Veron Urdarianu Transformation at Tanja Pol Galerie

Veron Urdarian's approach to painting has always been a symbolic one. His paintings on canvas and paper are collages and comparisons of disparate (visual) material which reflect a kind of cinematic perspective. The works explore such themes as loneliness, quiet, space, the logic of dreams, memory and history. He combines figures from various historical eras in imaginary situations, placing them against a backdrop of landscapes or interiors. Objects are brought together with no consideration for stringent representation, either in terms of perspective or narrative. Using layers of paint and an unconventional application of adhesive tape, which creates tracks standing out in relief, and by adding and overpainting or scraping away elements of the picture, he establishes a visual language which initially seems enigmatic. The viewer is consciously kept guessing about the temporal, spatial and narrative associations.

In the painting “La Strada with Swan” we see a swan, the iconographic symbol for fidelity, spreading its wings to span the entire length of the rowing boat in which it stands against the background of a grey landscape. To the right a peasant woman stands in profile, turned away from us and engaged in some activity we cannot discern. Behind her is “La Strada”, a reference by Urdarianu to one of his own sculptures. “La Strada” is one of his utopian house models that represent artists' residences, “Houses for the Mind” or perhaps even “Escape Vehicles”. “La Strada”, also known as “Lipstick House”, is a house of joy, possibly even a love shack, undermining the effect of the faithful swan and the industrious peasant, the latter alludes to an eighteenth-century porcelain sculpture. The atmosphere is contemplative, perhaps even somewhat melancholic.

The description of this work articulates the artist's technique and understanding of the visual. He characterises his approach as one of construction and transformation with reference to a metaphysical idea about images which defies definition.

Veron Urdarianu
Adept, 2008/2010
Oil on canvas
130 x 120 cm
51 1/8 x 47 1/4 inches

Many of the elements in the pictures have been collaged and layered in such a manner that it is impossible to reconstruct their original context immediately. In that Veron Urdarianu respect, several of the paintings seem to be partially abstract. The suggestive momentum of the composition as a whole and the mood conveyed are pivotal here. The viewers are not compelled to resolve the reoccurring motifs; they may indeed even feel lost in the reflection of Urdarianu's visual reality.

Veron Urdarianu
On the Source of Emptiness, 2000/2008
Oil on canvas
110 x 90 cm
43 1/4 x 35 3/8 inches

Among many exhibitions, Veron Urdarianu has had solo shows at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and at the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague. He has participated in numerous group shows, including WHAT KIND OF PAINTING at Sprüth Magers Projekte in spring 2008 in Munich, IMAGINATION BECOMES REALITY at the ZKM in Karlsruhe in 2007, with works from the Goetz Collection and in DIE GEGENWART DER LINIE at Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, 2009. In 2011 he will having a solo exhibition at Institut fuer Moderne Kunst, Nuremberg. Urdarianu, born in 1951 in Bucharest in Romania, has been living in Amsterdam since 1973.

Veron Urdarianu
Wish, 2009
Oil on canvas
40 x 50 cm
15 3/4 x 19 3/4 inches

With the kind support of the Consulate General of The Netherlands in Munich

TANJA POL GALERIE