The project “The Garden of Ideas” is presented for the first time in Argeș County as an international group exhibition, bringing together works of graphic art, assemblage, photography, and painting. The exhibition continues the directions previously opened at Etaj Mahal in Bucharest in November 2025.
“The Garden of Ideas” will be open to the public at the Muzeul Municipal Curtea de Argeș (10 Victor Ștefănescu Street, Curtea de Argeș). The opening will take place on March 9 at 4:00 PM.
On the same day, starting at 2:30 PM, young visitors are invited to take part in an educational clay-painting workshop organized at the museum to mark the official opening.
Participating artists: Elena Berlo, Eugen Berlo, Anca Coller, Crina Cranta, Selma Duteanu, Lucian Muntean, Maia Ștefana Oprea, Silviu Sandrea, Zelmira Szabó, Ramona Șlug, Oana Tudose, Samir Mihail Văncică, Johannes Wiener.
Exhibition text
“The exhibition is articulated around the idea of community and the relationship with nature, understood as structures of interdependence and coexistence. The works reflect on the visible and invisible networks that sustain existence and on the ways in which body, matter, and environment are engaged in continuous transformation. Soil, root, forest, marking, and the monochromy of earth become reference points for an artistic inquiry that shifts the focus from representation to relation.
Nature is not treated as a backdrop but as an active system, and human presence is situated within a broader ecosystem in which the boundaries between individual and collective, human and non-human, are constantly negotiated. The Garden of Ideas proposes a curatorial framework sensitive to a contemporary ecology in which belonging implies responsibility and relationship: among artists, among works, and between the public and the natural context.
The project builds a territory of convergence between individual practices and a shared horizon of meaning and will continue through online discussion sessions, meetings with local residents, botanists, and heritage specialists, as well as scheduled routes this summer in the Nucșoara area. The gatherings in nature will be open to the public. Further details and the program will be announced on the Instagram page Grădina Ideilor.”
About the artists
Elena Berlo (b. 1979, Constanța), with studies in Architecture and Art (University of Bucharest, FIT New York), brings to The Garden of Ideas the refinement of a vision that unites design, illustration, and fine arts, transforming life stories into visual poetry.
Eugen Berlo (b. 1975, Bucharest), an American artist of Romanian origin, has lived and worked in Bucharest since 2012. With studies in Fine Arts in New York and in Architecture and Mathematics in Bucharest, he has exhibited nationally and internationally.
Anca Coller (b. 1976, Bucharest) is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Bucharest. Her work explores memory, fragility, vulnerability in relation to contemporary ecosystems, as well as alienation and isolation.
Crina Cranta (b. 1986, Bucharest), interdisciplinary artist and double MA candidate at Universitatea Națională de Arte București and Universitatea de Arhitectură și Urbanism Ion Mincu, presents the human–nature relationship both visually and situationally, conceptually linking two community gardens: the Garden in Gura Siriului and The Garden of Ideas.
Selma Duteanu (b. 1996, Constanța), Romanian visual artist and graduate of the Universitatea Națională de Arte București (Art Education Department), explores the connection between spiritual and vegetal realms, where collage technique “weaves” an esoteric narrative.
Lucian Muntean (b. 1974, Sighișoara), Romanian visual artist and graduate of Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai (Faculty of Geology), works in photography, painting, graphic art, illustration, and calligraphy, blending scientific understanding with artistic emotion.
Maia Ștefana Oprea (b. 1987, Bucharest), graduate of the National University of Arts Bucharest, with scholarships in France and the USA, explores the relationship between art and nature through an ecological visual discourse, investigating the intersection between contemporary approaches and craftsmanship. She lives in Prahova and Argeș.
Silviu Sandrea (b. 1984, Constanța), a friend of The Garden of Ideas, is interested in the connection between nature and authentic communion, and in mitigating the effects of alienation and accelerated artificial loops on quality of life.
Zelmira Szabó (b. 1977, Cluj-Napoca), illustrator with studies in theatre studies and scenography, works across theatre, puppet theatre, literature, scriptwriting, costume and set design, mail art, itinerant art, and children’s literature, and is active in theoretical research through interviews, reviews, and theatre criticism.
Ramona Șlug (b. 1979, Constanța), visual artist from Curtea de Argeș, explores the relationship between education, nature, heritage, and artistic expression. In 2013 she co-founded BAR – Bărăști Artist Residency, transforming her family’s rural heritage into a living creative space.
Oana Tudose (b. 1987, Roșiori de Vede) is a visual artist based in Denmark. Her practice draws on textile traditions defined by repair and reuse in contexts of limited resources, investigating care practices, vulnerability, and preservation as forms of ethical labor.
Samir Mihail Văncică (b. 1986, Bucharest), visual artist and graduate of the National University of Arts, Painting Department, is concerned with the relationship between image, perception, and the mechanisms through which we organize, interpret, and reconstruct visual experience over time.
Johannes Wiener (Vienna, Austria) is an Austrian artist working at the intersection of contemporary art, agriculture, and ecology. His practice explores the relationship between communities and ecosystems, using cultivation and environmental care as forms of artistic expression and social engagement.
The exhibition can be visited until March 31, 2026, from Tuesday to Sunday, between 09:00 AM and 5:00 PM.
