Strong local positions at ATELIER 030202, Bucharest

Between November 9 and December 9 2016, ATELIER 030202, a contemporary art space in Bucharest, is hosting the exhibition “FĂRĂ PENSULE” (eng. WITHOUT PAINT BRUSHES) within the framework of “Salonul Național de Pictură” 2016 (eng. National Exhibition of Painting), under the aegis of UAP (The Romanian Artists’ Association).

Francisc Chiuariu, Foto © Ana-Daniela Sultana.

Featuring nine local established artists - Zoltán Béla, Francisc Chiuariu, Suzana Dan, Aurora Király, Radu Pandele, Cosmin Paulescu, Laurian Popa, Beniamin Popescu, and Liviu Stoicoviciu - the exhibition displays mixed media and installations, while emulating a subversive approach (which already has a strong tradition in the local art context) in as much as it doesn’t bring in any paintings of the conventional kind. In this sense, the curatorial endeavor, or even the challenge to curate paintings, turns into a manifesto nowadays, precisely because the borders between the arts and artistic practices have disappeared.

Aurora Király, Foto © Ana-Daniela Sultana.

Cosmin Paulescu, Foto © Ana-Daniela Sultana.

Hence the selected artists, albeit all being members of the UAP painting department, are also experimenting with other media. Yet another curatorial challenge was to achieve balance between artists who belong to different generations; on the one hand, we have young Radu Pandele, who is finishing his academic master’s degree, and on the other hand, reputed Liviu Stoicoviciu, whose achievements do extend over decades.

Radu Pandele, Foto © Ana-Daniela Sultana.

Liviu Stoicoviciu, Foto © Ana-Daniela Sultana.

Both Alexandru Rădvan and Mihai Zgondoiu, the curators of the exhibition, are also known as artists engaging in academic activities within the National University of Arts Bucharest.

Located in the new assembly room of the Comedy Theater in the center of the city, ATELIER 030202 sees itself as a platform dedicated to young (local and international) artists, curators, and art historians with a penchant for experiment and innovation. The name of this gallery, which was established in December 2009 - 20 years after the revolution and the fall of communism - is inspired by its zip code, while the venue itself and the artistic and cultural program are hallmarked by its founder, Mihai Zgondoiu.