Art beyond borders : artistic exchange in communist Europe (1945 1989) During the Cold War the exchange of artistic ideas and products united Europes avant garde in a most remarkable way. Despite the Iron Curtain and national and political borders there existed a constant flow of artists artworks artistic ideas and practices. The geographic borders of these exchanges have yet to be clearly defined. How were networks centers peripheries scales and distances constructed How did (neo)avant garde tendencies relate with officially sanctioned socialist realism By discussing artworks studying the writings on art observing artistic evolution and artists strategies as well as the influence of political authorities art dealers and art critics the essays in Art beyond Borders compose a transnational history of arts in the Soviet satellite countries in the post war period