Another East at RIVAA Gallery in New York

Another East the exhibition hosted by RIVAA Gallery between May 18 and June 9 this year, is the outcome of the almost one year-long work of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York

Carmen Săndulescu, 22.06.2019, 12:14

Getting noticed in New Yorks current art world is a notable performance. Even if not necessarily “a hit” that knocks over the international art market, the successful conclusion of a large-scale exhibition hosted by a gallery in the heart of this North-American city is not within everybodys reach. “Another East,” the exhibition hosted by RIVAA Gallery between May 18 and June 9 this year, is the outcome of the almost one year-long work of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York.

Dorian Branea, the director of the institution, gave us more details:

“This is a large-scale event in that it involves all the members of the Painting Department of the National Art University in Bucharest. We are not only talking about highly respected professors, personalities of the Romanian art education sector, but also about very good painters, major names in Romanian contemporary art. These 11 artists came up with a less than usual exhibition. Its name, “Another East”, is designed to introduce a new view on what is the general perception of Eastern-European art, and to dispel some preconceptions at work in Western Europe and perhaps in North America as well, namely that East-European art is a little behind, a little late in terms of new esthetic formulas and ideologies. This is precisely what the recently concluded exhibition has proved, in the most precise and interesting terms: that contemporary Romanian art is perfectly in synch, that the formulas approached by artists from various generations cover a very broad spectrum, with very diverse styles. In other words, perhaps the strongest message conveyed by this exhibition has to do with the freedom of expression, with unconstrained experimenting, with courage.”

We have learnt that the audience that attended the opening and visited the exhibition in the following days was largely American. And that was no surprise. Obviously, representative figures of the Romanian community in New York also attended. RIVVA Gallery, which hosted the exhibition, managed by the Roosevelt Island Visual Art Association, was one of the ingredients that guaranteed the success.

Here is Dorian Branea again:

“Even if it was a success, we dont want to turn this event into a singular, accidental occurence. Its is part of a programmatic approach, that of presenting, through all the main channels, Romanian contemporary and even classical art in the US. We focus on concluding long-term partnerships with other galleries or art museums, places that are less accessible. We are constantly lobbying those that develop programs, curators and other decision-makers in the field. I hope that this kind of partnership will prove fruitful and it will lead us to larger galleries, along even more prestigious circuits. And, also importantly, we have drawn up a carefully though-out action plan, aimed at supporting Romanian artists and galleries at the big festivals in the US, the big art fairs like those in New York, Miami or Los Angeles. Its our teams vision and we hope we will have the necessary resources to carry it through.”

Each project starts with a dream. At least this is what they tell us. As long as we believe in it and we do not give up when bumping into the first obstacle, chances of success are big.