Romania’s presence at Venice Biennale

Besides the Romanian pavilion at the Venice Biennale, represented this edition by director Adina Pintilie with her multichannel installation that emerges from her ongoing research on the politics and poetics of intimacy and the body, visitors can meet New York-based artist Andra Ursuta, choreographer Alexandra Pirici or Eugen Raportoru and his installation exploring the Roma domestic space.

By Oana Vasiliu

Andra Ursuta Alexandra Pirici

The Venice Biennale returned this year with “The Milk of Dreams” theme, curated by Cecilia Alemani, which includes 213 artists from 58 countries; 180 of them are participating in the International Exhibition for the first time. Of the 1,433 works and objects on display, 80 new projects are conceived specifically for the Biennale Arte.

When visiting the exhibitions, attendees will discover a world where everyone can change, be transformed, become something or someone else, as the curator states. The “The Milk of Dreams” exhibition takes Leonora Carrington’s otherworldly creatures, along with other figures of transformation, as companions on an imaginary journey through the metamorphoses of bodies and definitions of the human. In Romania’s pavilion at the Biennale, Adina Pintilie imagines a space of togetherness, beyond borders and binaries, exploring the central role of intimacy in the everyday. Nurtured by long-term collaboration with the protagonists, the Romanian Pavilion is transformed into a contemporary cathedral that celebrates connections between bodies beyond any preconceptions. The video installation was highly acclaimed by international media, having been mentioned by several outlets as a top item to see at the event. In the Giardini, after the grand entrance and the colossal work of German artist Katharina Fritsch, Romanian artist Andra Ursuta returns to the Biennale to seduce the audience with a series of sculptures. This time, her sculptures recall both American science fiction action horror films, including “Predator” and the “Alien” franchise, but ultimately they emphasise the vulnerability of the human form and the complexity of desire. Moving forward in the Giardini’s main exhibition space, you’ll meet with Alexandra Pirici, Romanian artist and choreographer, who will likely capture your attention through her live performance, Encyclopedia of Relations (2022). She assembles groups of actors and performers into formations that she describes as live sculptures, which act, move, shift, and sing. A collateral event is taking place at Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, where Eugen Raportoru presents his magic-carpet post-Soviet Romani seraglio. The artist has created a multifaceted and kaleidoscopic time capsule which is grounded in an understanding of the significance of the narratives that such objects embody, as well as their capacity to inform and reflect Roma culture.

The Venice Biennale continues until November 27, 2022.