How much time do you think is needed to get to the heart of any matter? How does the route initiated by the desire to learn something new look like? What can there be done when sensing that your envisioned quest does not seem to lead you straight to your chosen destination? These are just some of the questions that Lucian Indrei uses to tease our appetite for self-examination of our trials and tribulations, through his series of works titled “Valley of Disappointment”. This is his first solo exhibition displayed in the space curated by the team running MATCA artspace in Cluj-Napoca.
The art show illustrates some possible answers tendered by the artist in response to the various challenges met along the way, crossing the ‘valley of disappointment’. His works set the stage for a microcosm that functions as a lifeline to grab onto in understanding the artist’s reaction to these limitations. Among his pieces, the large-scale reproductions of online images that pop up in search of the word “proboscis” (the elongated trunk of various mammals and insect species, used for collecting food and manipulating objects) stand out. They most likely allude to the complexity of the research process and the inadvertent stroke of luck involved in finding the best tools for artistic practice.
Moreover, similarly, large-scale replicas of the marks left by shipworm mollusks devouring all wooden material that crosses their path are not to be missed. To these are added recurrent strokes and specters sketched in the scenes of a video clip played on a loop. The proof of having captured countless tiny insects on the background of sticky papers left to hang in the breeze of a botanical garden is showcased as well. Ultimately, the phrase “Life is life” featured on a pinkish-hued backdrop supplement the chosen visuals.
All of this is “good news”, the artist concludes:
“𝘙𝘰𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵
𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴
𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘺
𝘚𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴
𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴
𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧
𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺
𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨
𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘦.”
Thus, the pieces on display hint at the broader themes tackled in the artist’s repertoire. Indrei’s artwork centers on researching the mutual influence between personal relationships and the perception of cultural tropes specific to the Romanian landscape. Furthermore, the artist awards significant interest to how technology and science seem to directly affect our perception and engagement with not only communication practices but the world at large.
“Valley of Disappointment”, one of the initiatives financed in partnership with AFCN (The National and Cultural Fund Agency) constitutes a particular viewpoint, as part of the third iteration of a collective project that proposes an exploration of the many guises assumed by contemporary artists. This seems to be a role that implies juggling many different duties, not necessarily related just to studio work.
Establishing collaborations with at least one gallery, accessing funds, grants, or artistic residencies for various projects, the work of curatorship in itself or merely taking on additional commitments in employment on the side amount to activities that litter the everyday worlds of many artists. Therefore, what seems to be the focus of “Past-present-future: artists for artists”, the far-reaching subject of the three-phased approach of the exhibition, is a series of investigations meant to uncover the variability of artistic practice.
For many local artists, studio practice seems to fall within the same parameters: the difficulty and much-needed perseverance in the pursuit of one’s artistic production, in the context of financial instability synonymous with current circumstances.
Similar observations can be drawn from the organizers of the second expositional stage of the project, titled “Current Alternatives to Something Missing”, which took place from September 23rd to November 21st of the current year, and who fathom that:
“The common thread of all the pieces on display is a limitation – and this is expressed in multiple forms: from the need to associate with and build for others, to the rigors enforced by our current footing and to the steps needed to overcome certain restraints – or perhaps the impossibility of surmounting obstacles and a constant return to a place of origin.”
Hence, the prevailing vulnerability felt in connection to a similar past delineates an outline of varied visions of the future. At the same time, the contributions part of the project are a reflection of the many adaptive strategies used by artists in the face of hardship.
The exhibition “Valley of Disappointment” is open to the public until December 8th, by appointment.
Lucian INDREI, born in 1983 in Bistrița, lives and works in Cluj. He pursued his BA and MA studies at the University of Arts and Design, in the same city. Indrei is the co-founder of the artist-run space Co-Lateral, the product of merging an older endeavor of his, Lateral ArtSpace, with the movie theater ARTA in Cluj-Napoca. He helped establish Lateral ArtSpace, alongside Dragoș Bădiță and Cristina Curcan, in April of 2012, in the confines of the space that used to host the former Paintbrush Factory, a site for the independent contemporary art of the time, in Cluj-Napoca.
Cover photo: Oana Pop
