Zoita Delia Calinescu: Romanian contemporary artist going international

“I see the world in colors, silencing it through black and white and then letting it scream through sound and image.” This is the belief of the Romanian contemporary artist Zoita Delia Calinescu, who is currently in Paris, France, presenting her concept and exhibition Studio Without Borders to the foreign public. What does a solo exhibition in one of the international cultural poles mean? BR chatted with the artist to find out.

Why a Studio without Borders?

The inspiration for the name of the concept comes from this international fluctuation of closed and open borders, as well as from my past, from which I have learned that an artist has no country, they belong to the universal cultural heritage. With this in mind, I started this nomad project by exposing a selection of works of art signed by myself from my own collection and from other private collections.

Why did you choose Paris for your first stop with Studio without Borders?

Paris was my first choice. It also came as an invitation from Steve Cygler, French lawyer and lover of contemporary Romanian art and with the help of some of my friends from the French community. I managed to organize this “Atelier sans frontierres” event, my first exhibition in Paris.

For those who aren’t familiar with your works of art, what should they know about your style?

I am the artist with 100 faces. I am a multidisciplinary artist and I translate myself through a multitude of visual languages and media including paint, digital photography, installations, looping videos, performance and contemporary drawing. My concepts are the red thread linking all these stylistic directions. They derive from the social, from the human self and from the way we relate to the present at a glance. My works of art talk about what we are, what we have and what we have lost.

What’s the concept of the exhibition?

I’m presenting two dozen installations, ready-made toys & mixed media, acrylic and glass colors, drawings, white and black boxes and light installations. In addition, it consists of centerpiecing plastic toys arraying from soldiers, animals, insects, cars and iconic characters that entail big history, as well as small histories told through a contemporary sharp and uncanny eye. The concept underlines that nowadays, when (post)modern society is challenged daily with atrocious ghosts of the past, as well as newly developed threats, the witty artsy commentary could be both soothing and signal an emergency in remembering and reacting to history. What I’m doing is positively challenging aesthetics and glimpsing at universal values through lucid patterns and intense colors.

What’s next for Zoita Delia Calinescu?

I’ll be back in my Bucharest studio after October 30. Until next year, I will focus on tests and experiments on and with paper. My future plans consist of an exhibition with contemporary drawing, painting, paper and video installation.

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