Florica Prevenda exhibits in Brussels | by Madalina Mirea | April 04, № 965 | 2019
I have asked myself for a long time — and even other colleagues in the guild have not known what to answer me— which exactly are the projects that represent us at three large events: Saison France-Roumanie, the Europalia Festival Romania 2019 and the Presidency of the Council of Europe held by our country in the first part of this year. The confusion created among all the stakeholders, the lack of funds allocated from the budget and the change, several times, of the people with decision-making power (who could, perhaps, have given coherence to some programs, if they had been allowed to work) were major causes of this mystery that still floats around these opportunities that we missed in order to promote our contemporary art. Beyond these failures, there remain, however, some important milestones that will mark our little recent history. The collaboration of important European museums (Louvre, Bozar Bruxelles, etc.) with museums and institutions from Romania, but also personal initiatives of artists well-known internationally who live or not in our country: Florica Prevenda, Mircea Cantor, Christian Paraschiv etc.
In the context in which Florica Prevenda had a large stage retrospective exhibition scheduled for the first half of this year at Hangar 18 Art Center in Brussels, we considered necessary and important to include this event on the agenda of the Romanian Presidency at the EU Council in 2019. Because, personally, I consider that Florica Prevenda is an artist with a well-articulated discourse of present interest as regards the conceptual level and because it would have seemed irrelevant to me to be culturally represented mainly by popular dances, exhibitions of traditional embroidered blouses and artists more or less obscure.
Thus, I unwillingly generated costly events in terms of effort and other resources. My opinion is, however, that it was well worth it, because the exhibition, which takes place between February 8 and May 4, enjoyed a real success with the public and the press. I weekly receive signals from the local press monitored by the small team from ICR Brussels led with dedication and delicacy by Mrs. Carmen Ducaru.
The artists Mircea Cantor and Daniel Djamo are also exhibiting at Hangar 18 Gallery together with Florica Prevenda, having been invited in this project by the artist, at the suggestion of the gallerists. Practically, in the generous space of the art center, there are three personal exhibitions, having as common denominator the Romanian roots of the exhibiting artists. I believe that Romanian contemporary art is represented here at the highest level.
But let us give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. On Saturday, March 23, there was a meeting between the artist and the public of the gallery, during which Prevenda answered questions related to this endeavor, but also to her artistic career, located under the sign of exception and exemplarity.
In my opinion, Florica Prevenda is one of the most important contemporary artists active in the Romanian space. An equally discreet and enigmatic presence, she has that gift of diaphanous ubiquity, we see her, we feel her presence, and yet there are long periods in which she stays away from the tumult. Thus, it is not surprising that many people believe that Prevenda has spent many years abroad. However, apart from the period related to a green card and the numerous international exhibitions in which she participated, the artist was not absent from the country to which she feels deeply attached.
The long periods of seclusion in her studio, during which her extensive projects were leavened, contribute to this perception. From her unsettling drawings and works of the 80s and 90s, to the series Faces without a Face (1999), Net People (2001), Shadows of the Present (2004), Time Regained (2008), Serenity (2010), Facebook Obsession (2013-2016), Ephemeral/Condensations (2017), her artistic development gradually crystallized and refined, revealing an innovative artist, consistent at the conceptual level and painstakingly approaching a high-quality artistic expression. Because Florica Prevenda is an introspective spirit, tormented by the obsessive problems of the current era, always articulated in a serious register which excludes the easy. The artist exhausts, in impressive series, questions related to the socio-cultural size of contemporary man, in the context of the unprecedented development of the information age. Each exhibition is prepared for a long time and, because the artist respects herself, she has created new works for each context. The National Art Museum (1999), Cluj-Napoca Art Museum (2011), Timisoara Art Museum (2014), Brukenthal National Museum (2013; 2017), The National Museum of Art in Chișinău (2016), together with prestigious galleries from the country and abroad, in Brussels (2010; 2016), in Vienna (2016) and, last but not least, at the Brancovan Palaces Cultural Center in Mogoșoaia (2008; January 2017-December 2018).
At Hangar 18, the artist proposes, through her works selected from several creative cycles, a debate on the topic of interpersonal communication in the age of new technologies. In the last two decades, the flow of communication has dematerialized, generating, on the one hand, real-time connections, on the other hand, the anonymization of contacts and networks. The fast pace in which we live has made everything around us instantaneous and relative. The role of the artist, in the vision of Florica Prevenda, is that of an observer who, following a process of reflection, can generate a negotiation, a dialogue with the spirit of the times in which he/she lives.
A stop on a course that I am sure will be remembered by the history of Romanian contemporary art, the exhibition of Florica Prevenda in Brussels bears its attributes of distinction and discretion.
I can say, from the privileged position of her proximity, that, living austerely, harsh with those around her, but especially with herself, Florica Prevenda may seem like a difficult person, but whoever enters her universe is rewarded with a generous and stable friendship. Attentive to details, managing in the finest aspects the delivery of her image to the public, Prevenda documents her work for posterity, because her life is only the pretext of her art..