28 November 2008
19.00-21.00, The Romanian Cultural Centre, 8th floor, 54-62 Regent Street, London W1B 5RE; Tel. 020 7439 4052, ext 102; e-mail: mail@ratiufamilyfoundation.com ; Entry is free but booking is essential.

Following his talk at Late Tate Liverpool, Romanian artist Adrian Ghenie will be in London for a special Culture Power event at The Romanian Cultural Centre. Adrian, in conversation with curator Jane Neal, will talk about his work and his latest projects.

Jane Neal is a freelance critic and curator. Her special focus over the past three years has been the developing art scene in Central and Eastern Europe.

“Adrian Ghenie approaches painting like an old master, and there is very much a sense that his collages and paintings can and should be read in dialogue with the history of painting as much as with contemporary culture. As with any great painter, Ghenie’s works are as much about paint itself as about the subjects he depicts.

By means of a painterly language that ranges from the grotesque to the sublime, Ghenie navigates through the figurative and the abstract to a place that is both existential and metaphysical – a psychological and yet deeply material portrayal of the human condition in which the baggage of history weighs heavily on the shoulders of the present. Very much about personal and collective struggle, Ghenie offers a contemporary position on grand narratives familiar throughout history, of those abusing power and those abused by them, of enforced exile and migration. His works fully deserve to be recognized as the works of a young master (an accolade not lightly bestowed) – producing highly contemporary works that are the latest contribution to a long conversation between masters of the past.” – Matt Price

Organised by The Ratiu Foundation UK & The Romanian Cultural Centre in London
www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com; www.romanianculturalcentre.org.uk .

Image above: ‘Pie Fight 2’, 59×55 cm, oil on canvas, 2008. © Adrian Ghenie