The solo exhibition Roamers by artist Matei Toșa, on view until May 1, 2026 at MATCA artspace in Cluj-Napoca, proposes an incursion into a universe where the boundaries between the real and the imaginary become unstable. His drawings construct a strange atmosphere in which surreal elements seep into the everyday, becoming “increasingly plausible within the conditions of the global present.” The artist’s practice often starts from stories that are heard or imagined, which he reinterprets with ironic, almost playful twists.
The exhibition’s title functions as a metaphor for a state of “in-betweenness” — between spaces, states, and realities. Roamers develops from a local story connected to the area known as “Dead Man’s Curve” in Cluj-Napoca, a site marked by accidents and layered with collective memory. Within this context, the artist constructs speculative fictions in which reality intersects with haunted scenarios populated by figures in constant drift. The space thus becomes one of tension and fragility, where the sense of safety is continuously destabilized.
The works on view induce a diffuse state of insecurity: a street corner becomes a stage for latent conflict, and behaviors are shaped by suspicion and unpredictability. References to gaming culture play a central role in this series, offering a framework in which reality can be “navigated” like an open system governed by unstable rules. Allusions to universes such as Grand Theft Auto appear in the representation of expansive urban spaces inhabited by nearly dehumanized characters who act without clear constraints.
A recurring element in Matei Toșa’s work is the presence of vehicles, which function as triggers for game-like scenarios. Human figures often appear as being “guided by invisible commands,” in a continuous state of drift, reinforcing a sense of alienation. Conflict is treated in a parodic key: meaning constantly fractures, and the characters — almost zombified — seem caught within a system they do not control.
A graduate of the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca, Matei Toșa (b. 1993) develops a practice centered on drawing, influenced by his background in sculpture and contemporary visual culture. Co-founder of MATCA artspace, the artist anchors his work in familiar urban environments, which he distorts and reconfigures, generating raw, sometimes absurd compositions that explore themes such as isolation, anxiety, and the fragility of perception.
