Through the partnership with the ARTEWISER Association, Sector 1 Gallery offers two research grants for young researchers enrolled in a master’s or doctoral program in the field of visual, curatorial, or cultural studies and art history. The grants, which have an individual value of 5,000 lei, are created to encourage the research, the discovery, and the deepening of the artistic practices of Iulian Mereuță, the Romanian artist who was also active in the area of art criticism.

In addition to the allocated amount, the grant beneficiaries will have access to the archive of the artist’s works for 2 months. Afterward, they will present the results of their research in the form of an essay, but also a selection of materials from the archive. The presentation must catch on to a specific theme identified during the research and will take place at a public conference. The project will take place from August 15, until October 15, 2022, under the guidance of Alina Șerban, curator and art historian, and Decebal Scriba, artist, and expert of the Iulian Mereuță archive.

The project aims to promote the cultural heritage offered by Iulian Mereuță (1943-2015), to develop new research directions for his work, which is still too little explored. An artist with a thorough theoretical training, Mereuță worked in non-colors, black and white, and approached minimal figures. Having a deep understanding of inspiration, he found it in dreams, signs, symmetries, and places. However, amid the constraints caused by the measures imposed by the communist regime, in 1978 the artist left the country and settled in France, where he created a large part of his work: conceptual works, performances, installations, paintings, drawings, photographs, and films experimental. At the same time, he asserted himself in the area of art criticism, publishing articles and reviews in specialized magazines.

The application for this research grant is made through a letter of intent and by attaching the candidate’s CV. The document will be sent to artewiser@gmail.com by August 15, 2022.