Ahead of the summer season, the 'Brâncuşi' Gallery at 1 Belgrave Square sets the scene for a new exhibition entitled 'Facebook Obsession' and signed by Florica Prevenda, one of Romania’s most original contemporary artists. Comprising a selection of striking collage works that speak about identity and relational challenges in the context of technologically mediated communication, the exhibition will be opened by the artist herself, with a revealing journey through her work.
“In 'Facebook Obsession', human faces and shapes built from overlapping unities and material elements are represented alongside the well-known trademarks of the most successful 21st century social network, with almost 2 billion users at present. Accessible and encrypted at the same time, the issues brought forth by these works have open meanings. The individual’s face - signifying his identity or persona either way - is at times deconstructed by the 'network', caught in its net and transformed into a matrix of data, other times superimposed and even obscured by it, while in some cases disclosed and highlighted by the surrounding composition. This is visible also from a chromatic point of view, the artist employing a range of intense colours varying from the chill, deep blue of the social network to the more warm and lively colours of red, orange or purple. The face-book becomes a registry of masks, masks worn in front of others, of more or less elaborated interfaces used by real persons, with genuine social interactions and emotions, or by fake persons, identities created in order to spread fabricated information or false news.” – Diana Ursan
More about Florica Prevenda and her 'Facebook Obsession' here.
Florica Prevenda is one of the most innovative artists on Romania’s contemporary art scene. Having graduated from the Academy of Arts in Iaşi before 1989, she then became Associate Professor at the National Arts University of Bucharest between 1993 and 1997, and distinguished herself at an international level through personal and group exhibitions across Europe and the US. Among her most notable solo shows are those hosted by Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu (2013) and The National Art Museum in Cluj (2011), as well as the M.I.A. One Woman Show in Milano (2007) and the showcases at various Dutch galleries (2000, 2002 and 2004). From her initiating cycle 'Faces Without a Face', followed by 'Net People', 'Shadows of the Present' and 'Time Regained', followed by 'Facebook Obsession' and 'Serenity', the artist has engaged with various forms of expression including drawing, painting, collage and objects, through expressive juxtapositions of form and fabrics presented in conceptual series that question individual identity in the contemporary context. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honours, among which The Romanian Union of Visual Artists Award in 1986 and 1992, The Great Award for Painting from Chişinău in 2003, The Order of Cultural Merit in the Rank of Knight, granted by Romania’s President in 2005, and The Honor Prize 2011 in Nowy Sacz, Poland.
When: Opening and reception 25 May, 7 – 9pm. The exhibition continues until 8 September, Monday to Friday between 10am – 5pm.
Where: Romanian Cultural Institute, 1 Belgrave Square, SW1X 8PH
Free entry. Please confirm your attendance on Eventbrite.
