BLIND DATE / The Struggle Between Academic Abstractionism and Globalized Formalism

December 18, 2017 – February 3, 2018

“We find ourselves in an atmosphere of total confusion on the local art scene where anything is possible at any time, where postmodernism and post works of modern art cohabitate easily, where abstractionism becomes kitsch (poor Greenberg), together with furniture design (the Nordic and the nostalgic communist design), everything, probably due as a reaction of the establishment of a successful figurative school, in which, if a character appears in a painting, it will most likely gaze curiously at a mysterious hole. Any line, any spot of color matters, but, paradoxically, frequently lacking intention.

Through the battle between the frontal parts of some sculptures with the backside of it, things won’t become any clearer but maybe we will be taken out of the total state of boredom.”-Ciprian Mureșan

“Quietly subversive, Ciprian Mureșan’s allegorical artwork reflects on post-Soviet life and questions artistic production. While best known for short, darkly humorous videos, Mureșan works across various media to communicate a sardonic worldview shaped by coming of age during Romania’s revolution and the political disarray that followed. His Pioneers (2010) series refers to the scandalous revelation that homeless children were living in sewage passageways, which came to symbolize Romania’s failed transition to capitalism. To Mureșan, these sketches of children sniffing glue constitute “the perfect image,” revealing the myths and hypocrisies of capitalism and communism alike. Meanwhile, Leap Into the Void, after three seconds (2004) adds a dark twist to Yves Klein’s 1960 photograph of a man suspended in mid-air having leapt from a window. Sprawled on the pavement three seconds later, his sense of freedom and transcendence has vanished.” –Bio from Artsy.net

The event is part of the BLIND DATE exhibition series, inviting the public, as the name implies, to a leap of faith as these events will not disclose in advance many of the details usually provided in a press release. In this case the identity of the artist involved was concealed until the opening event.

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A cultural program co-financed by The Administration of the National Cultural Fund. The program does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. The Administration of the National Cultural Fund is not responsible for the content of the program or the manner in which the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding recipient.

Project supported by Cluj-Napoca City Hall and the Local Council.