Ex-East. Past and recent stories of the Romanian avant-garde

The Art Encounters Foundation Timișoara presents in Paris Ex-East. Past and recent stories of the Romanian avant-garde, a modern and contemporary art exhibition, under the auspices of the France-Romania Cultural Season and curated by Ami Barak.

The exhibition will be open from February 5 to March 16, 2019 in the main hall of the French Communist Party headquarters, an exceptional building designed by the modernist Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer.

From Constantin Brâncuși, to Geta Brătescu, from Tristan Tzara to Adrian Ghenie, from Victor Brauner to Ana Lupaș, a series of iconic works will be represented in this highly symbolic place. The lead actors of modern art will stand alongside the actors of the contemporary scene for the purpose of highlighting the essential contributions of Romanian artists in the 20th century, and the undeniable contribution of the new generations and their ways of relating to the current moment. Drawn from public and private collections, the exhibition comprises some 75 artworks: paintings, sculptures, works on paper, stone, wood or glass. 

Artists: Arthur Segal, Constantin Brâncuşi, Marcel Iancu, Tristan Tzara, Benjamin Fondane, Victor Brauner, Jacques Hérold, Horia Damian, Isidore Isou, Geta Brătescu, Pavel Ilie, Ştefan Bertalan, Andrei Cădere, Roman Cotoșman, Constantin Flondor, Cornel Brudaşcu, Horia Bernea, Florin Mitroi, Paul Neagu, Ana Lupaș, Mihai Olos, Doru Tulcan, Decebal Scriba, Ion Grigorescu, Rudolf Bone, Miklós Onucsan, Teodor Graur, Iosif Király, SubREAL, Dan Perjovschi, Daniel Knorr, Kinema Ikon, Aurora Király, Victor Man, Anca Munteanu Rimnic, Simon Cantemir Hauși, Anca Benera & Arnold Estefan, Mircea Cantor, Adrian Ghenie, Ciprian Mureşan, Gabriela Vanga, Şerban Savu, Mircea Suciu, Liliana Basarab, Marius Bercea, Vlad Nancă, Ioana Nemeş, Andra Ursuța, Olivia Mihălțianu, Alex Mirutziu, Pusha Petrov, Mi Kafchin, Lea Rasovszky

Organized by the Art Encounters Foundation Timișoara with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute Paris (L'Institut Culturel Roumain de Paris), the LC Foundation Bucharest, ELBA S.A. and Saint-Gobain Romania.  

Ami Barak is an independent curator and art critic based in Paris. His projects in recent years include I am also... Douglas Gordon, Tel Aviv Museum of Art (2013), Stuttering – Melik Ohanian, Crac Sete (2014), Taryn Simon, Rear views, star forming nebula and foreign propaganda bureau, Jeu de Paume, Paris (2015), Le Salon de Montrouge 61st edition (2016), 62nd edition (2017), 63rd edition (2018), Juliao Sarmento The Real thing, Fondation Gulbenkian, Paris, Peter Kogler: Next, ING Art Center, Brussels, What does the image stand for?, Momenta Biennale of contemporary image, Montreal (2017), Life—A User’s manual, Art Encounters Timisoara, Biennial of Contemporary Art (2017), and Role playing – Rewriting mythologies, Daegu Photo Biennale (2018). He is the former president of IKT (International Contemporary Art Curators Association).

Art Encounters, founded in 2015, is an independent art initiative oriented towards enriching and supporting the development of the contemporary art scene in Romania. Its core mission is driven by the aspiration to foster dialogue, learning, research, and experimentation. The foundation’s activities include the Art Encounters biennial in Timișoara (third edition to open September 20, 2019), a program of exhibitions, artistic and curatorial residencies, and a continuous education and mediation program.

Winter program at Art Encounters Foundation Timișoara includes the solo exhibition Marianne Mispelaëre - Sounds Make Worlds and Common Space - Images, Stories, Voices, a project initiated by Zofia Cielątkowska, curator in residence with the artists Lera Kelemen, Gloria Luca, Liliana Mercioiu Popa, Ilinca Pop & Simona Constantin and Smaranda Ursuleanu. 

Press contact Ex-East exhibition:
Oriane Zerbib, T +33 1 71 19 48 04, ozerbib@communicart.fr 

Press contact Art Encounters Foundation:
Alexandra Pintea, T +40 752 995 995, alexandra.pintea@artencounters.ro