At Borderline Art Space in Iași, the exhibition Estranged Nature/ Natura înstrăinată by artist Ioan Sbârciu opens on Wednesday, May 13, starting at 18:00. Curated by internationally active curator of Romanian origin Maria Rus Bojan, the Iași exhibition represents the second chapter of this project, initially presented as a collateral event of the Venice Biennale. A new selection of works will be shown here, all within the same overarching theme.
On the occasion of the opening, the catalog Estranged Nature will be launched for the first time, edited by Maria Rus Bojan and published by Idea Artă și Societate, Cluj, 2026. The catalog includes texts by philosopher Aurel Codoban, poet Ion Mureșan, and curator Maria Rus Bojan.
“In the series of paintings selected for this exhibition, the artist constructs poetic spaces that are as real as they are imaginary, saturated with an almost mystical beauty, emotionally charged with the memory of the purity of Transylvania’s endless forests.
Ioan Sbârciu’s monumental landscapes, neither figurative nor fully abstract, express a wide range of contemporary themes, from existential fragility to climate change, the aggressive exploitation of natural resources, and the urgent need to redefine our relationship both with the surrounding environment and, more importantly, with our own human nature. The artist masterfully envelops these essential themes in a refined and complex pictorial language, structured in fields of color that reverberate moments of poetic illumination, states of grace, or instances of melancholy.
Through this admirable ability to orchestrate painting as an infinite field of forces and artistic energies, within a chromatic abundance that harmoniously organizes itself across vast canvases, Ioan Sbârciu has carved out a singular path in the history of Romanian painting.
Vast in scope and substance, his work is truly visionary, complemented by the mission he has embraced throughout his life as an innovative pedagogue and mentor of Romania’s most renowned art school.” (excerpt from the curatorial text)
Ioan Sbârciu (born in 1948, Feldru, Bistrița-Năsăud) lives and works in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. He graduated from the Painting Department of the “Ion Andreescu” Institute of Fine Arts in 1973 and, starting in 1990, successively served as Head of the Painting Department, Dean, Rector, and President of the Senate of the University of Art and Design in Cluj. He has held a PhD in Visual Arts since 2005 and has taught all artists associated with the Cluj School phenomenon, from Adrian Ghenie to Victor Man, Marius Bercea, Mircea Suciu, Șerban Savu, and many others.
The exhibition can be visited until June 4, 2026.
The exhibition is organized by Borderline Art Space through the AltIași Cultural Association and is part of the project “Fluxuri & sedimente,” co-financed by AFCN.
This project does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or for how the project’s results may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding beneficiary.
