daisy photographed from below

Curator of the Biennial - Tudor Zbârnea

In current society, the command of technology in art is made of unique and subjective representations of a way in which artists interpret aspects of reality, offering simultaneously things outside of the technological realm, like sensitivity, creativity and sheer beauty, the painting itself remaining one of the accessible artistic media charged with symbols. This genre is outside the notion of time, encompassed in a gaze, it creates the illusion of a two dimensional simplified, reduced reality, so that the spectator can conserve their efforts.

The painting is color and sensation, an art with aesthetic, narrative and psychological functions. In order to objectively perceive its true artistic value, one must be familiarized with the period when it was produced, to witness the novelties brought to the art field and to artist’s biography. To discover the value that painting has for oneself, one must welcome subjectivity, and search within for the very range in tune with vibrations of the soul. In many instances, because of this, art critics, don’t always find common ground when it comes to many works, for everyone is attune to their own intrinsic answer.

The current International Biennial of Painting has convinced us of those things, establishing new evaluation criteria within the art domain. One could affirm that this year’s priorities where driven by conceptual essence, as a reaction to formalism centered on the Idea, the concept, and the artistic process are considered more significant than the final objective form of a creation.

Same as in the case of previous editions, the pre-selection of works was done by a qualified jury, with representatives from Romania, Belarus, Poland, Mongolia, and Republic of Moldova, who where tasked with choosing the upcoming layout, that will be comprised of 145 artist from Republic of Moldova, Romania, and other countries, with 152 works. The selection of participants also includes artists invited by Biennial’s curator, and General Director of The National Art Museum of Republic of Moldova, Tudor Zbârnea. It’s important to mention the variety of countries that will be represented. The 6th edition of the Biennial will host painters from: Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Georgia, Germany, France, Ecuador, India, Israel, Indonesia, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Spain, Ukraine, Tunis, Turkey, and others.

As a result, the jury established main prizes awarded by partners of the International Biennial of Painting, 2019, as they follow: First Prize was awarded to Mister Lucian Hrisav (Romania), for his canvas „Column”, painted in 2018. The Second Prize was granted to Miss Ileana Ștefănescu (Romania), for the painting „Work in progress”, 2019, and Italian artist Constantin Migliorni, came in third place with his work „Rebirth”. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of Republic of Moldova, awarded the only prize claimed by a Moldovan artist, Victor Guțu, for his canvas entitled „He” (2017). The National Art Museum Prize went to Doris Dittrich, from Austria, for her painting „Dreamscape Florida” (2017).The Prize from Sturza Family Foundation, given by the Art Center „Amprente”, was awarded to Vasile Rața (Moldova/Romania), for his work „Untitled” (2017), followed by Daniela Grapă, a Romanian artist with her work „The Scream” (2018), who received a prize from the Romanian Institute of Culture „Mihai Eminescu” from Chișinău. By the end of exhibition period, first five works that received accolades from the select jury of the International Biennial of Painting, edition 2019, will be transferred into the collection of the National Museum of Art of Republic of Moldova.

Other participants of the current Biennial were granted Diplomas of Excelency, elaborated by The Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova, amongst painters who were mentioned are: Giuliano Nardin with the canvas „Magician”, 2017, Romania, Dmitri Șibaev Stairs, 2019, Republic of Moldova, Marcela Vichrova from Czech Republic for her work „A dance in the forest”, 2018 and Terzis Nicos (Greece/Sweden) for his painting „My horizonts”, 2017. The biennial prioritized stylistic diversity of painting, but at the same pointed out main tendencies of European arts and came forth with means of creating images with conceptual messages, confirmed by the evaluating jury.

In this regard, the conceptual idea behind works created by Lucian Hrisav speak of his grievances, and his desire for a harmonious society, while Constantin Migliorini, by making a reference to Caravaggio’s painting „The Entombment of Christ”, presents us with an organic relation between the culture of today and our past. For Victor Guțu the present is filled with loneliness, which is also a motive apparent on Vasile Rața’s canvas, where only uncertain form prevails in world’s creation. Daniela Grapă’s painting, implies an intrinsic reminiscence of 20th century art, and exists in parallel with the renowned art piece by Edward Munch. In turn, Doris Dittrich in her depiction of despaired human figures over the background of the sea and the sky, as if presents a fragment of Japanese shadow theatre. The above mentioned authors, through varied artistic monologues, utilize in their works the same pictorial language, enriching it with new meaning and identity.

The selection of prize winners and aforementioned works of art, allows us to conclude, that unlike the guest participants of the Biennial, Moldovan artists remain tributary to aesthetic form and decorative notions.

Curator of the Biennial - Tudor Zbârnea

Organizers:

National Art Museum of Moldova
Union of Fine Artists of Republic of Moldova
Art Center AMPRENTE

Contacts

31 August, 1989 str., nr. 115, Chisinau, MD-2012
Republic of Moldova

bip.chisinau@gmail.com

Phone: (+373) 79 54 85 11 (Curator)

Fax: (+373) 22 24 53 32

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