Adrian Florin Pop and Cătălin Regea: ’35, Timișoara Garrison Command, 01.12.2024–30.01.2025, Curators Cristina Daju and Mihai Toth

Abstract

With its suggestive title, the '35 exhibition by visual artist Adrian Florin Pop (b. 1978) and 1989 Revolution photographer, Cătălin Regea brings into focus the number of years that have passed since the fateful events, anticipating the idea of dividing time into ‘pre-revolution’ and ‘post-revolution’. Given the fact that this event profoundly changed the fabric of Romanian society, I believe that this time division in the collective mind is more than justified. The commemorative and reflective concept of the exhibition fills and dominates the space of the garrison, extending into the cracks of the building, giving visitors the feeling that they have entered a complete space which emanates, through every pore, strong feelings related to both the current political situation and meditating on the political and social events of the past. The exhibition space was filled with a variety of pieces made in a multitude of media, from painting on and off canvas and photography to audio-visual installations and found objects, which brought a unique breath to the two collaborators' vision of a subject that has been hyper-discussed. Even if the predominantly approached aesthetic is one of thought chaos, where eclecticism, provocative colors, and paint splashes have a place of honor, the whole concept was created on a well-documented archivistic basis, where the photographs taken by Cătălin Regea, on which Adrian Florin Pop intervenes, often with tones of red, stand out and provide legitimacy to the entire manifestation.