At the Új Kriterion Gallery in Miercurea Ciuc (Harghita, RO), artist Petru Lucaci presents BLACK AND BLACK, an in-depth exploration of the universe of black — a visual journey he has pursued consistently for over three decades. Curated by Ruxandra Demetrescu, the exhibition brings together works from different stages of his career, revealing how black, far from being a mere chromatic choice, has become a powerful expressive medium in Lucaci’s practice.

Since the 1990s, black has gradually become the defining element of his work, shaping series such as Noctumbre, Alb / Negru, Night Shadows, Clarobscur and Black-based Cocktail. Lucaci works with different types of black — from ivory black to lamp black — applied in dense layers of oil or charcoal to build tactile, almost sculptural surfaces. The subtle contrasts between light and darkness in his works are not only visual but also material, inviting the viewer to slow down and approach them with a gaze that is both visual and tactile.

The exhibition explores the fragile boundary between visible and invisible, full and void, closeness and distance. Rather than a limitation, the reduced palette becomes a space of freedom, in which Lucaci investigates the symbolic and energetic potential of black, questioning the common prejudices often attached to it. In both his two-dimensional and three-dimensional works — from charcoal drawings to stratified painted wood objects — the artist creates a world that urges the viewer to look beyond appearances and discover the light hidden within darkness.

The exhibition opened on 10 September 2025 and will remain on view until 9 November 2025.

BLACK AND BLACK — through the eyes of curator Ruxandra Demetrescu

~ art historian, art critic, and university professor

“As a sole chromatic possibility, black represents, on the one hand, the cancellation of the previous chromaticism — once centered on the expressive power of colors and on the contrast between light and dark — and, on the other hand, an accentuation of spatial depth, by forcing the dialogue between near and distant vision, between haptic and purely optical seeing.”

Petru Lucaci notes:

“Black challenged me as a painter. I worked with it in various contexts, experiencing its fullness and expressive force, and that’s why I wanted to follow its presence in art more closely.”

Aware of the radical nature of his choice, he adds:

“Black hides a vast field of meanings, and at the same time, an immense expressive force. I discovered that black matter holds energies we usually overlook, and that our prejudices about its supposed negativity can harm painting — which is, at its core, defined by color.”

Concerned with both the virtues and the limits of painting, Lucaci has often worked against the grain of its traditional components: drawing, chiaroscuro, color, spatial construction, and even the notion of narrative within the image. Transforming chiaroscuro into painting reduced to black became his most compelling visual experiment: it cancels chromaticism while preserving the tension between light and darkness. In this context, the influence of black-and-white photography and film noir has been stronger than any revisiting of the “imaginary museum” of European painting rooted in tenebrism.

By valorizing “black matter”, Lucaci has developed distinctive visual strategies over time. Among them is the exclusive use of oil paint — especially ivory black or lamp black — to achieve a dense, almost material substance. In seeking the haptic dimension of black, he has also aimed to (re)create a substance — charcoal — and to transform the basic material of studio practice, the charcoal drawing, into a distinct materiality, exploring its tactile potential in painting-objects.  (Curator Ruxandra Demetrescu)

Photos by Galeria Új Kriterion & Propagarta