The upcoming exhibition Transylvanian Painting Today at the Telegraph Gallery will feature an extraordinary work by Romanian painter Adrian Ghenie, which is part of the Robert Runták Collection.
A self-portrait depicting the artist as a boy in a pioneer uniform represents one of the key moments in Ghenie's oeuvre. It was created during the same period as the famous painting Black Flag (2015), which is now part of the Tate's collections. It is this period that is considered one of the most significant within his career, both thematically and formally. Ghenie's self-portrait is a deeply personal yet universal account of identity formation in the milieu of late communism, and is captured at a moment of initiation for the artist. The painting is strongly influenced by the almost vibrant red paint and the expressive, pasty brushwork. These are elements that are among the most sought-after qualities of his manuscript. The figure disintegrates into unstable fragments on the canvas and the face is lost in the paint deposits. The blurred image here functions as a metaphor for memory, which is mutable, selective and constantly overwritten. Although Ghenie made several other striking self-portraits, this one is exceptional in that it is the only treatment of himself as a child at such a pivotal point in his life.
Adrian Ghenie is one of the most distinctive painters of his generation. His work has been presented at leading institutions worldwide and in recent years has been the subject of extensive museum exhibitions, including at the Albertina in Vienna. Despite his global success, Ghenie remains firmly connected to the environment of Cluj, where he supports the local art scene and contributes to the development of the local gallery infrastructure, for example he was at the birth of the Plan B Gallery. His work thus also resonates within the wider context of Transylvanian painting.
The exhibition Transylvanian Painting Today, curated by Jane Neal, presents a selection of artists associated with the Cluj School. You can visit the exhibition opening on 5 3 2026 at 6pm. After the exhibition opening, you can look forward to afterparties at Telegraph Pulse and Telegraph Lofts.
Adrian Ghenie, The Toy, oil on canvas, 110 x 70 cm, 2017
