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The TWIST. Five Provincial Stories from an Empire
Curators | Călin Dan and Celia Ghyka Artists | Horia Bernea, Ștefan Bertalan, Ion Condiescu, Roman Cotoșman, Cristian Dițoiu, Constantin Flondor, Dani Ghercă, Ion Grigorescu, Ana Maria Micu, Ciprian Mureșan, Paul Neagu, Sorin Neamțu, Mihai Olos, Iulius Podlipny, Șerban Savu, Liviu Stoicoviciu, Napoleon Tiron, Bogdan Vlăduță Opening | Friday, 13 October 2023, starting at 19:00 Guided tour | Saturday, 4 November 2023, 12:00 | The curators of the exhibition "The TWIST. Five Provincial Stories from an Empire", Călin Dan and Celia Ghyka, together with the representatives of two of the partner museums, Livia Magina - Banat Museum Montan-Reșita and Marius Cornea - Banat National Museum invite you for a guided tour and engaging discussions. (link to Facebook event) Guided tour | 9 December, 16:00 | Călin Dan, Celia Ghyka, Daciana Vuia, Smaranda Vultur, Robert Cristian Velescu (link to Facebook event) Visiting schedule | 13 October 2023 - 11 February 2024, Wednesday to Sunday, 12 pm to 6 pm Venue | Kunsthalle Bega, Calea Circumvalațiunii 10, Timișoara, RO Organizer | Fundația Calina (Kunsthalle Bega), Timișoara, RO https://kunsthallebega.ro/ |
"THE TWIST. Five Provincial Stories from an Empire" (authors Călin Dan and Celia Ghyka) is a large-scale interdisciplinary project mapping the symbolic levels gathered in the culture of the historical Banat region over time. The project is constructed in two stages: a research that focuses on public and private archives (museums, collections, artist studios) relevant to the production, conservation and promotion of the material and immaterial heritage of the Banat region. This research will then be converted into a comparative exhibition, where the co-existence of genres, techniques and historical periods will form an installation with several levels of reading and chronology.
The exhibition presents heritage objects and cultural goods from the collections of 6 museums: the National Museum of Banat Timișoara, the Museum of History, Ethnography and Fine Art in Lugoj, the Mountain Banat Museum Reșita, the Museum of the Iron Gates Region Drobeta Turnu Severin, the National Technical Museum "Prof. Eng. Dimitrie Leonida" Bucharest, and contemporary artworks from the workshops of contemporary artists or from various collections.
The project is part of the National Cultural Program "Timișoara - European Capital of Culture in 2023" and is financed by the Inside Timișoara 2023 program, run by Timișoara Center for Projects, with amounts allocated from the state budget, through the budget from the Ministry of Culture.
"Starting from the geological, topographical, morphological and geopolitical evidence provided by the triangular region historically called the Romanian Banat, we identified several elements that seemed to emerge out of the historical trajectory of this cultural construction: the twist, the conversion, the comeback — that may all be related to Plato’s concept of 'turning around of the soul' (that he defines in his famous dialogue 'The Republic').
Similar figurative, morphological, and spiritual movements may be retraced historically in the symbolic or professional languages of religion, rhetoric, philosophy, psychology, and science.
The TWIST. Five Provincial Stories from an Empire surveys the visual wingspan of the topic, examining how various motifs of the ‘turning around’ are reflected into the cultural developments of the historical Banat. The format is a cross-temporal, trans-disciplinary, cross-media exhibition, where the coexistence of genres, techniques and historical periods are assembled into a complex, multi-layered installation.
Based on a vast research of historical, bibliographical, visual, and literary sources, and of the heritage preserved in the public and private collections from the region, The TWIST spans an interval starting from Antiquity (pre-Roman and Roman), reaching into post-WW2 modernity, and bringing together archaeological, ethnographic, domestic and mass-produced artefacts, with artworks created between the 19th and the 21st century.
The show gathers a large number of artefacts (around one hundred) displayed in an original and exciting architectural setting. They have been identified and selected according to various criteria, ranging from iconographical (spiral, twist, circle, intersection), functional (cylinder, sphere, column, vault, door, hinge, wheel, clock, compass) to actions that may be utilitarian (mowing, weaving, twisting, sifting, sowing, milling, lathe working, fishing, etc.), ritualistic (dancing, praying, drumming, magical conjuring), individual sports or intellectual activities such as reading, writing, etc. to ontological (conversion, resurrection, transfiguration, return, recovery, repetition) and political (exodus, emigration, immigration, redemption, penance, revenge).
The narrative threads of this visual and poetical journey are to be read as connecting five layers or levels that establish various links, some more immediately apparent than others: protohistory (archaeological and geological pieces), pre-modernity (ethnographic and vernacular pieces), locally crafted modernity (household inventory, fashion, furniture), above history (immaterial heritage, such as music or poetry) and now (contemporary art).
The Twist, spiritual but also morphological, is the identifying mark of a surprisingly large number of Romanian contemporary artists. Works by Horia Bernea, Ștefan Bertalan, Ion Condiescu, Roman Cotoșman, Cristian Dițoiu, Constantin Flondor, Dani Ghercă, Ion Grigorescu, Ana Maria Micu, Ciprian Mureșan, Paul Neagu, Sorin Neamțu, Mihai Olos, Iulius Podlipny, Șerban Savu, Liviu Stoicoviciu, Napoleon Tiron, Bogdan Vlăduță will complete by contrast this cultural itinerary delivered in a site-specific installation in the spaces of Kunsthalle Bega."
(Călin Dan, Celia Ghyka)
****
Kunsthalle Bega is an alternative and experimental art space founded in 2019 at Timisoara by Alina Cristescu, Liviana Dan and Bogdan Rața through the Calina Foundation. Dedicated to supporting artistic production and understanding the current problems of the creative spectrum from a curatorial perspective, it awards the Bega Art Prize to a Romanian curator who manages to change curatorial perception. Involved in educational projects with diverse communities, Kunsthalle Bega promotes the significant importance of art publications.
Visual artist with a background in art history and theory, Călin Dan reached international recognition with his work in the group subREAL, and independently with the long-term projects Emotional Architecture (2002-present), Anturaju' and Other Stories (2006-2010), and Collective Authorship (2012-present). After 1989, he acted as advisor to the Mondriaan Fund and Pro Helvetia, and as a leader to cultural institutions like "Arta" magazine and the Soros Centre for Contemporary Art, Bucharest. Currently, he is the director of the National Museum of Contemporary Art – MNAC Bucharest. His work was showcased at the Biennales of Venice, Istanbul, Sao Paolo, Sydney, and at the festivals: Ars Electronica, Linz; DEAF (Dutch Electronic Arts Festival), and Film Festival, Rotterdam; Media, film and video festival Osnabruck; Internationale Kurzfilmtages, Oberhausen; OSTranenie. Video Forum an der Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau, Videonnale Bonn, etc. Recipient of the Special Media Award of the Experimental Film Festival, Split (2000) and of the Videonnale Bonn award (2001).
Călin's work focuses on the role of contemporary art in making the 21st century better. At MNAC, he elaborated recuperation strategies, giving a platform to local conceptual artists from the 1970s and 1980s while starting a regional network meant to define a significant cultural pole for artists and curators active in the former communist countries. His most recent projects focused on (among others) Horia Bernea, Ion Bitzan, Alexandru Chira, Ion Grigorescu, Jiři Kovanda, Iulian Mereuță, Ciprian Mureșan, Deimantas Narkevičius Mihai Olos, Șerban Savu, Liviu Stoicoviciu.
Celia Ghyka is an independent curator, architectural theorist, researcher and academic based in Bucharest, Romania. Adept in organising events, curating exhibitions, writing and managing cultural projects, as well as editorial work and cultural diplomacy, she worked in Luxembourg and Romania, and participated in international curatorial groups. Member of the National Commission for Public Monuments and other cultural and academic committees and juries. She is an alumna of the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles (2019), New Europe College in Bucharest (2002, 2012-2013), Fondazione Bogliasco (2021).
Her interests refer to monument, collective memory, contemporary public space, public monuments and sculpture, history of art and architecture, the social history of architecture, themes that she has approached in several writings published in Romanian academic journals and books, as well as through exhibitions and cultural projects.
Institutional Partners: The National Museum of Banat, Timișoara; The Museum of the Iron Gates Region, Drobeta Turnu Severin; The Banat Mountain Museum, Reșița; The History, Ethnography and Visual Arts Museum, Lugoj; The National Technical Museum "Pr. ing. Dimitrie Leonida", Bucharest; Arad Museum of Art; private collectors.
Media Partners: Radio România Cultural, Revista ARTA, Zeppelin, Observator cultural, Modernism.ro, Propagarta, IQads/SMARK, Renașterea Bănățeană, Agenția de Carte.ro
Partners: BRD – Groupe Société Générale, Kerber Verlag
Sponsors: Bega, PINTeam, Egeria, Flexik, VendTeam
The exhibition presents heritage objects and cultural goods from the collections of 6 museums: the National Museum of Banat Timișoara, the Museum of History, Ethnography and Fine Art in Lugoj, the Mountain Banat Museum Reșita, the Museum of the Iron Gates Region Drobeta Turnu Severin, the National Technical Museum "Prof. Eng. Dimitrie Leonida" Bucharest, and contemporary artworks from the workshops of contemporary artists or from various collections.
The project is part of the National Cultural Program "Timișoara - European Capital of Culture in 2023" and is financed by the Inside Timișoara 2023 program, run by Timișoara Center for Projects, with amounts allocated from the state budget, through the budget from the Ministry of Culture.
"Starting from the geological, topographical, morphological and geopolitical evidence provided by the triangular region historically called the Romanian Banat, we identified several elements that seemed to emerge out of the historical trajectory of this cultural construction: the twist, the conversion, the comeback — that may all be related to Plato’s concept of 'turning around of the soul' (that he defines in his famous dialogue 'The Republic').
Similar figurative, morphological, and spiritual movements may be retraced historically in the symbolic or professional languages of religion, rhetoric, philosophy, psychology, and science.
The TWIST. Five Provincial Stories from an Empire surveys the visual wingspan of the topic, examining how various motifs of the ‘turning around’ are reflected into the cultural developments of the historical Banat. The format is a cross-temporal, trans-disciplinary, cross-media exhibition, where the coexistence of genres, techniques and historical periods are assembled into a complex, multi-layered installation.
Based on a vast research of historical, bibliographical, visual, and literary sources, and of the heritage preserved in the public and private collections from the region, The TWIST spans an interval starting from Antiquity (pre-Roman and Roman), reaching into post-WW2 modernity, and bringing together archaeological, ethnographic, domestic and mass-produced artefacts, with artworks created between the 19th and the 21st century.
The show gathers a large number of artefacts (around one hundred) displayed in an original and exciting architectural setting. They have been identified and selected according to various criteria, ranging from iconographical (spiral, twist, circle, intersection), functional (cylinder, sphere, column, vault, door, hinge, wheel, clock, compass) to actions that may be utilitarian (mowing, weaving, twisting, sifting, sowing, milling, lathe working, fishing, etc.), ritualistic (dancing, praying, drumming, magical conjuring), individual sports or intellectual activities such as reading, writing, etc. to ontological (conversion, resurrection, transfiguration, return, recovery, repetition) and political (exodus, emigration, immigration, redemption, penance, revenge).
The narrative threads of this visual and poetical journey are to be read as connecting five layers or levels that establish various links, some more immediately apparent than others: protohistory (archaeological and geological pieces), pre-modernity (ethnographic and vernacular pieces), locally crafted modernity (household inventory, fashion, furniture), above history (immaterial heritage, such as music or poetry) and now (contemporary art).
The Twist, spiritual but also morphological, is the identifying mark of a surprisingly large number of Romanian contemporary artists. Works by Horia Bernea, Ștefan Bertalan, Ion Condiescu, Roman Cotoșman, Cristian Dițoiu, Constantin Flondor, Dani Ghercă, Ion Grigorescu, Ana Maria Micu, Ciprian Mureșan, Paul Neagu, Sorin Neamțu, Mihai Olos, Iulius Podlipny, Șerban Savu, Liviu Stoicoviciu, Napoleon Tiron, Bogdan Vlăduță will complete by contrast this cultural itinerary delivered in a site-specific installation in the spaces of Kunsthalle Bega."
(Călin Dan, Celia Ghyka)
****
Kunsthalle Bega is an alternative and experimental art space founded in 2019 at Timisoara by Alina Cristescu, Liviana Dan and Bogdan Rața through the Calina Foundation. Dedicated to supporting artistic production and understanding the current problems of the creative spectrum from a curatorial perspective, it awards the Bega Art Prize to a Romanian curator who manages to change curatorial perception. Involved in educational projects with diverse communities, Kunsthalle Bega promotes the significant importance of art publications.
Visual artist with a background in art history and theory, Călin Dan reached international recognition with his work in the group subREAL, and independently with the long-term projects Emotional Architecture (2002-present), Anturaju' and Other Stories (2006-2010), and Collective Authorship (2012-present). After 1989, he acted as advisor to the Mondriaan Fund and Pro Helvetia, and as a leader to cultural institutions like "Arta" magazine and the Soros Centre for Contemporary Art, Bucharest. Currently, he is the director of the National Museum of Contemporary Art – MNAC Bucharest. His work was showcased at the Biennales of Venice, Istanbul, Sao Paolo, Sydney, and at the festivals: Ars Electronica, Linz; DEAF (Dutch Electronic Arts Festival), and Film Festival, Rotterdam; Media, film and video festival Osnabruck; Internationale Kurzfilmtages, Oberhausen; OSTranenie. Video Forum an der Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau, Videonnale Bonn, etc. Recipient of the Special Media Award of the Experimental Film Festival, Split (2000) and of the Videonnale Bonn award (2001).
Călin's work focuses on the role of contemporary art in making the 21st century better. At MNAC, he elaborated recuperation strategies, giving a platform to local conceptual artists from the 1970s and 1980s while starting a regional network meant to define a significant cultural pole for artists and curators active in the former communist countries. His most recent projects focused on (among others) Horia Bernea, Ion Bitzan, Alexandru Chira, Ion Grigorescu, Jiři Kovanda, Iulian Mereuță, Ciprian Mureșan, Deimantas Narkevičius Mihai Olos, Șerban Savu, Liviu Stoicoviciu.
Celia Ghyka is an independent curator, architectural theorist, researcher and academic based in Bucharest, Romania. Adept in organising events, curating exhibitions, writing and managing cultural projects, as well as editorial work and cultural diplomacy, she worked in Luxembourg and Romania, and participated in international curatorial groups. Member of the National Commission for Public Monuments and other cultural and academic committees and juries. She is an alumna of the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles (2019), New Europe College in Bucharest (2002, 2012-2013), Fondazione Bogliasco (2021).
Her interests refer to monument, collective memory, contemporary public space, public monuments and sculpture, history of art and architecture, the social history of architecture, themes that she has approached in several writings published in Romanian academic journals and books, as well as through exhibitions and cultural projects.
Institutional Partners: The National Museum of Banat, Timișoara; The Museum of the Iron Gates Region, Drobeta Turnu Severin; The Banat Mountain Museum, Reșița; The History, Ethnography and Visual Arts Museum, Lugoj; The National Technical Museum "Pr. ing. Dimitrie Leonida", Bucharest; Arad Museum of Art; private collectors.
Media Partners: Radio România Cultural, Revista ARTA, Zeppelin, Observator cultural, Modernism.ro, Propagarta, IQads/SMARK, Renașterea Bănățeană, Agenția de Carte.ro
Partners: BRD – Groupe Société Générale, Kerber Verlag
Sponsors: Bega, PINTeam, Egeria, Flexik, VendTeam
MEDIA COVERAGE
Cătălin Davidescu, „Răsuciri“ bănățene de Călin Dan și Celia Ghyka, România literară nr. 1/2024
Alina Aliman, 4 expoziții de pus pe agendă în Timișoara, la final de an, A List Magazine, 15 December 2023
Alex Mirutziu, Exhibition review from Romania: Exploration, not justification - a guide to THE TWIST. Five Provincial Stories from an Empire, Contemporary Lynx, 14 December 2023
Horațiu Lipot, Is it a bird?… Is it a plane?, Revista Tomis, 10 December 2023
Andreea Oance, „Fünf Ebenen für die Erbauung des Ewigen Banats“, Allgemeine Deutsche Zeitung für Rumänien, 24 October 2023
Mihai Zgondoiu, „Răsucirea”, expoziția curatoriată De Călin Dan și Celia Ghyka la Kunsthalle Bega, propagarta.ro, 15 October 2023
Lucian Muntean, RĂSUCIREA. 5 niveluri pentru edificarea Banatului Etern, modernism.com, 16 October 2023
Mihaela Dedeoglu, Răsucirea - o nouă expoziție la Kunsthalle Bega, RFI România, 13 October 2023
Cătălin Davidescu, „Răsuciri“ bănățene de Călin Dan și Celia Ghyka, România literară nr. 1/2024
Alina Aliman, 4 expoziții de pus pe agendă în Timișoara, la final de an, A List Magazine, 15 December 2023
Alex Mirutziu, Exhibition review from Romania: Exploration, not justification - a guide to THE TWIST. Five Provincial Stories from an Empire, Contemporary Lynx, 14 December 2023
Horațiu Lipot, Is it a bird?… Is it a plane?, Revista Tomis, 10 December 2023
Andreea Oance, „Fünf Ebenen für die Erbauung des Ewigen Banats“, Allgemeine Deutsche Zeitung für Rumänien, 24 October 2023
Mihai Zgondoiu, „Răsucirea”, expoziția curatoriată De Călin Dan și Celia Ghyka la Kunsthalle Bega, propagarta.ro, 15 October 2023
Lucian Muntean, RĂSUCIREA. 5 niveluri pentru edificarea Banatului Etern, modernism.com, 16 October 2023
Mihaela Dedeoglu, Răsucirea - o nouă expoziție la Kunsthalle Bega, RFI România, 13 October 2023
MY WORKS WITHIN THE PROJECT
Ana Maria Micu, "To Heal You, I Hardly Know What to Do", 2023, installation of drawing and animation
This installation of drawing and animation is inspired by a concrete situation I faced, of needing to discard a surplus of soil, accumulated as a result of practicing composting, within the limited space of a regular balcony in a block of flats. When I came to decide that I could not take it anywhere but to a forest, that was the moment when I was able to notice that the practical as well as moral implications, once considered, became overwhelming compared to the natural and direct relationship that we could have with a few lumps of fertile soil.
I decided to call my project "To Heal You, I Hardly Know What to Do". It is an expression I have been keeping written down for a long time, and now it seemed appropriate. It equates the physical action of emptying a bag that seems full of dark matter with the metaphor of eliminating negative emotions. I like the aspect that everything that is discontinuous and lacking sufficient structure, coming from the technique of animating with observational drawings, is explained, as if it were a confusion, by the obscure way in which I conduct myself, because I do not see a clear method to self-regulate.
The animation is obtained from successive sketches that I executed superimposed on the background representing the natural scene in which the action took place. To orient myself in reproducing the movement, I looked at stills from the film I recorded in the forest. After I finished photographing an instance, I deleted that sketch each time, completely or partially, depending on the rendering requirements of the next instance. The last frame in the animation is the drawing that I exhibit next to it. I see in this working method a way to search and find a specific image. The animation film documents the search process, which can always be accessed in parallel with the contemplation of the result. A reverse analysis, starting from the final drawing, reveals that it has a past, that it has a personal history, that something happened to it. And this implicates a future for the image as well, a complete personification that opens the work to a life of its own, beyond what I am able to do.
Ana Maria Micu, "To Heal You, I Hardly Know What to Do", 2023, installation of drawing and animation
This installation of drawing and animation is inspired by a concrete situation I faced, of needing to discard a surplus of soil, accumulated as a result of practicing composting, within the limited space of a regular balcony in a block of flats. When I came to decide that I could not take it anywhere but to a forest, that was the moment when I was able to notice that the practical as well as moral implications, once considered, became overwhelming compared to the natural and direct relationship that we could have with a few lumps of fertile soil.
I decided to call my project "To Heal You, I Hardly Know What to Do". It is an expression I have been keeping written down for a long time, and now it seemed appropriate. It equates the physical action of emptying a bag that seems full of dark matter with the metaphor of eliminating negative emotions. I like the aspect that everything that is discontinuous and lacking sufficient structure, coming from the technique of animating with observational drawings, is explained, as if it were a confusion, by the obscure way in which I conduct myself, because I do not see a clear method to self-regulate.
The animation is obtained from successive sketches that I executed superimposed on the background representing the natural scene in which the action took place. To orient myself in reproducing the movement, I looked at stills from the film I recorded in the forest. After I finished photographing an instance, I deleted that sketch each time, completely or partially, depending on the rendering requirements of the next instance. The last frame in the animation is the drawing that I exhibit next to it. I see in this working method a way to search and find a specific image. The animation film documents the search process, which can always be accessed in parallel with the contemplation of the result. A reverse analysis, starting from the final drawing, reveals that it has a past, that it has a personal history, that something happened to it. And this implicates a future for the image as well, a complete personification that opens the work to a life of its own, beyond what I am able to do.
To Heal You, I Hardly Know What to Do, 2023,
oil-based charcoal on toned canvas, 100 x 175 cm.
oil-based charcoal on toned canvas, 100 x 175 cm.
To Heal You, I Hardly Know What to Do, 2023
47 frames animation made with charcoal and chalk, observational hand-drawn and erased on the same background,
13s, 3840x2160px, no audio, AP from Edition: 3 + AP
47 frames animation made with charcoal and chalk, observational hand-drawn and erased on the same background,
13s, 3840x2160px, no audio, AP from Edition: 3 + AP