The events of the 8th Szeklerland Graphic Biennial began in Sfântu Gheorghe with two exhibition openings

The series of events for the G8 commenced in Sfântu Gheorghe with the opening of an exhibition by Nastazja Ciupa (PL), the grand prize winner of the 7th Szeklerland Graphic Art Biennial. The exhibition, held at the Arcaded House (Lábasház), was inaugurated by art historian Dr. Iréne Kányádi, who first introduced the exhibiting artist.

Nastazja Ciupa was born in 1991 in Katowice, Poland. She is a lecturer at the Lithography Studio and the Classical Graphic Techniques Studio of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. Her research interests and artistic practice focus on human perception, particularly its internal visual aspects and the interpretation of reality, where space and time are two fundamental dimensions. She strives to achieve a post-view of the meanings of emptiness through non-obviousness, fragmentation, and transience. The images of large heaps, old mines, forgotten factories, and gray blocks have gained new forms in her imagination, creating structures that always leave the recipient with the impression of being overwhelmed, emptied, and burdened by the weight of the forms she creates in her works.

In her exhibition titled My Non-Places, the artist seeks to address the phenomena of transience and emptiness through the gray blocks of old mines and abandoned Silesian factories that remain in her environment. She transforms these gray masses into heavy forms and structures over time, creating new visual solutions that are realized in both space and time.

“The artist’s lithographs attempt to find answers to a kind of crisis situation. The high level of technical execution and her lyrical sensitivity toward these Central and Eastern European landscapes, which significantly shape our visual memory, result in works that have justifiably earned the grand prize two years ago”, stated Iréne Kányádi. Furthermore, she added that Nastazja Ciupa’s lithographs, both in their choice of themes and in their meticulous execution, represent temporal and spatial transfers, serving as sensitive, and perhaps idealized, memory images of the artist’s place of origin. The series is a journey home, to the artist’s homeland, depicting mental spaces that we begin to idealize over time, as these abandoned industrial areas shape our existence.

Personal icebergs at the MAGMA Contemporary Exhibition Space

The opening of the exhibition An Iceberg of One’s Own by Ferenc Gróf and Zsófia Gyenes took place at the MAGMA Contemporary Exhibition Space. The exhibition was inaugurated by Noémi Bíró, a doctoral candidate at the Doctoral School of Philosophy at Babes-Bolyai University. After the opening, Ferenc Gróf conducted a guided tour of the exhibition.

The exhibition showcases works by the artist duo Gróf & Gyenes created over the past year, which seek to construct new building blocks inspired by diagrams, infographics, and political slogans reflecting ecological and economic despair.

Zsófia Gyenes (b. 1977, Budapest) is a textile designer and visual artist. She completed her studies in Budapest and Paris, graduating from the textile department of ENSAD (École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs) in 2004. After nearly twenty years of working as a textile designer in the fashion, interior design, and automotive industries, she embarked on an independent artistic practice in 2022.

Ferenc Gróf (b. 1972, Pécs) is a founding member of the Société Réaliste group, where he developed a distinctive artistic language using linguistic and typographic elements, statistics, and cartographic symbols to examine social processes and reveal connections between the past and present. Following the dissolution of the group, he retained this perspective, with his works now engaging with ideological imprints at the intersection of graphic design and spatiality.

Zsófia Gyenes, a color and textile designer, and Ferenc Gróf, a visual artist, began their collaborative work in 2022. After over twenty years in Paris, they relocated to Orléans, where they established their joint studio in October 2023. Their collective works are created at the intersection of textile design and visual art. The exhibition will be on view until 17 January 2025.

Posted in News, Uncategorized.