Romanian visual practices feature robustly at the 2015 edition of Art15 Global Art Fair, one of London's most exciting art feasts.AnnArt Gallery in Bucharest is showcasing works by sculptorVirgil Scripcariu, the daring carver of pertinent contemporary symbols, while the PostModernism Museum Bucharestexamines the early works of avant-garde artist Hedda Sternewho was born and lived in Romania between 1910 and 1941 before moving to the United States.Virgil Scripcariu's solo-show at the Fair is a multimedia project which presents the artist's view on time, matter and the artistic profession as part of an exploration that cuts through various artistic means and traditions. Despite his versatility and wide array of artistic interests, Scripcariu emerges, first and foremost, as a highly creative sculptor in search of the often obscured identity between form and meaning.Virgil Scripcariu and his artistic practice will also be the focus of a special evening organised by the The Romanian Cultural Institute together with the AnnArt Gallery on the 22nd of May. The other Romanian project at the Fair, 'Hedda Sterne - The Discovery of Early Years 1910-1941', is centred upon the documents, photographs and the body of artworks created by Hedda Sterne while still in Romania, which were recently discovered in Bucharest by curator Cosmin Năsui. Hidden for more than 75 years in time, this artistic treasure miraculously survived in the vaults of a private collection. The exhibition is accompanied by Cosmin Năsui's 'Hedda Sterne - The Discovery of Early Years 1910-1941', which will also be launched at the Fair.
Virgil Scripcariu (b. 1974, Vatra Dornei, Romania) first showed his work at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2008, where he exhibited the Bubico chair prototype and also contributed to the concept and structure of the Romanian Pavilion. He studied sculpture at the National University of Arts, Bucharest, between 1998 and 2005 under the guidance of professor Vasile Gorduz. In 2003, the artist was granted the Theodor Aman Scholarship, followed by another grant offered in 2005 by the Visual Artists' Union in Romania. In 2004 ha was shortlisted for the Prometheus Opera Prima prize. Virgil Scripcariu took part in many exhibitions, in Romanian as well as in Israel, Belgium, and Japan. His public space works have received accolades in Romania and abroad. In 2014 he attended ViennaFair, the Dialog: New Energies section, and in the same year he had his first solo-show at AnnArt Gallery, the gallery that represents him. Scripcariu lives and works in Piscu village, near Bucharest, where is also active in adult and children art education programs.Born in Romania in 1910, Hedda Sterne moved to the U.S in 1941, where her works later found their way to the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. A household name in the world of European and American avant-garde movement, a friend of Marcel Janco, Victor Brauner, Jules Perahim, Jean David, Theodor Brauner, Hedda Sterne was a member of the seminal Abstract Expressionist group the Irascible 18 and was married to the famous illustrator Saul Steinberg. Despite her later success, Hedda Sterne's life and works in Romania are insufficiently known and researched.
Art15 Global Art Fair
When: 21-23 May
Where: Olympia Exhibition Centre, Hammersmith Road
Tickets from £15 HEREVirgil Scripcariu Showcase
When: 22 May, 7pmWhere: The Romanian Cultural Institute in 1 Belgrave Square, London SW1X8PH
Free entry. Please book here.
