WASP Studios and the 4Culture Association launch the ARW – Artists React to WAR exhibition, which is part of the War in images - context and representation project, on Wednesday, 14th of November 2018, at 19:30, at WASP Working Art Space and Production. The exhibition introduces five perspectives on the war by capturing different characters, actions and emotions and it is consisted of the works signed by artists Delia Popa, Valeriu Schiau, Vasile Rata, Aurora Király and Sorin Oncu, under the curatorial signature of Olivia Nitis.

The event also includes a debate in the presence of the curator and the artists involved in the project:

• Olivia Nitis is an art critic, curator, journalist. She graduated in 2004 from the Faculty of Letters, University of Bucharest, where she was a student within the Imaging Science section. Two years later she obtained the master’s degree in visual arts at the National University of Arts in Bucharest, and in 2012 her PhD in art history (at the West University in Timisoara, Faculty of Arts and Design).
• Delia Popa has obtained her master’s degree in Visual Arts at the School of Art Institute of Chicago (MFA 2007) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Visual Arts at Goldsmiths College, University of London (PgDip2005). Her artistic projects use feminist theories and practices to portray instances of the female experience of today’s global culture. She is co-founder of ArtCrowd – Artists in Education, a cultural organization that promotes artistic education for life skills among children and adolescents.
• Valeriu Schiau was born in 1969 in Republic of Moldova, where he studied at the Republican Painting School. He continued his studies at the National University of Arts in Bucharest, where he settled. The artist’s activity is generally representative for the intersection between Soviet traumatic culture and history, the post-Soviet period and post-communism. His work is the result of serious observations of human deviations encouraged by abusive sociopolitical systems, but also a critical exercise on the contemplative state of a world in which indifference is the result of a mental immunization practiced in time by the same systems for which collective consciousness is the ideal instrument of manipulation.
• Vasile Rata studied at the Cinematography Institute in Moscow – Film Scenography Department, the National Art University of Bucharest – Painting section, and the Brera Academy of Arts, Italy. He currently lives and works in Bucharest. His artistic practice includes installation, object, performance and painting, and has exhibited over time in prestigious galleries such as: Museum of Young Art Vienna (MOYA), Chosun Ilbo Art Museum Seoul, Independent Museum of Contemporary Art (NeMe-IMCA ), Cyprus, Belgrade Modern Art Museum, Palazzo Borghese, Italy. He is a member of the Romanian Artists Union and IAA / AIAP (International Artists Association).
• Aurora Király approaches the field of contemporary art from various perspectives, as an artist, curator, cultural manager. She has been teaching at the Department of Photography and Dynamic Imagery of the National University of Arts in Bucharest since 2007. Her current works call into question the sources the contemporary artist uses in choosing the themes and how he or she relates to the recent context / history / art history. She is also preocuppied by the influence of international trends and the art market on artistic production, the creation and practices of artists who “listen” and assume their own “voice”.
• Sorin Oncu, artist of Serbian origin who lived in Romania, graduated from the Faculty of Art and Design at the West University in Timisoara. Using art as an incisive instrument of deconstruction of false human nature, his works generally refer to themes such as the complex identity of the individual and the tensions existing in contemporary society. The artist died unexpectedly in the summer of 2016, while the installation presented within the ARW exhibition was previously exposed during the 7th edition of the International Biennale of Experimental Engraving in 2016/2017. The work was created after the artist’s concept and original sketch.

The ARW – Artists React to WAR exhibition can be visited at WASP Working Art Space and Production, on 67 – 93 Ion Minulescu Street, until November 21, 2018.

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Producer: WASP Studios

Co-producer: 4Culture Association

Cultural project co-funded by the National Cultural Fund Administration (AFCN)

The project does not necessarily represent the position of the National Cultural Fund Administration. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or the way the project results can be used. This is entirely the responsibility of the beneficiary of the funding.

Partners: The County Museum of History and Archeology Prahova, “My School” Theoretical High-School in Bucharest, “Ion Luca Caragiale” National College in Ploiesti, “St. Andrew” Theoretical High-School of Services in Ploiesti, Energy Tech High School in Campina

Media partners: Radio Romania Cultural, Modernism, Arta Magazine, Zeppelin, Feeder