Visual Arts

"From the very first sight, Stefan Pelmus's exuberant painting exerts a seduction so swift, that he transforms you at once from beholder into worshiper." The Bistriţa-Năsăud County Cultural Center, in partnership with the I.L. Caragiale National Theatre, within the programme NTB Paratheatrical - Visual Arts, organizes under the title "Stefan Pelmus - 70" an anniversary retrospective exhibition of the painter, curated by Antigona Silvia Rogozea and assistant curator Lina Tarmure. The varnishing is scheduled for Wednesday March 6th, 2019, from 6:00 p.m. in the presence of Ion Bogdan Lefter, Tudor Octavian and Sebastian Vlad-Popa. With an extensive experience in the artistic field, Stefan Pelmus (1949) is distinguished on the evolutionary path of contemporary Romanian art through a symbolic repertoire marked by a fabulous and abundant world. Bearing a message encoded by a vast register of hieroglyphic signs, his works convey the mystery and charm of the border between existence and spirituality. Its totemic characters and its labyrinthic world lead us to a place of universal-mystic genealogy, where the key word is the miracle. From the very first sight, Stefan Pelmus's exuberant painting exerts a seduction so swift, that he transforms you at once from beholder into worshiper. Stefan Pelmuş also exhibited in Rotterdam and Eindhoven, the Netherlands, participated in the Kosice Biennial, was present at Zoersel, Edegen and Brussels-Belgium and participated in the Ankara Art Biennial. His works were appreciated in the Wiesbaden, Five Plus Gallery and Art Bodensee galleries in Austria, as well as in Stockholm, Budapest, Munich and Ottawa, and his work was as well received in Paris at the " Saint Germain" and the "Soleil de L'Est" Art Gallery, which was awarded the Biennial Art Award in 2002. Stefan Pelmuş has exhibited in numerous galleries and museums in Romania (Museum of Art in Timisoara, Bistrita Art Museum), being awarded the First Prize at the "G. Patrascu" Art Biennial in Targoviste, the "G. Tătărascu" special prize in Bucharest and the Painting Prize of the Visual Artists’ Guild of Romania. The exhibition can be visited on a daily basis in the Rotunda of the NTB Small Hall foyer (access through Carol Blvd.) between March 6th and April 7th, 2019, from 10: 00 a.m. to 6: 00 p.m., except for Mondays.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu   

In the Rotunda of the NTB Small Hall of the TNB, the exhibition Stage and Painting - stage design and costume projects by baron George Löwendal. "Stage and Painting" is the title of a new exhibition dedicated to the artistic creation of baron George Löwendal, which shall open in the Rotunda Hall of the National Theatre of Bucharest from 4 to 28 February 2019, with the opening on Wednesday, 6 February 2019, 18.00. Outlining an artistic destiny launched in the Year of Great Romania, 1918, this exhibition shall focus on stage designs and costumes created during 1921-1945 when George Löwendal worked in the theaters of Bucharest, Cernauti, Timisoara, Braila or Craiova. There, he achieved successful stage designs, recorded in the press of his time, by prominent personalities such as Lucia Demetrius, Petru Comarnescu, Adrian Maniu or Ionel Jianu. Along with these creations that have entered the limelights, drawings in coal, of great virtuosity, shall be displayed, representing actors from the golden generation of Romanian theatre, such as Radu Beligan, Fory Etterle, Dan Botta, Grigore Vasiliu Birlic, Dinu Ianculescu, Ion Manolescu etc . Curated by Calin Stegerean, the exhibition presents George Löwendal as a leading personality of the Romanian theatre, with an artistic vision of great originality and value, which the proof of time has constantly confirmed. The finishing event is scheduled for February 20th, 2019, with a conference organized by the renowned theatrologist George Banu, which shall take place in the Media Hall of the Bucharest National Theatre from 6.00 p.m. We invite you on Wednesday, February 20th, 2019, from 6.00 p.m. to the Media Hall of the National Theatre of Bucharest for the conference The Actor’s Albums: from Painting to Etching and Photography. Starting from the splendid actor sketches of George Löwendal, an evocation of the image album, which retraces in time the memory of the great performers and the adopted performance style. Presented by: George Banu, theatrology expert George Banu (born on June 22nd, 1943, Buzău, Romania) is a theatrology expert and Romanian university professor, who settled in Paris. Since March 2013, he has been an honorary member of the Romanian Academy.   The exhibition is organized by the Löwendal Foundation in partnership with the IL Caragiale National Theatre of Bucharest and the Manasia Domain and is part of the Romania 100: Scenography, Painting project. Costume, funded by Bucharest City Hall 1 through the Cultural Centre 1, within the Centenary for All Programme - 2017-2020.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

The best Romanian watercolor painters, in the exhibition “Romania in Watercolor”, hosted by the National Theatre of Bucharest   On Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019, from 7.00 p.m., the National Theatre of Bucharest shall host the first national exhibition of watercolor painting of Romania. The event shall take place in the „Media Foyer” hall, in the Intercontinental Wing of the National Theatre. The exhibition shall host the works of over 70 watercolour painters, professional or amateurs, young or less young, united for the first time under the „blason” of the International Watercolor Society, whose Romanian branch organises this special event in partnership with the National Theatre of Bucharest. The project proposes an extensive and complex approach of the watercolor painting technique. The International Watercolor Society is a non-profit organization founded in the year 2012 by the Turkish artist, residing in Canada, Atanur Dogan, and since 2016, it has also been active in Romania under the designation International Watercolor Society Romania (I.W.S. Romania), chaired by architect-artist Ovidiu Iovanel. I.W.S. was founded with the aim of promoting the oldest painting technique worldwide, Watercolor. I.W.S. aims at promoting respect, peace and harmony through the use of art – the common language of the whole world. The society’s activities involve bringing together watercolor painters and art lovers, watercolor lovers. Watercolor painting has been neglected and even despised for a long time, at the expense of other techniques. Festivals and exhibitions, national or international, are effective means of promoting watercolor painting, presenting the world with exquisite works of art. These events are also becoming points of interaction between artists, collectors and art experts, from various countries. The exhibition shall last from January 22nd until February 24th, 2019. The exhibition can be visited from Monday to Sunday, in the time frame 10.00 -18.00.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

The Circle, the first painting exhibition of the year 2019 in the Media Foyer (Arghezi) of NTB    Starting with January 10th, 2019, the Media Foyer (Tudor Arghezi wing) is hosting the painting exhibition of Norica Vesca - Popescu, entitled The Circle. 50 works are exhibited, configuring a graceful and sensitive universe, reminding of the fairy-tale books with good fairies and a happy ending under the sign of love. ”My inner states have always led me towards the closure of forms, towards symmetry. In creation, I have materialized my passion for the symbolic universe – the painter confesses. Life is a Circle. The embrace is a Circle. You always draw circles around the ones you love. Because hearts can be broken, the Circle has no ending. (…) It bears a profound symbolism, even in folk art. The dance, the wheat ear crowns on the heads of the girls, two young people in a forest facing each other, holding hands, have their Circle, which is a bearer of messages. In the works from my exhibition we encounter this symbol through the characters’ movements, through what they convey, through the theme. (…) We do not see it necessarily, we must search and try to preserve it, which I invite you to do by contemplating my works…”.  The exhibition can be visited daily from 11.00 – 18.00, except for Mondays. Access through Tudor Arghezi St. or via the foyer towards Intercontinental.   Norica Vesca – Popescu graduated from the Arts University of Bucharest at the painting class of professor Stefan Caltia, year 2000. Member of the Visual Artists’ Union, Bucharest branch office. Governmental study scholarships in Greece, Egypt. Participations in yearly painting salons, visual arts fairs, creative camps, further yearly group exhibitions in Romania and abroad (1994-2018). Personal exhibitions, including at: Mogosoaia Pallace, Serendipity, Marriott Hotel, the Peasant Museum, Carturesti, Victoria Gallery, H. Traian Gallery - Iasi. Painting of film costumes, sceneries of foreign movies shot in Romania ("Les Rois Maudits", "Perfume - a story of a murderer", "Modigliani", etc).   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

On Friday, December 14th, 2018, from 1.00 p.m., the opening of the national exhibition "The Icon - Faith and Tradition" takes place in the Media Centre (Intercontinental wing) of the "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre (icons on glass and wood), organised by the National Heritage Institute subordinated to the Ministry of Culture and National Identity, in partnership with NTB. The fourth edition of the project is part of the National Multiannual Programme for the Revival of Traditional Crafts and the Promotion of Artistic Creativity, initiated by the National Heritage Institute since 2000, and aims to promote the traditional working techniques of icons, as well as contemporary icon craftsmen. The exhibition, which shall be open until January 15th, 2019, aims to provide the audience, on Christmas Eve, with an image of a traditional artistic craft. The works exhibited belong to popular creators from all corners of the country. The exhibition shall display icons on wood and glass from all over the country, worked in the field of folk art tradition - working techniques, procedures, materials, ornaments, thematic symbols - according to popular belief and our habits. Partners in this project are: the I.L. Caragiale National Theatre of Bucharest, the County Centre for the Preservation and Promotion of Traditional Culture Iasi and the National Museum Complex "Moldova" Iasi - the Ethnographic Museum of Moldova. The exhibition shall be open daily from 10.00 to 18.00, except for Mondays. Public access to the Media Hall Foyer is permitted through 2 Nicolae Bălcescu Blvd. From January 22nd to February 15th, 2019, a selection of works from the exhibition shall be moved to Iasi and exhibited at the National Museum Complex "Moldova" Iasi - the Ethnographic Museum of Moldova.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

The Media Foyer (the wing towards Tudor Arghezi street) shall host from December 6th, 2018 until January 8th, 2019 the personal painting, acrylic and oil painting exhibition of architect Matilda Simona Teodorescu, entitled Instants. "As an architect - the artist confesses- by searching, understanding and assimilating their shape, proportion and colour, they now make the reverse, from the macrocosm to the microcosm, treading on the path of visual arts through the personal exhibition of paintings “instants”, on rebirth, butterflies flying towards spring flowers, musical harmonies, snow-covered forests, sea horses at Vama Veche, love stories woven between the Danube and the Sea at Sulina, about life, about us. I seek the shapes of nature and place them into feelings, experiences, thoughts. I stop ... I lay on the colors of the stones broken by the waters, the wind, the sun ... and listening ... listen to the breath of life ... so the instants were born in the Media Hall foyer of the National Theatre of Bucharest. " The closing event with audience is scheduled for January 2019, on a date that shall be announced subsequently. The exhibition is open daily from 11.00 to 18.00, except for Mondays.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

On Wednesday, December 5th, 2018, in the Tapestry Foyer on the 1st floor of the NTB Grand Hall, you are invited to the following events taking place within the cultural project Steps towards the Revival of the Romanian Theatre Museum, initiated by the Art Conservation Support Association (ACS) partnership with the Ion Luca Caragiale National Theatre, financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Identity within the framework of the Cultural Programme dedicated to the Romanian Centennial (1918-2018) and World War I: 17.30 - Conference on the current state of artwork restorations (painting and graphics) from the NTB Museum heritage at 19.00 - the launch of The National Theatre of Bucharest during Wartime (1916 - 1918), ACS Publishing House. Author: Vera Molea, theatre historian, National Theatre Museum. The work is the result of the unfailing effort of the authoress through documenting in the archives and the minute study of the documents held by the Museum of the "Ion Luca Caragiale" National Theatre, gathering and capitalizing rare documents and information provided to the readers for the first time. Free entrance through the foyer of the Grand Hall.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

Thursday, November 15th, 2018, from 6.00 p.m., the foyer on the floor of the Studio Hall hosts the exhibition Romania - 100 Years of Architectural Competitions, organized by the Faculty of Architecture of Spiru Haret and UAR Sector 2. Curator: PhD lecturer arch. Teodorescu Nicoleta Doina. The year 1918 meant the fulfilment of the dream, of the ideal and the hopes of many generations of Romanians who wanted, promoted and identified opportunities in the European context of the time. The century that passed, which we celebrate this year, is the century in which the generations that have lived on these lands created the spatial expression of the Romanian spirit, as we can identify it today. Among those called to materialize this spatial expression, we include architects, and the exhibition we propose is their effort to capture in their proposals and projects, their spirit and aspirations. Far from reviewing the creation of Romanian architecture over a century, which would have required a totally different approach, the exhibition Romania, 100 Years of Architectural Competitions, draws attention to the value of the Architecture Contest. Its tradition is based on the quality of the undeniable results, a tradition that is increasingly ignored, the selection of projects being often based on criteria far from the quality of the resulting constructed object. On the other hand, the Architecture Contest, open, accessible, has allowed the assertion of young gifted architects, promoters of original visions of the built space. We can mention here the two Contest teams acknowledged as such: Gabriel Cristea, Dinu Gheorghiu, Constantin Savescu and Romeo Belea and later on Thomas Toma Olteanu, Victor Ivanes, Constantin Dobre and Radu Tanasoiu, architects who asserted themselves through the Architecture Contest, gaining a large number of awards. They have proven their professional value and competence later on also as teachers, mentors of many generations of architects. The contests presented in this exhibition are selected from those published on the pages of the Architecture magazine, accompanied by comments on the topic, selection criteria and proposed solutions. When the authors were able to make material from their personal archives available, we have gladly used them. We present published projects, some completed, others ignored at a later stage (as is the case with the Bucharest 2000 Contest). Also included in the exhibition is a section devoted to the places of worship, the prophets of worship, architectural proposals after 1989, whether or not included in architectural competitions. The opening of the exhibition Romania, 100 years of Architectural Competitions shall take place on Thursday, November 15th, 2018, from 6.00 p.m., in the foyer of the NTB Studio Hall!   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

Between October 15th and December 14th, 2018, the "Tapestry" foyer on the first floor of the NTB Grand Hall hosts three thematic exhibitions dedicated to great actors that marked the centennial history of the National Theatre: Aristide Demetriade, Ana Luca and Ion Petrescu. Painting, sculpture, graphics, costumes, photographs, objects and documents (manuscript posters, archive images) that are part of the collection of the National Theatre Museum are exhibited. Some of these exhibits have undergone careful restoration-conservation interventions: as of 2018, expert restorer Dr. Aurelia Pomponiu masterfully restored some of the costumes from the collection of the National Theatre Museum and the project Steps towards the Revival of the Romanian Theater Museum shall continues the process of restoration of oil painting works on canvas and graphics by restorers Ioan Darida and Dana Postolache. After the first "micro-exhibition" of this generic cycle entitled The Hidden Museum, dedicated to the great actor Aristide Demetriade (1872-1930), from November 9th to 25th, 2018, under the title Presences Changing the Face of the Romanian Theatre, a new micro-exhibition capitalizes the personality of actress Ana Luca, a student of the famous Aristizza Romanescu. On this occasion, the recently restored painting of the famous painter, I. Teodorescu-Sion, who immortalized the actress in a beautiful portrait that is part of the recovered patrimony of the NTB Museum, shall be displayed. These exhibitions are part of the cultural project "Steps towards the Revival of the Romanian Theatre Museum". Initiated by the Art Conservation Support Association (ACS), in partnership with "Ion Luca Caragiale" National Theatre, the project is funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Identity "and is dedicated to a series of activities aimed at both the general public of all ages and experts in the conservation of material cultural heritage. Ana Luca (July 1957) She was a student of Aristizza Romanescu, from whom she learned the beautiful phrasing and style of the simple and non-emphatic performance. She made her debut on the stage of the National Theatre of Iasi. Although she was gifted, her gentle, reserved character made her not to be at the forefront of the Romanian scene, as her talent had justified her. The one who brought it to Bucharest was Alexandru Davila, who entrusted her with important roles in his company. Her debut at the Davila Company took place in 1909 at the inaugural show Stone among Stones by Sudermann. She remembered about that moment: "The room full of people? ... Lights, reflectors? ... I confess I do not remember this for some reason. There was too much light from the spotlights on the stage, something more important in my heart than the desire for theatre success. (FO Fosian, 87 artists from Bucharest, People's Culture Publishing House) Since September 1912, Ana Luca has been part of the Comoedia Theater ensemble. Davila's second appointment to the Bucharest National Direction makes Ana Luca fit into the ensemble of our first stage. During her work at the National Theatre of Bucharest, Luca's name shall appear in the cast of many performances: Voichiţa by Duiliu Zamfirescu, Forbidden Love by Pierre Wolff, Camille by Al. Dumas, Night Asylum by Gorky. During the war she escapes to Iasi, then returns to the Bucharest National. She is cast by the established directors of our theatre. Under the directorial wand of Paul Gusty, Victor Bumbeşti, Vasile Enescu, Soare Z. Soare, Ana Luca builds her characters with dedication and prowess, regardless of whether the roles are leading or supporting ones. We encounter her name in the cast of the performances: The Abyss by M. Sorbul, The Storks are Leaving by Ion Minulescu, The Sonata of the Shadows by Al. Dominic, The Death of Cleopatra by Iorga, The Power of Darkness by Tolstoy, The Roe by VI Popa, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Elena), Twelfth Night (Olivia), Hamlet (Gertrude) by Shakespeare, Henry IV And Right You Are! (If You Think So) by Pirandello, A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde, The Great Confessor of Eftimiu, The Children’s Crusade by Blaga, Candida by GB Shaw and many others. For her merits, Ana Luca is rewarded with the title of shareholder of the National Theatre of Bucharest. Since 1949, although she was supposed to retire, she pursued her activity at the Theatre in Resita. Here, she performed in June 1949 in the show Cumpana by Lucia Demetrius, directed by Sica Alexandrescu; then in May 1950 in the Fortress of Fire Sofia) by Mihail Davidoglu. From 1951 to 1956, her name appears on the posters of the National Theatre in Iaşi in: The Jester Cart (Pulcheria) by Mircea Ştefănescu, The Forest by Ostrovschi(Raisa), The Town in Flames (Bălăşa) by Valeriu Luca, The Town (Tudorita) by Davidoglu, Mother by Alecsandr Afinoghenov (Sonia). Ana Luca was among the few actresses concerned with the art of writing. Her play, On the sunny road, was awarded and represented on the stage of the National Theatre of Bucharest. She has also published the volumes of verse The Candle (The Literary Universe Collection - 1939); the novel Through the calumet smoke, Carvings (1941), Victor and Ana. Fifty-three songs (published at Forum Publishing House, Iasi). She passed away in 1957.   Vexation (1939) Forgive me tender aunt That I have not knocked and I have arrived this way, lofty I was longing to open a door Behind which I would be expected.   I have come to you Death to seek life I can not stand there anymore between the ghosts of ice I miss the heat, the living comrades There, in the streets, in the houses are only the spectres Or maybe the walking statues, the robots With computing machines and wheels on the inside Walled inside their horizon Like worms in the cocoon behind the furnace. When you want to touch their closed meaning with your fingers you touch a void like in a dream. In the world of people called alive, the deserted winds have frozen me. Your unveiled laughter Tells me that I have not bothered you How good are you, aunt and so close. Is that why no one ever leaves you, ever? You are the great sister who is wise and good, Who envelops and gathers What the crazy little sister messes up and throws away.   I also thank you for the foremost ordered place For all the centuries given I shall not go back to the men on top I did not even say farewell They did not even notice that I have been among them and left.   Now there may the sun set in the gardens Swaying flakes are falling, from the alders ... How tender the evening zephyr blows I see rosy fog far away Rising over the city   Why did they not love me, auntie? Hold me close I'm not leaving you from now on.   Ion Theodorescu-Sion (1882-1939) is one of the most important Romanian composition painters, whose decorative character is specific. He was equally concerned with portraiture, landscape and still life. In the collection of the National Theatre Museum in Bucharest we find him as a portrait artist. The picture depicts Ana Luca, an actress from the first half of the twentieth century, starring as Olivia in William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night". Onu Soare Theodor, called by his teacher Theodorescu, a name he kept andto which he added himself the component Sion, was born in Braila and came to Bucharest in 1897 to study painting. At the National School of Fine Arts he has George Demetrescu Mirea and Ipolit Strâmbu as professors - for drawing, painting and composition; sculptor Ion Georgescu and arch. Victor Ştephănescu - for perspective. After six years of study, he receives a scholarship and goes to Paris where he attends the courses of professors Jean Paul Laurens and Luc Olivier at the Académie de Beaux-Arts. Both in Bucharest and Paris, he was colleague with Camil Ressu and Jean Al. Steriadi. Even during his studies he made portraits of those with whom he came into contact, standing out as an excellent drawer. Between 1908 and 1911, he worked satirical drawings he published in the humour magazines The Ant, Zavera and Nea Ghita. Later, he performs illustrations and portraits of actors for Facla. Since 1909, he has been exhibiting frequently at the Official Salons, at the Young Artists’exhibitions Art and Romanian Art. He also participates in Romanian art exhibitions organized abroad in Paris 1925; Barcelona 1929, where he receives the Grand Prix; Hague, Amsterdam 1930; Brussels 1935 and post-mortem at Berna 1943; Stockholm 1943. He is present on the picture rails of the international exhibition in Paris, 1937 and New York, 1939 and those of the Venice Biennial, 1938. He took part in the two conflicts at the beginning of the twentieth century, namely the Balkan War and World War I. In 1916, he was mobilized as lieutenant in antiaircraft artillery, participating in the battles in northern Dobrogea and Braila. After his retreat to Moldova, he is in Hlincea for the defense of Iaşi. He was part of the group of 35 artists mobilized by the Great General Headquarters of the Romanian Army, with the mission of translating into images scenes of war that would form the nucleus of a future national art museum. His work is characterized by a strong sense of decorative and monumental, features that singularize him in his group of contemporary artists. The representation of actress Ana Luca reveals the strong sense of the decoration through the way the background and the large garment is made. The refinement of color, which is juxtaposed, brings a special note to a discrete and distinguished personality.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

The Flashback exhibition is presented at the National Theatre Festival. An exceptional exhibition event within FNT will be the photo installation organized in the foyer of the Small Hall of the National Theatre of Bucharest, dedicated to stage designer Lia Mantoc. "Flashback" is the title of the exhibition that the audience is invited to visit during the ten days of the Festival. The route proposed by the impressions gathered in time by the great artist on photographic paper shall reveal new valences of a tireless spirit that surprises life with an ever-fresh eye in the most unexpected hypostases. "Animated by the rampant creative ego, Lia Mantoc is a gigantic personality, an artist with a rare force, who has built a great career in a total acceptance of the condition of rebel and humble artist, as well. The universe of stage designer Lia Mantoc is full of images, of the sense the word gives to the shape, the costume, the make-up on stage. Every costume of Lia Mantoc, for example, is accompanied by the character who wore it - great actors of the Romanian theatre, by utterance, by silence. Lia Mantoc is one of the consistent, caliber names of the Romanian Theatre. And not only. Flashback is a sum of powerful and manipulative images. An invitation into an exciting universe, into a delusional carousel, in which reality and fiction have long lost their edges. Flashback is a return, a glance back, directed by artist Lia Mantoc. We see what we are allowed, we feel what inner freedom permits." Marina Constantinescu   The opening of the exhibition Flashback shall take place on Sunday, 21st October, 2018, from 5.30 p.m., in the Small Hall - foyer of the "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre of Bucharest.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu