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Nona Inescu at Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest

Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 26

The exhibition marks Nona Inescu’s second solo presentation in Romania, following Hands Don’t Make Magic at Sabot, Cluj-Napoca (2015). Representing an important voice from Eastern Europe, the artist’s multidisciplinary works explore the nature of life in its various forms.

Nona Inescu’s work examines the delicate interplay between environmental collapse and the transformation of both human and non-human bodies. Offering a raw and contemplative perspective on ecological fragility, Ecuator Nocturn expands Inescu’s ongoing preoccupation with the natural world, shifting focus from individual species to entire landscapes.

The artist’s research into violent shifts brought on by wildfires culminates in a new body of works, including metal and mixed-media sculptures, video, and photography. The works articulate the duality of destruction and renewal, capturing the persistence of hope and suggesting that even from the ashes of devastation, life holds the potential to take root once more.

The exhibition integrates a range of elements— a tortoiseshell, a meager armor, a sarcophagus, and architectural ruins—serving as metaphors for protection, memory, and the act of preservation. Together, they speak to the enduring struggle to safeguard what remains.

Nona Inescu
Ecuator Nocturn (Nocturnal Equator)

The exhibition marks Nona Inescu’s second solo presentation in Romania, following Hands Don’t Make Magic at Sabot, Cluj-Napoca (2015). Recognized as a leading artist of her generation, Inescu is celebrated for her ethereal, multidisciplinary works that delve into the intricate nature of life in its many forms.

Inescu’s new body of work examines the delicate interplay between environmental collapse and the transformation of both human and non-human bodies. Offering a raw and contemplative perspective on ecological fragility, Ecuator Nocturn expands the artist’s ongoing exploration of the natural world to a broader, more encompassing scale. Shifting focus from individual species to entire landscapes and ecosystems, the exhibition investigates the intricate relationships between bodies and their environments.

Drawing from her ongoing sculptural series Reliquaries (2022), her solo exhibition Grey Gardens (2023), and the recent Preservers sculptures, Inescu expands her exploration of the delicate and often violent shifts that wildfires bring to ecosystems. Haunting sculptures, mixed media works, and installations articulate the duality of destruction and renewal. These works capture the persistence of hope, suggesting that even in the ashes of devastation, life holds the potential to take root once more.

The exhibition integrates a range of symbolic elements—shells, armors, reliquaries, and architectural ruins—serving as metaphors for protection, memory, and the act of preservation. Together, they speak to the fragility of ecosystems and the enduring struggle to safeguard what remains.

Through the lens of post-humanism, Ecuator Nocturn reexamines the concept of resilience, moving beyond human perspectives to highlight a universal struggle for survival that unites all life forms. Inescu invites viewers to consider the delicate balance between destruction and regeneration and to witness the possibility of rebirth in the charred remnants of a transformed landscape.

 Nona Inescu (b. 1991)

Lives and works between Athens, Greece, and Bucharest, Romania.

She completed her studies in the summer of 2016 at the National University of Arts in Bucharest (Photography and Video Department) after studying at the Chelsea College of Art & Design in London (2009-2010) and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp (2010-2011).

Her interdisciplinary artistic practice includes photography, installation, sculptures, and video works. Based on a theoretical and literary perspective, the works focus on the relationship between the human body and the environment and the redefinition of this subject in a post-human key.

Recent group and solo exhibitions have taken place at Kandlhofer Galerie (Vienna, AT), Salonul de Proiecte (Bucharest, RO), Brooke Benington (London, UK); Sylvia Kouvali (London, UK), Goethe Institut (Bucharest, RO), Le CAP Saint-Fons (Lyon, FR); Kunstraum Kreuzberg (Berlin, DE); MAMAC (Nice, FR); Radius (Delft, NE); SpazioA (Pistoia, IT); Centre Clark (Montreal, CA); Art Encounters Biennale (Timișoara, RO); KVOST(Berlin, DE); Peles Empire (Berlin, DE); basis (Frankfurt, DE), Tallinn Art Hall (Tallinn, EE), Museo della Montagna (Torino, IT), among others.

Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 1
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 2
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 3
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 4
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 5
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 6
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 7
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 8
Nona Inescu, Preserver, 2023, steel, dried flowers, 173 x 55 x 35 cm
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 9
Nona Inescu, Preserver, 2023, steel, dried flowers, 173 x 55 x 35 cm
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 10
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 11
Nona Inescu, Afire, 2024, tortoise shell, burned pine cones, branch and log, plexiglass and steel, 170 x 50 x 150 cm
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 12
Nona Inescu, Afire, 2024, tortoise shell, burned pine cones, branch and log, plexiglass and steel, 170 x 50 x 150 cm
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 13
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 14
Nona Inescu, Shell (Body), 2024, 70 x 100 cm, Archival print on Hahnemuhle paper, framed
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 15
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 16
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 17
Nona Inescu, Shell (Arm), 70 x 100 cm, Archival print on Hahnemuhle paper, framed
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 18
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 19
Nona Inescu, Shell, 2024, chrome-plated steel, BCA bricks, 185 x 240 x 180 cm (installation variable)
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 20
Nona Inescu, Shell, 2024, chrome-plated steel, BCA bricks, 185 x 240 x 180 cm (installation variable)
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 21
Nona Inescu, Shell, 2024, chrome-plated steel, BCA bricks, 185 x 240 x 180 cm (installation variable)
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 22
Nona Inescu, Shell, 2024, chrome-plated steel, BCA bricks, 185 x 240 x 180 cm (installation variable)
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 23
Nona Inescu, Shell, 2024, chrome-plated steel, BCA bricks, 185 x 240 x 180 cm (installation variable)
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 24
Nona Inescu, Shell, 2024, chrome-plated steel, BCA bricks, 185 x 240 x 180 cm (installation variable)
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 25
Nona Inescu, Shell, 2024, chrome-plated steel, BCA bricks, 185 x 240 x 180 cm (installation variable)
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 26
Nona Inescu, Shell (Head), 2024, 60 x 40 cm, Archival print on Hahnemuhle paper, framed
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 27
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 28
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 29
Nona Inescu, Shell (Leg), 2024, 70 x 100 cm, Archival print on Hahnemuhle paper, framed
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 30
Nona Inescu, Shell (Head), 2024, 60 x 40 cm, Archival print on Hahnemuhle paper, framed
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 31
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 32
Nona Inescu, Shell (Seated body), 2024, 70 x 100 cm, Archival print on Hahnemuhle paper, framed
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 33
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 34
Nona Inescu, Common Daisy (Bellis perennis), 2024, cast bronze, BCA bricks
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 35
Nona Inescu, Common Daisy (Bellis perennis), 2024, cast bronze, BCA bricks
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 36
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 37
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 38
Nona Inescu, Tortoise (Mount Pentelicus, August), 2024, 20 x 30 cm, Archival print on Hahnemuhle paper, framed
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 39
Nona Inescu, Ecuator Nocturn, 2024, exhibition view, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest
Nona Inescu At Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest 40
Nona Inescu, The Leftovers (Mount Pentelicus), HD video, 3’17”, no sound

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