Opening 18:00
Transylvania has long been regarded as a cultural heartland for both the Hungarians and the Romanians. It has an incredibly rich, diverse heritage thanks to its religious tolerance, pioneering settlers and the influences of first the Roman, the Holy Roman, and the Austro-Hungarian Empires. The Saxons established their own beautiful cities when they arrived in Transylvania in the 1100s. Known as 'Siebenbürgen', these seven fortified towns that grace the region are a testament to almost nine centuries of the existence of the Saxon (German) community in southern Transylvania. They have left a cultural and architectural heritage that is unique in Europe.
Additionally, the Jewish community settled and thrived in Transylvania, along with the Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, and Nonconformist Christians. Further back, we can also find Persian, Turkish and, notably, Roman influences: such is the rich cultural tapestry that was woven in the region.
Besides being immortalised by the Romantic Gothic author, Bram Stoker, Transylvania has always been inspiring for creatives, thanks largely to its wondrous landscape with its verdant pastures, majestic mountains and forests. Myths and legends abound in Transylvania and its population is both labile and industrious. It is a land of music and art, romance, literature, culture and academia – but also farming, traditional craftsmanship, mining, and more recently, gastronomy, wine and technology. No wonder that its contemporary painters have become world-renowned with such a heritage.
Transylvanian Painting Today takes an overview of some of its most talented and globally recognised painters working in the present: Radu Baies, Marius Bercea, David Farcas, Oana Farcas, Robert Fekete, Adrian Ghenie, Ioana Ioacob, Hortensia Kafchin, Victor Man, Tincuta Marin, Mirela Moscu, Nicolae Romanitan, Serban Savu and Mircea Suciu.
The exhibition’s focus is deliberately on figurative painting, as this has become synonymous with Transylvania, thanks to the so-called 'School of Cluj' – a group of artists who emerged onto the international stage in the early 2000s, capturing the world’s attention, imagination and producing a number of now legendary international painting stars.
Through its presentation at Telegraph Gallery, Olomouc, Transylvanian Painting Today affords the Czech audience the unique opportunity to see a curated overview of some of the finest, most inspiring contemporary paintings – from a geographical context that is both world-renowned for its past and recent cultural heritage.
Curated by Jane Neal
