Romanian contemporary artists exhibit in Warsaw

Romanian contemporary artists Apparatus 22, Anca Benera & Arnold Estefan, Irina Botea, Mihuț Boșcu Kafchin, Cătălin Burcea, Mircea Cantor, Radu Cioca, Radu Comşa, Adrian Ghenie, Maxim Liulca, Ioana Nemeş, Alex Mirutziu, Anca Munteanu Rîmnic, Ciprian Mureşan, Vlad Nancă, Cristian Rusu, Şerban Savu, Răzvan Sădean, Mona Vătămanu & Florin Tudor are currently on exhibition at Zamek Ujazdowski Center for Contemporart Arts in Warsaw, Poland, under the name of A FEW GRAMS OF RED, YELLOW, BLUE. The grand opening took place on March 10 and the exhibition will be available until June 8. The organizers promised a special focus for this exhibition during the Galleries’ Night, which will take place between May 17-18.

According to the official website of the art gallery, the exhibition “A few grams of red, yellow, blue. New Romanian Art.” is a comprehensive presentation of the latest works from Romanian artists of the younger generation, whom since the mid-2000s have begun to manifest their presence in the art scene, locally as well as on an international scale. This thirty-something generation grew up under communism, witnessed the breakdown and collapse of the system, coupled with experiencing the violent invasion of consumer culture in an indigenous society. Consequently, it is through this peerless perspective that the artist’s formulate their thoughts and comments on the observed changes.

As expected, the artists mainly originate from two centres, Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, although in contrast, some of them have been living outside of the country for some time. The exhibition’s leading theme is artistic reflection on contemporary Romania, its present – closely linked to recent history – as well as building its identity, both the individual and collective. These themes are evident in the works of young Romanian artists on various levels of critical discourse: relationship to the past, artistic tradition, or undertaking current social problems. The works are characterized by a strong conceptual basis, and each of the artists, in their own way, deconstructs the ideas and phenomena that interest them. Their works combine the authenticity of artistic decisions with the conscious use of selected media, such as painting, video, sculpture, performance, and installation. The Romanian contemporary art scene is not homogeneous, instead, occurring parallel to one another are the many trends and references to different traditions in it. However, this exhibition depicts a fairly clear picture of the current Romanian artistic practices.

Some of the Romanian contemporary artists that are currently exhibiting in Warsaw were recently on display at the Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton in Paris. The fashion house is showcasing the artistic experiments of a country that it has long considered a fertile land for creative expression.

More about this exhibition, here.