile, hand-finished objects reference historical monuments while questioning notions of temporality, nationhood, and technological progress.
Gvozdene Kapije (The Iron Gates) is commissioned by Solstice Arts Centre, Navan, Co. Meath, with production support provided by the Arts Council of Ireland and the National Sculpture Factory, Cork. Following its presentation at the Solstice Arts Centre, the exhibition will travel to the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal; the Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh, Co. Cork; and the Wexford Arts Centre, Co. Wexford. Rayne Booth organises the tour through specific funding provided by the Arts Council of Ireland.
Touring schedule
Solstice Arts Centre: 29 March – 30 May 2025
Sirius Arts Centre: 4 October – 20 December 2025
Wexford Arts Centre: 14 February – 20 March 2026
Regional Cultural Centre: 4 July - 19 September 2026
"The Iron Gates (Gvozdene Kapije)," by Barbara Knézevič, was made possible by the Arts Council’s Project and Touring awards in 2024. The work was commissioned by Solstice Arts Centre, with support from the National Sculpture Factory.
Project partners and collaborators
Major funder: Arts Council of Ireland
Commissioner : Solstice Arts Centre, Belinda Quirke
Funders and supporters: National Sculpture Factory, Cork; Technological University Dublin
Exhibition partners: Solstice Arts Centre, Sirius Arts Centre, Regional Cultural Centre, Wexford Arts Centre
Exhibition curator and touring producer: Rayne Booth
Development of touring supporter: Sirius Arts Centre
Producers: Bilboke Films, Marija Stojnić and Jelena Angelovski
Cinematographer: Duśan Grubin
Editor: Ivan Vasić
Institutional partners in Serbia: Narodni Muzej, Muzej Lepenski Vir