Bucharest Biennale : 20 artists from all over the world exhibit this summer at Bucharest

Bucharest Biennale is considered the most important event of contemporary art from Romania. The event opened its 5th edition on 24th of May 2012 with a press conference at Interncontinental Hotel. The Swedish artist Klas Eriksson held then his first performance in the frame of the biennale under the title “Com’on You Reds!”. The Intercontinental Hotel facade was covered by 100 torches lighted by 100 volunteers.

On May 25th, Klas Eriksson held his second performance, “Curva Viola” within the frame of BB5 at Make a point, in Pantelimon, Bucharest.

Bucharest Biennale 2012 contains a main exhibition with the theme “Tactics for here and now”, curated by Anne Barlow and some other more parallels events.  

In today's changing nature of the economy, society and culture - sometimes called "precarious time" - artists must often negotiate risky positions or dispute territories. In this context, the creation of Biennial highlights artists whose portfolio, indirect or informal, consists of investigative strategies that have their own form of power.

Participating artists: Abbas Akhavan, Marina Albu, Haris Epaminonda, Klas Eriksson, RuthEwan, Aurélien Froment, Ciprian Homorodean, Iman Issa, JaniceKerbel, Jill Magid, David Maljković, Marina Naprushkina, Ahmet Öğüt, Vesna Pavlovic, Anahata Razmi, Wael Shawky, Alexandre Singh, Mounir Al Solh & Bassam Ramlawi, Rinus Van de Velde.

PAVILION, works by Ahmet Öğüt, Alexandre Singh and Rinus Van de Velde

PAVILION, works by Ahmet Öğüt and Alexandre Singh 

The Institute for Political Research, work by Anahita Razmi

The Institute for Political Research, work by Janice Kerbel

The Institute for Political Research, work by Marina Albu

Bucharest Biennale will have exhibitions seven locations in Bucharest The Contemporary Art and Culture Center – PAVILION, The Istitute for Political Research - Bucharest University, Make A Point – cultural center, Alert Studio – artist-run studio), The House of the Free Press, Nana – local restaurant, Union Cinema, Tabu – women magazine, Zeppelin – architecture magazine, Vice – lifestyle magazine.

Cinema Union, work by Aurélien Fromént

Make a Point, work by Wael Shawky

Make a Point, works by Mounira Al Solh & Bassam Ramlawi and Klas Eriksson

Alert Studio, work by Haris Epaminonda

  The House of the Free Press, works by Abbas Akhavan

The House of the Free Press, works by David Maljković

The House of the Free Press, work by Jill Magid. Courtesy of BB5

The House of the Free Press, work by Marina Naprushkina

The House of the Free Press, works by Vesna Pavlović and Abbas Akhavan

Most of the art works shown were created especially for this event. Bucharest Biennale is opened until 22nd of July 2012.

Night of Museums

The 8th edition of “Night of Museums” was celebrated on 19th of May by over 130 Museums from more then 40 Romanian cities. The event eas a real success despite the rainy weather.

Over 150,000 people were interested to spend a night in the most important Museums and Cultural Institutions from Bucharest: The National Museum of Natural History “Grigore Antipa”,  The National Museum of Romanian Aviation, The National Museum of Art, The National Museum of History, The National Museum of Geology, “Dimitrie Gusti” National Museum, Bellu Museum and many other more.

“Night of Museums” was a success at Cluj also. The event was celebrated by Museums and many other Cultural Organizations: The Art Museum from Cluj-Napoca, The Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania, The National Museum of History of Transylvania and the list continues. The number of visitors reached at almost 50,000 persons.

Beside visiting the Museums, the visitors were able to enjoy concerts, see films, theatre, shows.

The “Night of Museums” is an event initiated by the French Ministry of Culture. Almost 3,000 European Museums are celebrating it every year. The event takes place every year on Saturday around 18th of May - The International Day of Museums.

Romanian style in French fashion

Philippe Guilet

French designer Philippe Guilet, who has worked with the likes of Jean-Paul Gaultier and Karl Lagerfeld, has created a collection inspired by Romania's ancient peasant traditions and modern urban jungle. His "Prejudice" collection showcases in Paris this year.

Beyond fashion, Guilet aims to present a more beautiful Romania, a country whose image is blighted in France and elsewhere by images of aggressive beggars, social welfare scroungers and computer hackers.

The collection, which premiered at the French embassy in November 2011, thrilled Romanians, leaving some in tears over the spectacle of their humble village crafts being whipped up into world-class couture.

Guilet shared the stage with other designers, united in the theme of celebrating Romanian culture.

High fashion meets the haystack in Romania

The collection features a chiffon-lined women's suit covered in tufts of wood which evoke a Transylvanian roof and a figure-hugging dress embroidered with an applique design resembling a colorful Romanian Easter egg.

Underprivileged Gypsies crafted metal bracelets from tin drainpipes, while Romanian shoe designer Mihaela Glavan created shoes and boots with heels that are a miniature of sculptor Constantin Brancusi's most famous sculpture, the "Endless column."

 

Some of the clothes were simply breathtaking in their intricacy, a core element in Romanian artisan work.

A Greek-style column dress, weeks in the making, was a vision of 198 pearly grey-green jersey silk ribbons, inspired by the River Danube which runs through Romania.

 

Pounds of beads, which take hours to assemble and are a staple of Romanian rural arts, were used tapestry-like in evening dresses, matador jackets and even a sweat shirt, for a modern urban twist.

 

 

 

Alireza Jahani - Black doesn't mean Obscurity

"Strangulate"

   Since when you start to paint and how you discover your calling for painting?

I began painting from childhood and painting was always considered a part of my life but after finishing college and with a backpack full of  feel savings, I go into a community that I had no place to supply my works and forced into silence.

Here again I found that the only way out of silence is painting for me. After a series of paintings influenced by personal beliefs with the introduction  of one family members I met with my professors Nosratollah Moslemyan and since the beginning  of this acquaintance delivered me from the trap of self-imposed and hand over from my just ideological paintings slowly and teached me with his recommendations that how to show my emotions with art.

"Prisoner"

How do you choose your themes? What is your favourite theme? What inspire you?

Sometimes I only just living for weeks but I try to have impressive and deep conception from events surrounding me. Sometimes just a conversation in a French film is an idea for me to painting. My favorite subject as all know is woman and the whole humanity and its bottlenecks and capacities.

One women"

"Oblong"

What are the symbols of your work? What would you try to transmit to the public through your paintings?

My work symbols are mostly women and men in pain from my homeland Iran. Sometime my symbol is a young girl sometime a crazy woman, sometime a dead man on the cold soil or a girl with great expectations but with regret in her soul. My symbols are the women that following to freedom. It’s the woman who pulled wronged but still growing like a phoenix from ashes.

"Trance"

Why do you use so much black?

Black color to me is symptoms of frustration, oppression and suffering inside from a super closed society where that head down to oppression known as a value to the system. In my work black known as infestation, bad to the humanity, whatever even in black exist light.

"Culmination"

"Vicious circle"

What are the constraints of an artist from your point of view?

Note that I am among the general population and in connection with the lower classes of my society and I felt the pain of this grade category with all my person. Woman for me is a symbol of stood up and rebellion and not only as a symbol of sense, but as a semi-lost exist in community that surely the subtlety and reflection and standing.

"Thought"

In my opinion and according to my taught, the value and validity of a painting is to express inner feelings of the artist and experienced of his life.

"Asphyxia"

The artist can provide an accurate comparison between self and society to achieve, only thinking about art free of any limitations and restrictions governing and taste of society.

"The living soil"

What does an artist need to become famous? Is it enough talent?

In the history of art many talents was not recognized in their lifetime. But I have to follow the art without any despair and with my tendency to humanity and biological experienced. Always I am looking for contact with art world and from my experience using it to present my work and performance to the world.

Short biography:

I was born in 1980 in the port city of Anzali. I was first child of my family and from childhood my mother with books, crayons and drawing papers helped me a lot. She played a big role in my tendency to booking and painting from early ages. From my childhood, like most of my generation, I have memories of the war and those situations. In school time I was a smart student and I had always high marks although the lesson for me even in college time was of secondary importance after, my books. I success in my education and I was accepted in civil engineering at the university and graduated after 5 years. Studies continued on my country's political past and I was wavering between political activity or expression with my art but by thinking I chose art for the expression of mine and found my salvation way in art. I had all my past that followed and unknown way to future but a chance to introduction with my stand Mr. Nosratollah Moslemyan caused to understanding not only modern painting but also the modern thinking and getting rid of outdated traditions trap. I can honestly say that I was born again.