Serban Savu – Sometimes my Eyes are the Eyes of a Stranger

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We are pleased to announce the first solo exhibition in Italy by Romanian artist Serban Savu, one of the most eminent painters from Cluj-Napoca.

"Communism" (or whatever that was) continued its existence in Romania long after it was officially declared dead. But anyway, this is not what I am interested in, it is not "Communism" or the regime but its results, the effects of a failed utopia.

After finishing University Savu was awarded a two-years postgraduate research grant to Venice, where he studied Venetian Renaissance painting. Back to Cluj in 2004, he started seeing the reality around him with different eyes, comparing two cultures in a more complex way. In his paintings he takes the position of the observer, wishing to understand more of what happened and what is happening today. His major subject is work and leisure in contemporary Romania, he portrays this every day reality with masterly balance. In his paintings the landscape is very important, it acts like a main character, it defines the other characters and shapes the whole situation. The point of view is always raised and distant, to give more clarity to what is represented. The scenes are dominated by the concrete buildings, dams, bridges and other infrastructures of the Communist era. Savu uses painting as a tool in order to express certain ideas, without neglecting the language of his medium. He tries not to be bound to a formal approach, that’s why some of his works look almost impressionistic, some others are more realistic. The aim is to find the right voice for each painting, and the history of arts is an ally for his purpose, his goal is to talk about the society he lives in. Savu knows how to find an unusual beauty in the ordinary and everyday life, using pure colors and immersing even the concrete structures and ruins of communism in a soft and warm light, thus showing the search for peace and harmony even in inhospitable places.

For the exhibition in Milano Sometimes my Eyes are the Eyes of a Stranger, Savu has chosen to explore five different ways of looking at reality: through the gaze of the spectator, the voyeur, the solitary, the bird-eye view and the nocturnal view.

Serban Savu was born in Sighisoara in 1978. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in Europe and the USA. In 2014 he took part in the exhibition Romanian Scenes at Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton, Paris. In 2013 he exhibited at Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw, at Rudolfinum in Prague and at the Arken Museum in Copenhagen. In 2007 and 2009 he participated in the Biennale of Prague.

IMAGE:
Serban Savu Cinema 2014 oil on board, cm 61 x 98