Reply to: Baroque, Contemporary Art Museum, Sibiu

"Reply to: Baroque" – an exhibition that brings Baroque aesthetics into dialogue with contemporary art at the Contemporary Art Museum, part of the Brukenthal National Museum, Sibiu.

Reply to: Baroque – Contemporary Responses to Baroque Aesthetics

Contemporary Art Museum – Brukenthal National Museum
6 Tribunei Street, Sibiu, Romania

Exhibition Dates: July 26 – August 23, 2026

The exhibition will be introduced on Sunday, July 26, at 11:00 AM, with a guided tour led by the exhibition's curator, Alexandra Runcan.

Curators: Alexandra Runcan & Valentin Trifescu

 

Artists:

Zsolt Berszán · István Betuker · Claudiu Ciobanu · Lavinia Crețu · Ștefan Radu Crețu · Constantin Fîntînă · Theodor Hrib · Alex Mirutziu · Patricia Teodorescu · Alexandru Trifu · Ștefan Ungureanu · Casandra Vidrighin · Csaba Zemlényi

Baroque extends far beyond the boundaries of a historical period. This exhibition is based on the premise that, rather than belonging solely to the past, Baroque introduced a series of themes and visual strategies that continue to resonate within contemporary artistic practice. Illusion, theatricality, contrast, excess, and the tension between appearance and reality re-emerge today in new forms, becoming tools through which artists respond to the complexities of the present.

Reply to: Baroque brings together thirteen contemporary artists who engage with Baroque aesthetics from diverse perspectives. Presented at the Contemporary Art Museum, the exhibition features works from the museum's collection alongside works generously loaned by established local artists.

At a time marked by uncertainty, polarization, and profound social change, the works on display explore themes such as illusion, spectacle, excess, fragility, and power relations.

The exhibition opens on the occasion of the 305th anniversary of the birth of Baron Samuel von Brukenthal (1721–1803), whose collection and palace have played a defining role in shaping Sibiu's cultural identity.

The opening event will begin with a guided tour led by curator Alexandra Runcan, offering visitors an introduction to the dialogue that Reply to: Baroque establishes between Baroque aesthetics and contemporary art.

 

The exhibition is part of the Baroque Festival (first edition).

Festival Dates: July 25–26, 2026

Venues:

Brukenthal Palace, 4 Piața Mare, Sibiu
Contemporary Art Museum, 6 Tribunei Street, Sibiu, Romania
 

Utopian Body – Toward a Silent Presence

Curator: Cristiana Ursache

The Cosmic House Gallery, Cluj

 

25.06.2026 - 12.07.2026

 

In “Utopian Body – Toward a Silent Presence,” Claudiu Ciobanu proposes a subtle yet essential transition from the body as a mental projection to the body as a space of silence. While in the previous stage the mind functioned as a generator of identities and perceptions, in this series the artist investigates what remains once discourse is suspended: a body that no longer asserts, claims, or explains, but exists in a state of reflection and awareness.

Within a context oversaturated with images, layouts, and declarations of identity, silence becomes a radical form of presence. Here, the body becomes a territory where understanding is constructed through absence, opacity, and the mystery of that which resists complete decoding. In this sense, Claudiu Ciobanu’s project is connected to broader reflections on corporeality as a threshold of visibility, where what cannot be articulated becomes as significant as what is revealed.

“Utopian Body – Toward a Silent Presence” can be understood as a meditation on the limits of representing the body in an era dominated by excessive visibility. Claudiu Ciobanu’s silent body no longer participates in the economy of spectacle; instead, it withdraws, refusing to become entirely accessible. It becomes a space of resistance, where identity is no longer exposed but preserved through ambiguity. Rather than functioning as a mirror, the exhibition proposes an opaque screen—one that reflects only partially and always retains a dimension that remains inaccessible. This impossibility of complete transparency becomes, paradoxically, a space of authenticity.

Jecza Gallery × Himera invite you to Almost Already Tomorrow

Opening: Wednesday, June 10, 2026

6:00 PM — at Himera Gallery (ISHO U1)
and from
7:30 PM — we move to Jecza Gallery (Calea Martirilor 51/52)

 

 

Now in its fourth edition, the summer exhibition organized by Jecza Gallery and Himera has become a tradition dedicated to discovering and supporting new generations of contemporary artists.

Curated by Norbert Filep, the exhibition Almost Already Tomorrow brings together 23 emerging artists selected through an extensive evaluation process. The project continues the commitment of both spaces to discovering and supporting young artists.

This year’s edition began with an open call that received more than 300 applications from across the country.

The passage of time emerges as a slowed-down mechanism of the clock, as the transition between moving through the present oscillates between the moment that once was and the one that is yet to come.

The understanding of the present state almost entirely escapes the curious observer who attempts to synthesize and deepen this ambiguous condition. Once perceived, the present becomes the past, and the instant irreversibly dissolves into a space of time transformed into memory. The space between the two temporal moments — between “what was” and “what will be” — operates through an undefined drawing traced by the sharpness of clock hands. Having become immutable, it disappears into abstraction, becoming a space of questioning and curiosity.

Almost Already Tomorrow reflects this nature of uninterrupted time — the time that is yet to come and that, essentially, has already passed at the very moment it is realized.

Selected artists:
Bamby Tony, Borcuti Alexandru Stelian, Ciobanu Claudiu, Coman Sebastiana, Coarnă Ramona, Gora Dimitrie, Guzu Dana, Hâncu Andrei, Hrițuleac Iasmina, Iakab-Chirca Ștefania, Ioniță Andreea, Isailă Dan, Lupu Ana, Neciu Andrei, Oniciuc Lavinia, Păcurar Matei, Samoilă Andreea, Savin Roxana, Sîrbu Alecsandra, Soloszi Ana Maria, Țintea Anca, Tudose Oana, Waldorf Elena.

We look forward to welcoming you on Wednesday, June 10, at Himera and Jecza Gallery, to discover together the practices and concerns of a new generation of artists.