The Faculty of Arts and Design from the Western University of Timișoara, in partnership with ICR New York and the School of Visual Arts - Computer Arts Department from New York, presents to the New York public the international group exhibition "Layers of Reality", an artistic dialogue transatlantic between the school of visual arts at UVT and the school of visual arts in New York.
"Layers of Reality" is an international project realized under the brand "Timișoara 2023 - European Cultural Capital of Culture" which takes place for the first time on the artistic scene in New York, with the aim of presenting Timişoara's contributions to Romanian visual culture and strengthening ties academics between Romania and the USA. The exhibition was opened at ICR New York, with a presence in the "Brâncusi" Gallery and in the "Norman Manea" Hall of the Institute, to be opened from September 8 to 28, 2023.
On the occasion of the opening, together with artists and curators, Prof. Univ. dr. Marilen Gabriel Pirtea, rector of the West University of Timișoara, prof. Dr. Camil Mihăescu, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Design at the Western University of Timișoara and Dorian Branea, director of ICR New York. A special guest of the event was the Secretary of State for Romanians Everywhere, Mr. Gheorghe Cârciu.
The rector of UVT, university professor Dr. Marilen Gabriel Pirtea: "Timișoara honors its audience not only at home, as the European Capital of Culture 2023, but also abroad, where Romanian communities are consolidated, as is the Romanian community in the USA. We thank the organizing partners within ICR New York for the opportunity to establish this transatlantic artistic dialogue, which we want permanently, from now on. Art is truly a universal medium of communication, which we also propose to the Romanian communities and the general public in the USA under the banner that we dedicated this year "At UVT, culture is capital".
The multimedia exhibition "LAYERS OF REALITY", curated by Maria Orosan-Telea (Romania), Lotte Marie Allen and LJ McNerney (USA), presents, in the form of a transatlantic dialogue, the works of four Romanian artists, Aura Bălănescu, Dorian Bolca, Cosmin Haiaș , Andreea Medar, graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Design from Timișoara, and three American artists, Hershel Carbajal, Kristie Kish and Jintong Yang, graduates of the School of Visual Arts – Computer Arts Department in New York.
Through the proposed curatorial selection and through hybrid installations, the exhibition explores the idea of new ways of approaching reality, where the aesthetics of technological images that interfere with artistic production can develop new functionalities. Thus, creative processes reveal a multi-layered reality that must be perceived and discovered gradually and consciously through touch and sight. Throughout the exhibition, visitors are invited not to remain passive and to contribute to the life of the works through direct interaction, which encourages participatory attitudes such as using hands to modify artefacts that in turn shape the future.
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This collaborative initiative is part of ICR New York's cultural strategy to create a dialogue platform between Romanian artists and American/international artists, as well as between Romanian and American art and academic institutions, in order to develop long-term partnerships and fruition of different opportunities for collaboration. Also, the project aims to contribute to the international promotion of the "Timișoara 2023 - European Cultural Capital" program.
Information about about the featured artists, here.
The event is financed by the Municipality of Timișoara through the Project Center, as part of the cultural program "Timișoara 2023 - European Capital of Culture" and is co-financed by the Timiș County Council.
