LES HÔTES DE SAMUEL VON BRUKENTHAL

Douze étudiants du pôle SciE - Sculpture Installation Espace de la HEAD – Genève et six étudiants de peinture de l’Université d’Art de Cluj Napoca (Roumanie) se sont rencontrés pendant une semaine dans la résidence d’été Samuel von Brukenthal à Avrig en Roumanie. Après une semaine de recherches, de questionnements et de production, l’exposition, organisée dans le parc et l’orangerie de la résidence, présente une vingtaine d’œuvres mêlant différents médias (installation in situ, peinture, vidéo, pièce sonore, etc.).

Exhibition in the parc and the orangerie of Samuel von Brukenthal’s summerresidence in Avrig, Romania

From June 12 to June 28
Daily open 12pm – 6 pm

Opening reception : JUNE 11, 6 pm

Showing works from :

DRAGOS BADITA // ALEXANDRA BODEA // GREGORY BOUTIÈRE // VICKY DOVAT // ROBERT FEKETE // STEPHAN FREIVOGEL // FLORIANE FUNCKEN // STEPHANIE GIORGIS // IOANA IACOB // SONIA KACEM // OLGA KOKCHAROVA // MIRELA MOSCU // IFÉ NIKLAUS // ALEXA ROCHER // HADRIEN ROSSIER // ROXANA SIMA // SERGIU TOMA // EMELINE VITTE

Twelve students from the sculpture and installation department from the Art University in Geneva, Switerzland,and six painting students from the Art University in Cluj Napoca, Roumania, met for a week in the Summerresidence of Samuel von Brukenthal (1721 – 1803) in Avrig, Romania.

The very specifc surrounding includes the more than 200 years old baroque palace and the orangerie buildings, both empty today, as well as an amazing landscape parc in different styles : like the English garden or the Dutch garden, a Terrace garden or in former times a Triangel garden. Dating from times of romanticism and classicism you will find fountains, little rivers and bridges, hidden staircases and old trees. For the young artists ivolved, this amazing historical site is as inspiring – in terms of an (artificial) nature concept – as the tales around Samuel von Brukenthals innovative spirit including his large collections of paintings, maps, books and minerals etc. The small village of Avrig with all its habits and customs of the 21st century is the second main source of inspiration. Little shops with plastic household objects and a variety of all sorts of materials in the supermarket, Romanian newspapers as well as local sounds, are used by the students to get into a dialogue with the past and the present. The 18 participants involved in this site-specific research are individually searching their own artistic way of appropriation, of getting into a relationship with the multiple issues emerging of this magnificant place, the universalist baroque visions and the cultural renewal of the 18th century. After only one week of questioning, searching and producing, the exhibition now includes a wide range of more than twenty artworks which will be exhibited for two weeks. The artworks reach from site specific installations and sculpture to video and sound work as well as including painting and drawing.

The project was accompanied by Liviana Dan and Anca Mihulet, curators of Brukenthal Museum, Sibiu, and by Katharina Hohmann and Pierre-Alain Zuber, both artists and professors at HEAD, Geneva University of Art and Design, Switzerland