ArtFocus 5 | Archive » Mircea Cantor

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Mircea Cantor // Hiatus

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Mircea Cantor Born in Romania, 1977; lives in Paris. Recent solo exhibitions: Philadelphia Museum of Art (2006), Tel Aviv Museum of Art (2006), Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C. (2006); recent group exhibitions: Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon (2007), Palazzo delle Papesse – Centro Arte Contemporanea, Siena, Italy (2007), Centre Pompidou, Paris (2007).

Mircea Cantor brings metaphors to life: the trunk of a Transylvanian tree seems to have been mysteriously sculpted into a starflower. This ornamental pattern, which is usually used to decorate weaving tools, provokes a sense of uncertainty in the viewer when it is reinserted into its “natural” forest environment. This pairing of elements is used by Cantor to encourage reflections about worlds within worlds, and about the limits of freedom. The magical tree is rooted in Eastern European fairytales, yet its deceptive presence directs the viewer straight towards modern reality. Above it hangs a series of related drawings, in which the feat of leaping over a wall is depicted as if taking place in a dream. These drawings were created by local female artisans – a form of “outsourcing” compatible with the principles of globalization. According to Cantor, “There is an inflation in the value of certainty.” His work undoubtedly searches for an alternative, while exploring the limits of freedom and the potential inherent to artistic creation.

David Claerbout

Ulla von Brandenburg