The topic of the show spanned the period from the 1960s to the present, beginning with works of Neo-avantgardists from former socialist states on Balkan and conceptual art that reflect on both the conditions of artistic production and reception and also their social dimensions and critiques of history. Specialist of that period is Ileana Pintilie, who will sum up for us the wide range of the exciting phase of artistic and social development in Romanian contemporary art history.
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Hidden Paradise allows the recipient a glimpse in different levels of history. Intimate stories from the childhood or won experiences in the changes of times and systems. Sociopolitical stories about disobedience and revolt. Historical stories about transformation from modern to contemporary art. All these stories are fixed to the specific example of the Romanian border town Timișoara / Temesvar, the relevant cradle of political and art historian revolution.
The artists Ciprian Bodea, Cosmin Frunteș, Andrei Rosetti, Sorin Scurtulescu, well known as NOIMA, are artists on their own as well. Hidden Paradies presents each of them with another approach, all of them connected to their personally history and their development to art scene and their out coming of being an artist.
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The artists access to this theme is different but very personal. The works are independent works with references to the Art School of Timișoara. Education by artists such as Constantin Flondor has left its mark, for example the closeness to nature and its study, the passionate devotion to art and nature. Nevertheless, each of the four painters managed to shed the shackles of tradition, but to transform quintessence into contemporary art.
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We use the exhibition, the confrontation with yesterday and today, with politics and art, as a breeding ground for further debates about the importance of art and artists for a change in society, sometimes also for a shift of the political landscape. Taking responsibility is not just about artists, each of us should feel responsible for the state of our world. The dialogue between East and West, the exchange of experiences and achieved successes brings us closer together and can help to understand historical phenomena, perhaps also help to avoid dictatorships in the future. In any case, this exhibition should give the opportunity to search for hidden paradises and to integrate utopias in everyday life.
(fragments from the exhibition text by Denise Parizek)
Curator: Denise Parizek
Special guest: Ileana Pintilie - art historian and art critic, Professor at the West University, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design in Timisoara, freelance curator
Ciprian Bodea, Cosmin Frunteș, Andrei Rosetti, Sorin Scurtulescu
