Following a nationwide competition aimed at selecting projects that would represent Romania at this year\u2019s edition of the International Venice Biennial, the Romanian Ministry of Culture together with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Romanian Cultural Institute have selected two projects: \u201cAn Immaterial Retrospective of the Venice Biennale\u201d. which will be exhibited at Romania\u2019s pavilion in Giradini della Biennale and \u201cThe Reflection Center for Suspended Histories: An Attempt\u201d — at the New Gallery of the Institute for Culture and Humanistic Research in Venice. Vice commissioner Alexandru Damian gave us more details about the former of the two projects.<\/p>\n
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Alexandru Damian: \u201cThe first project was the initiative of Alexandra Pirici and Manuel Pelmush, with Raluca Voinea as curator. It is entitled \u201cAn Immaterial Retrospective of the Venice Biennale\u201d and includes a performance-like research, which will be carried out all-throughout the Biennale. The project provides a fresh and dynamic perspective on the history of the Venice Biennale since its first edition in 1885 up until today. The curator and the authors have selected some 100 famous works that will be enacted every day by 10 performers in our pavilion. The performance is not an evanescent work of art, but merely immaterial, hence it can be documented<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n
Anca Mihulet is the curator of \u201cThe Reflection Center for Suspended Histories: An Attempt\u201d, a project hosted by the New Gallery of the Institute for Culture and Humanistic Research in Venice. The project brings together five fine artists from Romania and one from Poland.<\/p>\n
Anca Mihulet: \u201cThe exhibition is accompanied by two book launches, one of which will be organized on the opening day. It comprises a guide for better understanding the exhibition and 6 interviews with the fine artists involved, so that visitors can quickly tap into the mood of the Reflection Center for Suspended Histories. The exhibition is constructed along the historical timeline of art, with an emphasis on the thirst for knowledg<\/em>e\u201d.<\/p>\n
Anca Mihulet tried to account for the very unusual name of the project.<\/p>\n
Anca Mihulet: \u201cAs the name itself shows, the Reflection Center is an attempt to get people into the institutional mood that has been around in Venice ever since the 1930s. We very much relied on the history of the Institute of Culture and Humanistic Research in Venice, which is one of the oldest institutions of modern culture in Romania. From the very beginning it was designed as a shelter for Romanian thinkers in Venice. I somehow tried to bring this concept up to date and trace back a history which is not as much familiar, but which is highly relevant for a specific time and place<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n
Besides the two projects representing Romania at the 55th edition of the International Venice Biennial, vice-commissioner Alexandru Damian also spoke about other artists whose works will be on display in Venice.<\/p>\n
Alexandru Damian: \u201cTaking part in the Biennale, whose curator this year is Massimiliano Gioni and Entitled Il Palazzo Enciclopedico — the Encyclopedic Palace, will also be Stefan Bertalan in the Main Pavilion and Geta Bratescu. Apart from this, Venice will also play host to an exhibition bringing together several Romanian artists, organized by the \u201cTriade\u201d Foundation and entitled If a Dandelion Could Speak, in which Stefan Bertalan is involved. Fine artist Bogdan Rata is involved in the collateral exhibition that will be part of the series of events at the Palazzo Bambo, which have been placed under the curatorship of Cosmin Nasui. This year we have many projects held in Venice, which are bound to enhance the visibility of Romanian art at this year\u2019s Biennale<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n
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