Gabriel Roceanu, the general director of Crama Oprișor, a private Romanian company that has chosen to get involved in the development and consolidation of the Romanian art scene, spoke to us about the two initiated projects Crama Oprișor Prizes for Contemporary Drawing and Blooming Monuments.

Angela Izvercian: Please tell us about the moment when you decided to become an active supporter of the young generation of artists. Was it a spontaneous decision or a long-considered one?

Gabriel Roceanu: We started the actions to support young artists with the idea of developing the first Crama Oprișor Awards project in 2015 at the initiative of Ciprian Paleologu, a visual artist and a partner of Crama Oprișor. Of course, we have looked deeply into this direction of supporting artists and have not rushed. For us in the team, it was necessary to go through many stages of knowledge and learning of the social environment in which we operate. I have been involved in the activity of Crama Oprișor for more than 26 years, starting in 1998. For me, wine is a source from which people feed their natural needs for enjoyment and relaxation. Making wine, in itself, is an act of creation.

A.I.: How did the concern for art appear, and how did it evolve over time?

G.R.: As I mentioned earlier, for me and the Crama Oprișor team, wine can only exist if it supports its value in front of the public. The messages through which wine communicates with consumers can be similar in many ways to the messages conveyed by artistic creations in any field, visual, literary, or musical. Wine contains matter and spirit; like art, wine is generous and tender in analysis and interpretation. It gives freedom and brings closeness between people. It opens communication barriers and carries with it values from history and tradition. Most importantly, for us, wine means culture. Visual art, in my opinion, cannot be revealed in the integrity of its value without being admired over a glass of wine.

A.I.: Contemporary art includes an unlimited number of artistic techniques. You started by supporting drawing and recently turned your attention to sculpture. Why did you choose drawing and sculpture, not painting or new media?

G.R.: At the risk of being subjective, drawing is the most honest and innocent form of expression of any visual artist. Drawing is the foundation of creation. Referring to the existence of humanity on earth, the first works of homo sapiens discovered are drawings on stone. Returning to actuality, contemporary drawing is a generous field, so why not, perhaps, the most generous field in visual art?
In particular, young artists, at the beginning of their career, have the first option at hand: Drawing, to “play” and be relaxed in the approaches through which they convey their creative conceptions. Among the young artists we support is Adrian Piorescu, who, although he devotes most of his energy and time to sculpture, managed to win the most recent Crama Oprișor Contest for Contemporary Drawing with a work of drawing on concrete slabs. At the initiative of our partner, established artist Ciprian Paleologu, we developed an urban art project called Blooming Monuments, through which young artists can exhibit their sculpture works in the Bucharest courtyard where Crama Oprișor has its administrative headquarters.

A.I.: You are the initiator and organizer of the “Crama Oprișor Awards for Contemporary Drawing” contest. Launched in 2016, the contest reached its third edition. How did the project evolve from one edition to another, and what effects do you think it had on the Romanian art scene?

G.R.: Like any beginning, in a social and economic environment that puts art at a disadvantage, the first edition had a number of 57 young artists registered, from which the jury selected 15 artists for the final exhibition at the Laborna Gallery in Bucharest. Then, in partnership with the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca, the 2nd edition attracted 63 artists who sent works, from which the jury selected 34 artists for the final exhibition at the Art Museum in Cluj.
The 3rd edition, the most recent, developed in partnership with the National Museum of Contemporary Art MNAC in Bucharest, generated the interest of 169 young artists, students and graduates of Romania’s most prestigious art universities. The final was contested between 16 selected artists who enjoyed the opportunity to exhibit their works at MNAC – Bucharest, Romania’s most important contemporary art museum.
The effects of our actions are obvious; in the last two years, you can see similar initiatives, such as some “copy-paste” developed by associations, organizations, and entities from various fields. We hope that Romanian artistic values will assert themselves internationally, reaping a little from the benefits of Crama Oprișor’s efforts to support young creators.

A.I.: What was the context in which the “BLOOMING MONUMENTS” project took shape? What led you to focus on contemporary sculpture, and what exactly do you propose with this approach?

G.R.: As I mentioned in a previous question, BLOOMING MONUMENTS was born from the idea of Ciprian Paleologu, who really liked the approaches of the young artist Adrian Piorescu from Craiova. I saw the project as an opportunity to integrate valuable creations with a unique and avant-garde message for young people who sculpt and who do not have the possibility of very easy public exposure. We want to maintain and possibly multiply the locations of the sculpture works. In fact, everywhere in modern civilization, artistic creations are valued by the urban environment and produce interest, education and culture.

A.I.: Please tell me, are artists receptive to this type of initiative?

G.R.: I think so. And I hope there are as many artists as possible who want to work and exhibit their works wherever they can. Finally, we look around. What do we see in the contemporary era? What burns our retina most often? Isn’t it the kitsch? It’s everywhere, like a ring, caused by economic greed, which hurts, but that’s the reality.

A.I.: You opened the “BLOOMING MONUMENTS” project with the artist Adrian Piorescu. What is the participation procedure? Is a project competition being organized?

G.R.: For now, it is the first work to be exhibited. Actions to support and popularize the existing work follow. It is an initiative started as a pilot project, with the first stage in which we want to proceed naturally, without haste and clichés of regulations or procedures. It is perhaps also a study of ours related to art and the daily life of people walking on the street. It is, perhaps, also an initiative to break the urban monotony and untie the eyes of passers-by from their smartphones to the surroundings.

A.I.: Also, could you tell us the selection criteria for the contemporary drawing competition and this new project? When you look at a work of art, what catches your attention? What piques your curiosity?

G.R.: The selection criteria are written in each regulation accompanying each contest’s launch. The works of art we appreciate are those that let the viewer interpret the story of the work, the lines, the shapes, and the colors as they consider, want and understand the context and message the artist has placed in the work.

A.I.: In addition to the above questions, I want to ask you what exactly turns something into a work of art. Can we consider art anything an artist does or says?

G.R.: The work of art is a unique work through which the transformation of formless matter into an object becomes a complex result with a unique story and generous and profound message.

A.I.: How do you anticipate the evolution of Romanian art in the coming years?

G.R.: Higher arts schools have a huge role. Here, we should intervene. I don’t know how. Political, economic? I cannot express a professional opinion. But I am absolutely convinced of something. A nation that does not place art in the top ten development priorities has no future. I anticipate that it will be a phenomenon, I would call it, against the wind. That is, artistic values will force the leadership of the country to get involved in supporting the artistic education of Romanians.

A.I.: Starting from your experience. as a successful businessman, what qualities and/or skills do you think are necessary for a young artist to succeed, to perfect his practice, to become appreciated and recognized among colleagues in the trade, but also by the general public?

G.R.: Vision, desire, perseverance. If he knows what he wants and if he has at least five easily demonstrable elements of authenticity and originality in what he’s doing, then nothing can stop him. Indeed, unfortunately, there are extremely talented artists who fail to grow in the community because of shyness, fear, and indolence. But here, the second criterion from the definition applies: Desire. It means not only the desire to produce a work but also the desire to show it to mankind. And if he has confidence, then he can walk through fire because he has nothing to lose and no reason to fear anything.

A.I.: And last but not least, how do we convince the public to support contemporary art by buying the works of contemporary artists with them? There is an increased appetite for attending contemporary art exhibitions, yet sales remain sporadic.

G.R.: Indeed, art buying is a niche. Let’s not forget the economic and social environment we are in. And we, Crama Oprișor, are forced to fight with the commercial environment because that is where the resources for building new projects come from. However, those who are not overwhelmed by social and economic disorder are the ones who support art by purchasing works. Art buyers will surely multiply. No matter how voluminous the masses of the ignorant, the education levels have separated since the world was on earth. The oil can mix with the water when the container is shaken. But after any ten seconds of silence, the separation is obvious.