On Thursday, October 13, at 6 p.m., at Mobius Gallery (Dumbrava Roșie street, no.18, Bucharest) takes place the opening of the exhibition “Shaving the Caterpillar”.
Ileana Paşcalău, a visual artist and art historian, who currently lives and works in Berlin, is the protagonist of the exhibition “Shaving the Caterpillar”, curated by Valentina Iancu.
The exhibition “Shaving the Caterpillar” has as its starting point “a research in the medical archives – documents and illustrations that once justified the theories about the dangerous attributes of the uterus. The artworks of the Ileana Paşcalău, reunited in the art space of Mobius Gallery, represent a subjective, surreal exploration of the collective trauma built by the tyranny of psychiatry about the needs and sexuality of the feminine. Redefined stories from the Salpêtrière mental hospital, the largest prison asylum of the 19th century, aberrant arguments used to invent insanity or references to one’s biography support a delicate and sensual artistic discourse, meant to rewrite history and suggest, finally, possible healing paths. The title of the exhibition is a tribute to the American poet Anne Sexton (1928-1974), who dared to write about sexuality, breasts or uteruses, in a long line of risky themes, carefully avoided for centuries.”
After completing her bachelor’s degree in visual arts and art history studies at the National University of Arts Bucharest, Ileana Paşcalău (b. 1985 in Caransebeş, Romania) continued her master’s degree at the University of Arts in Berlin (2015). Between 2010-2012 she works as an assistant professor at UNArte Bucharest. Parallel to her artistic practice, Ileana Pascalau follows a doctoral program in visual studies and works as a researcher in eighteenth and nineteenth-century art at Akademie der Künste Berlin. In recent years her works have been exhibited at Galerie im Turm (Berlin), Kunsthalle Bega (Timișoara), PS120 (Berlin), Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst (Berlin), Galerie imKörnerpark (Berlin), Kunstquartier Bethanien (Berlin), Kulturhaus Bremen (Bremen), Kunstraum B (Kiel), Villa Romana (Florence), Centre Internatonal d’Art Contemporain (Pont-Aven). During the scholarships (Reed Foundation Grant, DAAD grants, the Schleswig-Holsteinscholarship) and the artistic residencies obtained, Ileana united her artistic practice and theoretical interests for the common purpose of investigating the history of the body. Her approach examines the role of artists and physicians in the cultural transition from the gallic, single-sex anatomical system to the binary anatomical system, the impact of the “discovery” of women’s sexuality, as well as non-binary narratives in the early modern era. Her recent sculptures and installations follow collective fears in their coercive manifestation, as well as individual biographies capable of transgressing, thus contributing to the recent history of our bodies.
Team:
Coordinators: Ștefania Dobrescu and Roxana Gamarț | Curator: Valentina Iancu | Graphics: Gallery Mobius | Communication: Evantia Barca | Photo: Ileana Paşcalău
Parteners: Goethe Institut Bucharest
