Defaced

The exhibition presents a selection of works from a young generation of Romanian figurative painters emerging out of Cluj-Napoca and Bucharest who have recently gained international attention. This generation of artists grew up under the veil of the iron curtain and the aftermath of communism, which was followed by an onset of intense consumerism. The paintings in the exhibition reflect on Romania’s present state, which is closely linked to a recent past. The exhibition gives a glimpse into the psychological trauma of a dictatorship and shows the artistic devices of a generation of painters attempting to erase the memory of the past while building a new identity, both individually and collectively. Formally and conceptually, each artist is dealing with different issues that interest them, yet in all we see an artistic tactic to deface sovereignty, literally and metaphorically.