Roman Tolici – SIMVLACRVM @ MOBIUS Gallery

MOBIUS Gallery, a new addition to the Bucharest cultural scene, had its grand opening ceremony on October 8th, hosting the solo show SIMVLACRVM by Roman Tolici, curated by Swiss-based art critic and art market journalist Simon Hewitt. On view through December 4th, 2015, the exhibition features a series of new paintings reflecting “the manner in which humanity defines the most fundamental concepts that create the functional framework of our existence and how these concepts are perceived and denominated in contemporaneity.”

There is no truth, no hope, no path, no time, all is vanity, the artist warns us, we live surrounded by things which do not exist in essence, a perpetual simulacrum mimicking reality, yet we blindly perceive it as true, and our experiences in life as authentic. In the illusion of infinity lies emptiness and death, in the illusion of choice rise deception, obsession and alienation. The details of each painting and duality of the depicted elements force the viewer to confront the falsity of this constructed empire of deceitful beliefs, desires and needs. What do you see? What do you feel? Is it real or is it merely a hallucination of a dream that once existed? Nowadays, it is hard to distinguish between the multitude of possibilities and appearances, to escape the cave and become aware, initiated and certain of the first and sole genuine reality.

Roman Tolici

Roman Tolici (b. 1974, Ghetlova, USSR) is a renowned Romanian artist of Moldavian origin, born in 1974 in Ghetlova (the former USSR) and established in Bucharest since 1997. Roman grew up under an exacerbated soviet regime, trained at an art boarding school from an ex-soviet country, and established as a young artist into another former communist territory. Thus, his research and development reflect different aspects of Eastern European realities, while posing difficult questions to the world. The artist equally masters drawing and painting techniques, using classical approaches of representation in a highly contemporary manner. Roman Tolici combines both technical and conceptual levels into figurative oil painting, by overlapping styles that range from the Italian to the Northern or Flemish Renaissance with recent techniques and contemporary addressed subjects.

MOBIUS GALLERY

MOBIUS GALLERY was founded in Bucharest by Mira Burke and Roxana Gamart in 2015 as a unique platform for Contemporary Art in Eastern Europe. MOBIUS aims to boost awareness of Contemporary Art – both in Romania and Internationally – through a varied and dynamic programme of exhibitions, events, artists’ talks, curatorial discussions and specialist publications.

MOBIUS is committed to developing an international market for artists from Eastern Europe – by investing in the promotion of their works and by creating a ‘transnational’ platform for professionals whose knowledge and experience will enhance appreciation of the vibrant, but often under-rated, art world of Eastern Europe.