Colors, Underwater Love
20 MAY - 20 JUNE
Colors, Underwater Love
Artists
Olimpiu Bandalac, Liliana Basarab, Anca Boeriu, Gabriel Caloian, Onisim Colta, Cornelia Daneț, Raluca Ilaria Demetrescu, Paul Gherasim, Vasile Kazar, Sabina Legănaru, Ioana Nicoară, Carmen Nistorescu, Diana Oțet, Mariea Petcu, Adrian Sandu, Daniela Vîrlan
01.-
Context
"Colors, Underwater Love"
Scemtovici & Benowitz Gallery presents the „Colors, Underwater Love” group exhibition, curated by Raluca Ilaria Demetrescu, May 30 – June 20, 2023. The artistic event is an endeavour to reposition the watercolour technique in the top of Romanian arts. Our project includes 16 artists using watercolour as their main art technique or practicing it intensely, in addition to other art disciplines.
Participating artists: Olimpiu Bandalac, Liliana Basarab, Anca Boeriu, Gabriel Caloian, Onisim Colta, Cornelia Daneț, Raluca Ilaria Demetrescu, Paul Gherasim, Vasile Kazar, Sabina Legănaru, Ioana Nicoară, Carmen Nistorescu, Diana Oțet, Mariea Petcu, Adrian Sandu, Daniela Vîrlan.
Watercolor could be considered an archaic technique if we trace its origins back to humanity's earliest artistic endeavors—prehistoric cave paintings—created using mixtures of pigments diluted with water. Over time, it has evolved both technically and conceptually alongside the history of art, and today it stands as a fully recognized artistic discipline. Through the exhibition "Colors, Underwater Love," we aim to spotlight this ancient artistic method within the Romanian art scene.
This prompts us to ask: where does watercolor truly belong—graphic art, painting, major arts, or minor arts? (...) The list of participants in "Colors, Underwater Love" does not claim to be exhaustive, but the ambition of Scemtovici & Benowitz Gallery is to host an annual exhibition dedicated to watercolor, a technique that has long been overlooked. For the first time, a private contemporary art gallery in Romania is producing an exhibition to rehabilitate and recontextualize this artistic medium, which until recently was often dismissed.”
Raluca Ilaria Demetrescu, visual artist and curator
Scemtovici & Benowitz Gallery entered the cultural entrepreneurship scene in 2022 with a mission to support the art sector and elevate the value of Romanian artists both domestically and internationally. The gallery aims to pave new paths for those who have gone unnoticed until now, as well as for established artists—through a program of contrasts, meaningful dialogue between artists and art enthusiasts, and partnerships with key players in the national and international art markets. By doing so, it seeks to cultivate a broader community of private and institutional collectors.