Rezidenta9 presents until the 29th of October Who’s Who?, an exhibition which brings together two artists in a way they have never met before. Father and daughter, Francisc and Anna Chiuariu share an exhibition space for the first time.

Who’s Who? places the two artists in a narrative that includes us all, that of the common social system. The answers the two bring may be subjective perspectives, but they actually find their unanimity by expressing some perceptions and feelings in the fullness of their experiences, which can only be an encouragement to the integration of our own subjectivities.

“In a world in which we are constantly connected to what the media produces, the answers to the question Who’s Who? came to be if not facile, always close-at-hand. But the present exhibition offers us a rhetoric rather than a challenge to find certain answers. Of course, it is an interesting path to discover whether the characters that are encapsulated in a part of the paintings are consistent with one’s own assumptions. But the intention is rather the contextualization, the integration of each individual in the common system of which we are all part.

How can we find such different individuals in one context? Just as each of us can find ourselves in front of these works, face to face with political leaders who have changed the faith of nations, or with religious leaders who are meant to guide collectives of people. These characters took public positions and, being under constant scrutiny, assumed more or less self-centred that their decisions were the right ones for the masses before whom they stood. If we were to look for the true common thread that connects everyone and us at the same time, it is the persona that we collectively create for each individual. In general, portraits bear witness to the human in us. How much of the images are the people depicted and how much are we, the ones who project, is a question that goes beyond the socio-political context of any character.

Who’s Who? challenges us to see beyond the characters portrayed, to how we perceive them and what produced that perception. So, from moments like the double interaction with Pope Francis, once as a three-dimensional painting that shows the nature of the Holy Father, then in a direct video interaction with him, but also with other names that have remained in history, even if not for the same values, we end up facing a psychotic assemblage. The latter, an atypical portrait that, at daily frequency, can become the reflection of each of us, brings to contemplation the contribution we have in this age of consumption. The circle ends up being closed by an intimate meeting of the viewer with the artist, perhaps even an invitation to a meeting of the viewer with himself, a symbiosis that could actually be the answer to the proposed question?

Speri Enescu September 2023

Who’s Who? is an exhibition project supported by Rezidența9 and Fundația9.

Francisc Chiuariu, an artist with an extensive portfolio and a series of exhibitions both here and abroad, accumulated in a 30-year career, shows works that have not been exhibited until today. A suite of portraits that test the limits of the recognizable through touches that clothe characters prioritizing feeling over features, the present works show us an artistic journey representative of the artist’s versatility. A seeker by nature, Francisc Chiuariu does not hesitate to experiment, both in volumes and mediums, but especially in expression and content. Therefore, we meet the artist in a twice surprising pose: first, he simultaneously exhibits works from the entire itinerary of a series, and second, he exhibits together with his daughter.

Anna Chiuariu‘s video works explore the depth of human experience. If there was no other connection between the two artists, a common denominator visible to the naked eye is the tireless seeker character. The element of shadow, recurring in her work, is placed in relation to one of Francisc Chiuariu’s paintings, a piercing parallel between the two artists. Anna Chiuariu manages to look beyond the simplicity of an interaction, challenging the viewer to integrate himself into the proposed research, to build his own framework and contemplate his positioning in relation to the surrounding world.