New Genres: romanian artists

Ecology of the After Life

May 10, 2024 | Cosmina Marcela OLTEAN ArtPage

At Anca Poterasu Gallery in Bucharest (RO) is now ongoing the group exhibition "Ecology of the After Life", on display until 1st of July, curated by William Ewing, including artworks by the great comtemporary artists Matei Bejenaru, Ioana Cîrlig, Aurora Király, Iosif Király and Delia Popa.

The opening included a AFAR Talk, a discussion about photography with curator William Ewing in dialogue with artist Iosif Király, followed by the opening of the group exhibition.

"The curator-artist discussion focused on photography - its rich past, turbulent present and uncertain future(s). The dialogue was followed by the opening of the group exhibition 'Ecology of the After Life', a project that revolves around recurrent and obsessive questions regarding human existence, science, nature's resilience, and the echoes of our actions" - the gallery informs.

"The exhibition serves as a metaphor for the regeneration of life as a whole, exploring not only human existence but also the intricate connections between organisms that sustain life on Earth. From Aurora Király's landscapes to Delia Popa's introspective reflections, Iosif Király's blurring of reality and fantasy, Ioana Cîrlig's documentation of coal miners, and Matei Bejenaru's chronicles of forgotten spaces, Ecology of the After Life contemplates the interconnectedness of living beings." - curator William Ewing

Artwork: Matei Bejenaru, Between Two Worlds_ICMET Craiova_03, chromogenic print, Diasec, 120x175cm, 2019, Ed.1/5+2AP.

The talk was organized by ARAC and Goethe-Institut Bucharest in the framework of AFAR Network project.

Artists for Artists Residency Network (AFAR) is an EU co-funded project and residency program, aiming to improve the mobility of contemporary visual artists and curators in Romania, Germany, Croatia, and Austria.

The project is led by the Romanian Association for Contemporary Art (ARAC) with its three consortium partners – Goethe Institute Network, Croatian Association of Fine Artists, and Künstlerhaus Vienna. www.afarnetwork.com

Artwork: Aurora Király, Ecology of the After Life, 70 x 105 cm, 2024.

Artwork: Aurora Király, Ecology of the After Life, pigment print on hahnemühle photo rag ultra smooth paper, 70 x 105 cm, 2022-2024.

Photo credits - Anca Poterasu Gallery

art museum

Lia & Dan Perjovschi: "The exhibition as a museum of knowledge and the exhibition as a newspaper"

March 27, 2024 | Cosmina Marcela OLTEAN ArtPage

In the following period, the Brașov Art Museum invites the public to discover "Emergencies", a double solo show by internationally renowned contemporary artists Lia and Dan Perjovschi.

The exhibition presents aspects of the artists' research in the last 35 years, bringing two distinct and complementary perspectives on the realities, complexities and challenges of the present. The fascinating works of Lia Perjovschi, grouped under the title "Survival Kit" (selection from the "Museum of Knowledge"), meet in harmony with the impactful creations of Dan Perjovschi, presented in the "Press Stress" section.

"Emergencies" is a research of the contemporary world in which two distinct but complementary artistic visions intertwine, separate or merge. The exhibition as a museum of knowledge and the exhibition as a newspaper. The bird view and the daily newspaper in the same space. – states Lia and Dan Perjovschi.

"The exhibition brings together two interconnected perspectives, highlighting knowledge, creativity and survival in a contemporary context. Under the concepts of 'Survival Kit' and 'Press Stress', Lia and Dan Perjovschi bring to the forefront deep visions of the realities and challenges of today's world:

In the 'Press Stress' section, Dan Perjovschi gathers the worlds-pages of the press into a puzzle of today's society. Here, the world is changing, the printed media is disappearing, but the stress remains constant. Through his creation, the artist offers a deep perspective on social changes and the impact of the information environment on everyday life.

The exhibition space, transformed into a huge mental map, is organized by Lia Perjovschi around some thematic cores that address specific topics of the 21st century. 'Survival kit' offers a bird's eye view of the current century, bringing into discussion humanity, alienation and various strategies of survival. In an inventory of the present time, themes such as climate change, globalization and technological developments become parts of a huge puzzle", explains Alexandra Ilnițchi-Ardelean (PR&Communication at Brașov Art Museum).

Dan Perjovschi offers a deep picture of social changes and the impact of the information environment on everyday life:

"Every day something happens. On the street where this museum is, in the city where this museum is, on this continent or somewhere in the Milky Way. Every day a butterfly flaps its wings. For me, the newspaper page is the whole world. "Press Stress" gathers the world-pages in a puzzle of contemporary society, with its tragedies, its heroisms and its barbarisms. The world is changing, print media is disappearing, stress remains. This 'remains' is the subject of my art. An art poor in means, but rich in meaning" - emphasizes the artist.

More about the artists

Lia and Dan Perjovschi were born in 1961 in Sibiu, Romania, attended the same School and Art High School (1970-1980) and got married in 1983. They live and work in Sibiu, but also in the rest of the world. Their artistic works have been exhibited in hundreds of exhibitions and festivals in Romania and internationally. They exhibited together at public cultural institutions such as: Total Museum Seoul, Rupert Vilnius, Kunstraum Innsbruck, Tranzit.ro Cluj, Espaivizor Valencia, IFA Berlin & Stuttgart and galleries such as Christine Koenig Wien, Michel Rein Paris, Kula Split. In 2007, the artists had a comprehensive retrospective exhibition at the Nasher Museum at Duke University.

With an artistic career spanning over 30 years, Dan Perjovschi has developed his own distinctive, stripped-down visual language that condenses intricate subjects without removing the complexity of reality. As an artist and journalist, his artistic practice developed as a form of "visual journalism". From the collaboration with Revista 22 since the 90s to the work "Ziarul Orizontal", a 30-meter public wall in Sibiu that he has been developing with new artistic content for over 10 years, the artist expresses his vision of contemporary society through drawings .

Lia Perjovschi, is the founder and coordinator of CAA CAA (Contemporary Art Archive and Center for Art Analysis) and KM (Knowledge Museum), an interdisciplinary research project. He has participated in more than 700 exhibitions, conferences and workshops worldwide. His diverse artistic practice reflects a journey from his physical body to the universal body of knowledge, characterized by a wide diversity of mediums of expression.

The exhibition can be visited until April 30.