The Universe of Dalí – Salvador Dalí -an exhibition review by 2nd year student Anamaria Cătuna

The Hintz House is hosting, over the course of several months in Cluj-Napoca, the unique exhibition "The Universe of Dali," which consists of 170 works by the famous Catalan artist Salvador Dali. The exhibition will take place from December 20, 2024, to May 18, 2025, and includes lithographs, graphics, engravings, sculptures, miniatures made of gold and diamonds, as well as a VR experience. "The Universe of Dali" is one of the most extensive exhibitions in Romania dedicated to the Catalan artist, inviting viewers on an unforgettable journey through the works of the eccentric artist, which range from drawings to furniture, sculptures, and other artworks made with a variety of materials such as gold, diamonds, bronze, and glass. The exhibition is hosted in the Hintz House, an iconic building in Cluj-Napoca, which also houses the first pharmacy in the city, now known as the Pharmacy Museum. The visitor’s journey culminates with the VR experience, which immerses the viewer in a unique and unforgettable adventure into Dali’s world, a world filled with surreal oddities and extravagance.

Surrealism is a literary and artistic movement that emerged in the 1920s in France and later spread to all countries around the world. The movement emphasizes the spontaneous activity of imagination and the exploration of irrational realms in artistic creation. The movement is still active today and continues to explore the subconscious and the irrational in artistic work. Salvador Dalí was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, and through his bizarre creations, filled with fantastical elements and vibrant colors, he brought Surrealism to its peak. Salvador Dalí was a versatile artist, exploring sculpture, painting, literature, furniture design, goldsmithing, as well as the advertising world, and he significantly impacted each field with his extravagance. He permanently etched his name into the history of art, being a unique personality and phenomenon.

Dalí also dabbled in illustrations for comic books, having a vast repertoire of images and allegories that told stories through literature. He collaborated with major publishers and editors, using a variety of printing techniques to bring his vision to a wider audience. Some of these series can be seen at the “Dalí Universe,” including "Moses and Monotheism," "Much Ado About Shakespeare," and "Marquis de Sade."

         In addition to the aforementioned illustrations, visitors to the "Dalí Universe" exhibition can also view the artist's lesser-known sculptures, graphics, furniture, and goldsmithing works displayed across the three floors of the exhibition. Moreover, on the top floor, visitors can experience a VR presentation of Dalí's world, narrated by Dalí himself.

The exhibition is well-organized across all three floors. On the first floor, large sculptures such as "The Woman of Time," "Saint George and the Dragon," or "The Man with the Butterfly" stand out, alongside smaller works like "Venus’s Otorhinological Head" or "Hysterical and Aerodynamic Female Nude." The walls feature graphic works as well as "The Marquis de Sade." On the second floor, there is a special section dedicated to smaller sculptures, goldsmithing, furniture design, and other series of illustrations. On the top floor, visitors can experience the hypnotic VR journey through Dalí’s world.

As a passionate admirer of Salvador Dalí’s work, experiencing this exhibition brought me immense joy. The works are truly sensational, bizarre, and intriguing; the universe is fabulous, and the way the exhibition is structured immerses you in an extravagant labyrinthine world.

The "Universe of Dali" exhibition is truly unique and represents a significant opportunity for any visitor, whether or not they are a fan of the Catalan artist’s work.

About Life and Death, at the Parter Gallery, by Răzvan Catrișcău

The exhibition entitled "About Life and Death" was present at the Parter Gallery on Iuliu Maniu Street no. 3, opened on 13.03.2025 and ended its stay at the gallery on 27.04.2025. 

The very list of artists exhibited in the exhibition brings up the issue of life and death from the very beginning, as among Ana Lupaș, Mircea Spătaru and Rodica Svințiu the name of Dorin Panga is also mentioned, the one who died far too soon, but not before having influenced his generation colleagues artistically and conceptually, so much so as to dedicate this exhibition to the great artist he could have become. About life and death and at the same time about the "art of the memory of forgetting", as the attempt to outline the brilliant future of an artist who did not have the opportunity to fulfill himself is described, description placed in the imposing text that greets the visitor at the beginning of the exhibition, a text entitled "Cenotaph for Dorin". 

At the end of the exhibition visit, once the viewer has seen each work individually and has been confronted with each title, they can realize that they have been carried along a very carefully thought-out conceptual thread. The exhibition begins with the series signed by Ana Lupaș, entitled "Memories of the First Life", papier maché, 1996, and continues with another series by Ana Lupaș, “Sketches for a Round Tomb”, pencil on paper, 1977-1978, a series that marks the way to the projection of the film made by the same artist, “Preliminaries for a Round Tomb”, video, Budapest, 1991. These works are followed by Rodinca Svințiu's works, which stage the "Way of the Cross", oil on wood, 1988. Then comes the works of Mircea Spătaru, entitled "The Making of the World, The Point, the Beginning of the Drawing", charcoal on paper, 1973, “Hrist”, bronze, 1990, "The Relics", bronze, 2006, “My Ancestors”, plaster, 1962, “Maternity”, bronze, 60s, “The Entombment”, acrylic on canvas, 1977. Therefore, from the idea of ​​a possibility of a new life after death to the idea of ​​death, forming an organic, fluid, and intellectually exciting cycle. 

The techniques used in the making of the works on display cover a wide range of materialities and formats, from works in more conventional techniques such as bronze sculpture, charcoal drawing, or oil painting to papier mâché or even video art.

Conceptually "On Life and Death" is a deeply spiritual exhibition, conceived on a philosophical and theological foundation very well clarified by the text, in which the existence of man on earth is seen only as a passing stage, an episode of transition, and the exhibited artists try to plastically imprint the traces that man leaves behind this transition, such as "the trembling of the waves from the wake of a boat on water". The idea of ​​the exhibition is a true resistance and rebellion against the end that death places so drastically and cruelly on human creative potential, and this act of rebellion against the finitude of death is guided by the sense of a duty felt by the artistic collective, that of telling the story of "invisible and unfulfilled lives", like that of their former colleague, Dorin Pagna. An exhibition that tries to capture that "ray of eternity" to which, says Rilke, is the goal of every creative life, in an act of revolt against the irreversible death sentence.

On this thread is born the question that guides the entire creative spectrum exhibited in the exhibition: "How to tell the story of the dead, how to think about their presence among us-or their absence—without denying the irreparable nature of their tragic death?" Each work can be seen as an answer to this question.

A few works stand out in the set and deserve to be analyzed in more depth to better understand the artist's response to the exhibition's question.

From the apparent ephemerality of those "waves", which metaphorically transpose the imprint of man in life, the artists try to make something eternal and palpable, as can be seen very well in Ana Lupaș's attempt to visually transpose something as fragile and delicate as the concept of memory into a very impactful form and, at the same time, with a feeling of intimacy. Due to the technique used, the work "Memories of the first life" becomes in itself a visual exploration of a constellation of the most delicate contrasts that wear an expressive materiality. 

The exhibition's relationship with the Christian vision of life and death is evident once we go through the exhibition text where it is highlighted that even the temporal coordinates of the exhibition, during the Triodion period, were thought out in such a way as to make reference to the idea of ​​the transient moment before the event of life after death, but even more so by the series of works, placed above the text, "The Way of the Cross". At first glance, Rodinca Svințiu's work, due to its format, iconography, and theme, might seem like another staging of the "Way of the Cross" theme. Still, once the contemplation of the works in part and as a whole settles in, the viewer realizes the finesse of the artist's intention to paint as if someone is praying, with the simplicity and plastic purity of a pictorial prayer, as once Gian Lorenzo Bernini characterized a painting of  Nicolas Poussin “The painting could be compared to a beautiful prayer that you listen to with tense attention and from which you leave without saying a word, because the effect is felt inside.”. Works that have in their essence the permanent awareness of resurrection, although the path to death traveled by Jesus is illustrated. 

From the canon, to the expressive power of charcoal on paper unleashed in aesthetically and intellectually penetrating rhythms, given the title "The Creation of the World, The Point, the Beginning of the Drawing". A true graphic parable of the birth of the world and a visual transposition of the conglomerate of nothingness and substance. The support itself has a very special expressive quality, the folds and edges coordinating the viewer's gaze and contributing fundamentally to the rhythmic flow of reading the work.

In front of The Relics, all the solemnity that envelops the entire exhibition is concentrated. Their appearance has an intimate and earth-shattering character simultaneously, with games of planes, shadows, and lights, in accordance with the light that penetrates the exhibition space. Thus, the ephemerality and spontaneity of light are found in the same place as the apparent finitude of death. 

The way the exhibition was paneled and staged shows elegance and a deep understanding of the spatial needs of each individual work. "On Life and Death" is an airy and sensitive exhibition from the point of view of the organizers' relationship with the exhibited works, as each work receives a perimeter of its own and is uncrowded by anyone in which to unfold. 

The lighting is also intelligently thought out, with an ideal fusion between artificial and natural light, the natural one falling on the sculptures and acting as an actor in their aesthetic perception. 

The lack of descriptive labels next to the works can cause confusion and slight disorientation in the absence of a brochure or a catalog. 

Finally, the exhibition "On Life and Death" is an almost perfect example for any curator at the beginning of his journey and a profound staging of an essential issue in the existence of every human being: life and death.

Bibliography: 

Rainer Maria Rilke, Scrisori către Auguste Rodin, Editura Meridiane, 1986, București.

John Rupert Martin, Barocul, trad. Ana Oțel Șurianu, Editura Meridiane, 1982, București.

Ana Lupaș - "Memories of the First Life".

Rodinca Svințiu - "Way of the Cross".

Mircea Spătaru - "The Making of the World, The Point, the Beginning of the Drawing".

Mircea Spătaru- The Relics.

Mircea Spătaru- “Hrist”.

Ana Lupaș, “Preliminaries for a Round Tomb”.

Ana Lupaș, “Sketches for a Round Tomb”.

Mircea Spătaru- “The Entombment”.

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TAIL END – VLAD OLARIU - by ROMINA-CRISTINA BUDACĂ -

 Has anything changed over time, or is everything still as it was at the beginning of the world, only now with the promise of transformation and progress? Is power the reason for our evolution, or have certain symbolic forms also played a role? These are the questions Vlad Olariu invites us to consider through his exhibition, TAIL END.  

     The exhibition took place at MATCA art space in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, between  April 12 – May 9 2025. Although the space is modest in size, it is well-suited for an  emerging artist. Consisting of two levels, MATCA was founded by three independent  artists with the goal of showcasing contemporary art that reflects and engages with  today’s social issues.  

 Vlad Olariu is a visual artist specializing in sculpture and installation, both of which are present in this exhibition. A graduate of the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca,  he continues to live and work in the city. His work often revolves around the idea of monumentality, but especially around contrasts and contradictions. Creating at a time when sculpture and especially installation is often met with skepticism, Vlad aims to demonstrate that what he creates is indeed art, by working with unconventional materials,  such as polystyrene, cement, concrete, drywall, and wood, which he transforms to mimic more "precious" materials such as bronze.  

 In terms of medium, the artist’s choices may appear ,,unusual” or even controversial to  some, but this perception is likely shaped by audiences unfamiliar with contemporary art.  A visitor’s first impression upon entering the gallery may be one of confusion – particularly if they are not acquainted with Olariu’s previous work. Why confusion?  Because at first glance, the works resemble other famous sculptures, a reaction the artist  intentionally aims for, challenging the notion that his work lacks originality. But then, we  might ask ourselves: what actually makes these works original? 

 While the sculptures may be ,,inspired”, they carry entirely different messages and  symbolism. Olariu seeks to bring classical themes into the present, reshaping them to  resonate with today’s society – making them relatable, yet prompting viewers to reflect  on the relationship between each work and its title.  

 At first glance, the pieces may appear minimalist or difficult to decode. However, the  key element – and arguably the most significant aspect of Olariu’s works is the materials 

he chooses and how he manipulates them to resemble something else. This technique requires technical skill and deep knowledge.  

 Upon entering the gallery's first room, to the right, one encounters 15 Minutes of  Fame - a row of 14 small terracotta figurines placed on a minimalist shelf. These figurines reinterpret some of the most iconic sculptures in art history, miniaturized as if to be displayed or consumed by visitors. The artist seems to critique these works,  suggesting that even the greatest artistic achievements can be reduced to kitsch or souvenirs, quickly consumed and stripped of their grandeur. Olariu reflects on how the artistic canon is overtaken by contemporary culture, where grandeur becomes notoriety. 

 Also in the first room, commanding attention through its striking blue color and its  position directly across from the entrance, is Flying Monkey, created from resin and  MDF. The piece resembles a three-dimensional graphic composition, outlining a hybrid  creature – a monkey with large wings, caught in a dynamic pose, seemingly ready for flight. The work presents a fusion of the human, animalistic and fantastical. By choosing a monkey (an animal closely linked to human evolution) and combining it with wings (a symbol of transcendence), Olariu creates a powerful visual and conceptual contrast between corporeality and liberation. The fact that the monkey is framed suggests a tension between apparent freedom and imposed boundaries.  

 Arguably the most striking work upstairs is Study After Laocoon After Laocoon, made from cellular concrete – a difficult material to sculpt, but one that Olariu handles masterfully in creating a bas-relief. The title clearly references the famous sculpture Laocoon and His Sons. By repeating the name "Laocoon" and adding the word "study", Olariu comments on the idea of replication, reinterpretation, and the inherited myth of artistic greatness.  

 TAIL END is an exhibition that challenges not only the eye, but also the mind. It is the kind of art that refuses to sit quietly on a pedestal – it draws you in, compels you to reconsider art history, and question inherited values. Through a sculptural language both ironic and powerful, Vlad Olariu transforms the gallery into a field of symbolic tensions between classical form and contemporary distortion. It is a raw, immersive experience,  a reencounter with sculpture as a living, breathing territory, one that does not just fill space, but boldly claims it.