Romanian catalog for Webpage - Flipbook - Page 16
will be struck by the emergence of key themes running
throughout. It is also clear that certain artists have
been very influential to others and that there is often a
collaborative spirit present, with some artists choosing to
form partnerships, collectives, and artist-run magazines, as
well as spaces to show their work and present their ideas.
It is possible to group together a number of artists
within the Collection of the Arthur Taubman Trust whose
practice playfully questions the status quo. These artists
are not simply working in reaction to communism or
post-communism, neither are they necessarily always
angry about history or certain events. Rather, they often
find the humor in a given situation and then employ a
darker humor to make a point. Sometimes they are jokey,
using games and surprising juxtapositions of media and
narrative to provoke and poke fun. Often, they are simply
searching for their own identity within a fluid sociopolitical landscape, or questioning given assumptions.
As co-curators of the Collection of the Arthur Taubman
Trust, the personalities and interests of the Taubmans
shine through the works on view. Anyone who knows
Jenny and Nick will have observed how acute their sense
of humor is and how much they value humor as a tool
for dealing with often difficult matters. They have an
ability to empathize, connect with others, and find the fun
in life, even when facing challenges. Jenny in particular
appreciates the dry and sometimes dark sense of humor
woven through the works of many of the Romanian artists.
Originating herself from Bulgaria, the country directly
to the south of Romania, she prizes the grit of artists
who were determined to carry on while conditions were
harsh or even hopelessly restrictive under communism —
artists such as Geta Brătescu, one of the anchors of the
Collection of the Arthur Taubman Trust and its focus on
contemporary Romanian art.
Though regarded as one of the most important artists to
emerge from Romania in the twentieth century, Brătescu
is amongst the most playful and joyful of all the artists
represented in this exhibition. Her practice comprised
collage, drawing (often in notebooks), experimental film,
performance, photography, and textiles. Spanning seven
decades and often grouped in series, her art recalls
the late works of Matisse and the clear-cut confidence
14
of Joan Miró. Brătescu was one of the first artists in
Romania to adopt a conceptualist approach to artmaking.
The Tate describes her as “one of Romania’s foremost
contemporary artists.”
Geta Brătescu,
Jocul Formelor
(Game of Forms),
2013, one of
fourteen-part work,
illustrated page 33
Brătescu died at ninety-two in 2018. Her working life was
spent in Bucharest, largely under the Communist Regime.
Her practice is distinctive for its deeply personal approach
to themes such as identity, gender, and dematerialization.
Her handmade books and objects, derived from
inexpensive everyday materials, are special because of
how artfully and playfully she employed them. Brătescu
loved literature and often drew inspiration from famous
stories. Greek and Balkan mythology is a recurring motif.
Faust, Mother Courage, Aesop, and Medea are just a few
examples of protagonists who have functioned as alter
egos, allowing Brătescu a channel of self-expression and
an oblique form of political subversion.
The engaging film The Gesture, The Drawing (2018), made
in collaboration with Ștefan Sava, captures Brătescu at
work in her studio, meditating on the poetic significance
of the gesture, and musing on memories of childhood and
the need to retain a childlike playfulness in artmaking.
“To me, drawing is not simply a profession; it is the release
of an intrinsic, structural energy, a joy.” It gives great
insight into her fourteen-part work, Jocul Formelor (Game
of Forms) (2013), as we see how some of the objects in
Brătescu’s studio — masks and mythological characters
— preserve the joyful spirit of childhood. Her powerful
facility in the use of line and her determined attitude
to “keep going” defined her practice and enabled her to
retain her identity, even during the communist era.
The leporello Armstrong (2005) is a vivid yellow concertina
that evokes an accordion in shape and form. The work
