Two Romanian art galleries showcased at ARCO Madrid International Contemporary Art Fair

IVAN Gallery from Bucharest and ZINA Gallery from Cluj-Napoca are currently participating in the ARCO Madrid International Contemporary Art Fair, from 6-10 March. They are featured in the “General Program” and “Opening” section, according to the Romanian Cultural Institute in Madrid.

IVAN Gallery presents a solo show featuring works by artist Ion Grigorescu, while ZINA Gallery showcases works by artists Codruţa Cernea, Lorena Cocioni, and Thea Lazăr.

The exhibition will be officially included in the Guest and Collectors programs, in the “More Contemporary Art in Madrid” section of the Fair, and will be part of the exhibition circuit connected to the art fair. Forty works will be exhibited, mostly in oil on canvas technique, by artists Daniela Grapa, Marinela Măntescu-Isac (the exhibition’s curator), Laurenţiu Midvichi, Marcel Lupşe, Lisandru Neamţu, Flora Răducan, Constantin Pacea, Corneliu Drăgan Târgovişte. As a guest artist, Anka Moldovan will present the composition titled “Tierra,” a work created in oil and with raspberry branches (2023), from her latest series “Aquello que irrumpe.”

At this year’s edition of the ARCO Madrid International Contemporary Art Fair, there will be 205 galleries from 36 countries presenting and selling works from various artistic disciplines: painting, sculpture, installations, photography, video, new media, drawing, and printmaking. 171 of the participating galleries are part of the General Program, while 46 are in curated programs. 65% of the total participating galleries are from outside Spain. The art fair will take place in pavilions 7 and 9 of IFEMA MADRID, dedicating the first three days exclusively to professionals, and on Friday, March 8th, starting at 3:00 PM, it will open its doors to the general public. ARCO Madrid, one of the main contemporary art fairs on the international circuit, ranked among the top three fairs with the highest number of visitors worldwide.

Meet the galleries: IVAN Gallery and ZINA Gallery

IVAN Gallery is a contemporary art gallery established in Bucharest in 2007 as a private initiative in the Romanian commercial gallery market. The gallery showcases both local and international artists, ranging from established figures such as Geta Brătescu, Paul Neagu, Lia Perjovschi, and Ion Grigorescu, to younger or emerging talents like the duo Anca Benera & Arnold Estefan, Andreea Ciobîcă, Cristina David, Ștefan Sava, and Iulia Toma. The gallery also collaborates with Romanian artists who live and work abroad, such as Bartha Sandor and Mădălina Zaharia.

Established in 2020, ZINA Gallery is a support institution dedicated to the production, research, exhibition, and promotion of contemporary art in Cluj-Napoca. ZINA Gallery presents the project created by artists Codruţa Cernea, Lorena Cocioni, and Thea Lazăr. Bringing together diverse artistic mediums, such as Codruţa Cernea’s acrylic and watercolor paintings, Lorena Cocioni’s bas-reliefs and ceramic/metal installations, as well as Thea Lazăr’s textile installations with embroidered elements, the exhibition is a multidimensional ode to the morphologies of nature and new forms of desire in relation to it.

More Romanian contemporary art in Madrid

Additionally, the Romanian Cultural Institute in Madrid presents, at its headquarters, the exhibition of Romanian contemporary art “Touched by the Sea,” a special artistic event taking place in the context of the 43rd edition of the ARCO Madrid International Art Fair. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with WIN Gallery from Bucharest, under the patronage of the Embassy of Romania in the Kingdom of Spain, and will be open from 6-25 March.

The exhibition’s opening will take place on Friday, March 8th, 2024, at 7:00 PM, in the presence of the exhibition’s curator, Marinela Măntescu-Isac, artist Anka Moldovan, and Irina Stoenescu, Vice President of WIN Alliance/Chairlady of WIN Gallery.

“Touched by the Sea” is an exhibition featuring paintings by well-known contemporary Romanian artists exploring the literal and metaphorical connotations of the relationship between water, earth, and humanity. Imagination is a perpetuum mobile of humanity, a constant exercise of seeing and foreseeing. Like a primordial seed of all things good and bad, it blooms differently depending on character and culture, and distilled in art, it shapes worlds – both internal and external. At WIN Gallery, we are curators of encounters between imaginations, always seeking a glimpse of splendor. The exhibition “Touched by the Sea” explores the literal and metaphorical connotations of the relationship between water, earth, and humanity. From serenity and contemplation to chromatic intensity and coastal vigor, we embark on fantastic journeys to yet-unknown realms, leaving strong abstractions imprinted in the soul,” say representatives of WIN Gallery.