The exhibition by Iulian Cristea opened at Cărturești Carusel (Str. Lipscani 55) is on display until February 23, 2025.
“Monuments with tails. A collection of drawings and sculptures. Works which portray the comical, romantic, secure and curious solitude of monuments. Landscapes as intentions, intentions of landscapes, landscapes intentionally undefined so as to preserve all possible intentions. Landscapes imagined between the abstract and the figurative, between the articulate and the inarticulate, between the impossible and the possible, between dreams, awakenings and presences, between being and not being (landscapes with) sculptures, monuments, ideas, intentions, instances, snapshots, situations, forms/landscapes from the sub/un/conscious. With a static image intuitively dynamized, from contemplation/ reverie/ observation to lurking. With compositions informally dynamized, respectively, with/through multi-materialities/ angularities/ sensorialities, with overlapping planes, with symmetries and asymmetries, with actual or supposed diagonals, with contemporary rhythms. The space of Iulian Cristea’s exhibition consequently becomes a landscape full of intentions.”
Alex Radu
“I am in a constant search for the roots and resources of inspiration, for the abundance of forms, colours, moods and ideas that cultivate artistic growth. A kind of continuous journey between imaginary worlds which intersect each other, a fluid space where the boundaries between the abstract and the figurative, the impossible and the possible, are constantly negotiated. I am interested in exploring and understanding the subtle connections between the parts that reality is composed of: words, images, memories, experiences.
I don’t want one source of inspiration, but all of them: words, images, ideas, experiences, memories that come together at the intersection of the past, present and future through imaginary abstractions, through figurative remixes of the past or through interstellar forms. These are my sources of inspiration, and they are never isolated. I follow a principle of total openness, choosing to work with whatever the world has to offer, without limiting myself to a single direction.
In my artistic practice, I am particularly interested in the dualities and contradictions that arise from juxtaposing that which is tangible with that which is abstract. The monuments and sculptures in my works are not just objects, but symbols of constantly transforming ideas, in a dialogue about past and present, about the conscious and about the subconscious.
Each work is, for me, a challenge to navigate and make sense of these in-between territories, between forms and landscapes that hide or reveal themselves, depending on the viewer’s perspective. Ultimately, what I am looking for is to create a space where the boundaries between realities are blurred and where each viewer can find space for their own reflections and questions.” (Iulian Cristea)
Iulian Cristea (b. 1991, Republic of Moldova) studied sculpture at the Academy of Music, Theater and Fine Arts in Chișinău, at the National University of Arts in Bucharest and at the University of Arts in Saarbrücken, Germany. He received awards in numerous national and international competitions and his works have been exhibited in Bucharest, Luxembourg, Chișinău, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Craiova and Bistrița.
An exhibition organized by /SAC in partnership with Cărturești.
