The Gallery of Everything presents the third Artist Focus: a series of short essays which consider (re)discovered visual authors with significant bodies of work, and position them within a context of makers, within and beyond mainstream culture.
Artist Focus: Ion Bârlădeanu is accompanied by a digital installation of artworks. A 20% reduction on prices will be available until 31st May 2020.
To view the presentation, please click HERE.
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untitled, 1983
collage on card, 28 x 43.5 cm (11 1/8 x 17 1/8 in)
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ION BÂRLĂDEANU
(b 1946, Romania)
From its earliest inception, 20th century collage has served as a medium to unite contradictory imageries and ideologies. Ion Bârlādeanu’s practice is no different. His work uses satire to discuss his country’s dirty politics, inconsistent ideologies and commercial embrace of fame.
Cubists - from Georges Braque to Kurt Schwitters - evolved collage as a means to examine reality through everyday materials. The Dadaists in turn engaged the medium to ridicule and debate. Although Bârlādeanu began his practice in the 1970s, the legacy of Surrealism remains ever present.
While contemporary collagists value flat, even abstracted compositions, Bârlādeanu has developed a photo-realist aesthetic which mimics the depth of a 35mm film camera; and his use of one-point perspective, a spatial technique favoured by Stanley Kubrick, singles out his key players.
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untitled, 1989
collage on card, 22 x 38 cm (8 5/8 x 15 in)
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These mise-en-scènes occupy a particular position within the history of collage. They are unusual not only in terms of their figurative format, but for their allegorical criticism of Romania’s elite.
Each of Bârlādeanu’s scenes tumble with a political, sexual and social spin. The point-of-view, objective and omnipresent, comprehends the situation and remains impartial. It snaps, like a Magnum photographer, who has managed to catch Cartier-Bresson’s decisive moment.
This tendency to reality was developed by Bârlādeanu after early exploration of post-Soviet caricature. Gradually, his inclusion of pre-existing images replaced the drawings completely. For Bârlādeanu, the pencil and pen were never as expressive as the knife.
Bârlādeanu was born in Romania in 1946. His career as an artist began only in 2009, and he is today considered an important figure of Romanian contemporary art. Collections and exhibitions include Halle Saint Pierre (Paris), La Maison Rouge (Paris) and The Museum of Everything. The artist currently lives and works in Bucharest.
To view the presentation, please click HERE.
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untitled (autoportrait), 2009
collage on card, 21 x 36.5 cm (8 1/4 x 14 3/8 in)
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Thank you for taking the time to read Artist Focus: Ion Bârlădeanu. To view the presentation, please click HERE.
Please see below for earlier editions:
Artist Focus: František Jaroslav Pecka
For essay, please click HERE.
For artworks, please click HERE.
Artist Focus: Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn
For essay, please click HERE.
For artworks, please click HERE.
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