Opened in 2017, Sector 1 Gallery, presented in the next episode of our Art Fridays series, is a meeting space of artists, curators and art lovers aiming to expand the boundaries of visual creativity. The gallery is located on the premises of the former factory serving the Romanian Artists Union during communism, which has a rich history and still preserves elements of the building’s original architecture, a mixture of industrial style and modern elements.
Starting from its inauguration, Sector 1 has promoted several artists attached to the so-called Cluj School, a hugely successful group of artists with a growing international reputation characterized by focus on historical and history of art topics, choice of figurative mode of representation, and strong belief in the importance of the aesthetic dimension of painting.
Most of the artists associated with the gallery, like Norbert Filep, Pavel Grosu, Alexandra Şerban, Betuker István, Radu Băieş, Marcel Rusu and Lucian Popăilă, are painters and have been formed in the specific social ambiance and artistic milieu of Cluj, central Transylvania, during the last decade. Nevertheless, they constitute a far from homogeneous group as each possesses a distinct artistic personality and different preoccupations in terms of topics and style.
Thanks to its solid curatorial approach, Sector 1 has gained the reputation as one of the most important contemporary Romanian galleries, with a notable contribution to nurturing Romania’s contemporary artistic elite.
