‘The solo show brings together a recent series of (self) portraits created in a new manner for Răzvan Năstase's practice, who, for several years, has brought photography into his studio as a starting point for his mixed media works. In the present selection, this tendency, through which the realism of photo-portraits transcends into pictorial effigy or essentialisation with a tarot aura, photography is a pretext for travelling into memory and (auto)biographical nooks and crannies to pay homage to his family of origin. 10 of Cups is a minor arcana of the Tarot, which illustrates, especially in the Rider Waite deck, a couple with two children, often referred to as the "family card". Răzvan Năstase's series thus explores his own emotional memory and family relationships in a complex dialogue with his personal and collective past, combining conscious observation with expressive pictorial gestures that abound in esoteric symbolism (moon, sun, arch, aura). By choosing members of his own family as subjects for these works, Răzvan Năstase reveals his genealogical and identity affiliation, on the one hand, and opens the discussion about the distinction between an artist's life and work (whether or not they are part of the same existential flow), on the other.’ – Ana Daniela Sultana

Răzvan Năstase (b. 1991) is a visual artist, photographer, and graphic designer, who graduated from UNArte Bucharest, with a bachelor's and master's degree in painting. He took part in national group exhibitions in Bucharest, Cluj, and Sibiu, and in international exhibitions in Budapest, Vienna, Geneva, Madrid, Milan, Stockholm, and Los Angeles. He also had solo exhibitions at Magheru One, Art Safari, ETAJ Artist Run Space, and the Atelier 35, MNȚRplusC, and Sandwich galleries.

Ana Daniela Sultana is a curator and columnist who graduated from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. She publishes articles in ARTA magazine, Orizzonti culturali italo-romeni, and on agentiadecarte.ro. She collaborates with institutions such as RCI Istanbul, RCI Vienna, RCI Venice, the Austrian Cultural Forum in Bucharest, the Art Museum in Timișoara, Kunsthalle Feldbach, Aluniș Art Center, and with numerous contemporary art galleries.

Photo Credit Cătălina Flămînzeanu