Article
Dan Perjovschi
Perjovschi uses cartoons and comic illustration to comment on and satirize current social and political issues. His works vary in form from low budget photocopied pamphlets for high circulation to large scale installations.
Dan Perjovschi was born in 1961 in Sibiu, Romania. He currently lives and works in Bucharest and is one of the country’s key contemporary and conceptual artists. Described as a ‘post-communist, post-modernist artist’ his drawing, writing, painting, performance and installation offer a social and political commentary on the flux of modern day Romania.
Romania’s political history is pervasive in Dan Perjovschi’s work. During Nicola Ceausescu’s repressive totalitarian rule (1965 – 1989) the country’s cultural study and practise was limited to subjects that did not contest the ideology of the regime; that were non-progressive, non-contemporary. Development did not follow that of the West and any outside information was generally forbidden. Perchovschi’s works acknowledge and critique Romania’s current consciousness; still heavily under influence of its communist past and the stranglehold of its conservative social conditioning:
‘.. providing visual witness to how heterogeneous population collectively grapples with a shared homogeneous past in the reconstruction of the present-future. Perjovschi has actively engaged visual social commentaries for the purpose of producing political change creating a public dialogue where the act of making anything public still remains in question’.
Dr Kristine Stiles After the Wall – Art and Culture in Post Communist Europe, Moderna Museet Stockholm, 1999
Following the execution of Ceausescu and the fall of communism in 1989 he and Lia Perjovschi began travelling, collecting information and exhibiting their work. They later founded ‘The Contemporary Art Archive’ (CAA) in 1990. This quickly became an important atelier and archive for artists eager to source information. The CAA’s objective was to disseminate cheap publications, house lectures and performances and archive catalogues and films that had hitherto been unavailable:
‘The archive is not just to see Matthew Barney. But to make sense of how come this guy appeared, to see what he’s doing, it’s not like he came out of the blue. It was very interesting, because this kind of platform around us was missing, so we tried to do it small scale, in a way, with our own money. It was a decision.’
Dan Perjovschi. Interview with Farris Wahbeh December 2003 source: www.artic.edu
Since 1992 Perjovschi has contributed to weekly paper ‘22’ – so named after the fall of Ceausescu on 22 December 1989. ‘22’ serves as Bucharest’s mainstay opposition paper in a media climate still dominated by former Securitat journalists with communist and nationalistic leanings. Perjovschi executes spontaneous drawings for the paper based on current events. During Manifesta 2 this concept was developed into a visual diary and exhibition as a result of a similar collaboration with two Luxembourg newspapers.
Perjovschi was Artist in Residence at Collective Gallery in Edinburgh during the Edinburgh Festivals in 2004 as part of a Visiting Arts project. For this residency he mixed with performers and the viewing public producing a free newspaper and daily panels of his drawings in response to the festival´s culture and debates. Panels were installed throughout the city – in reference to communist era news reports pasted onto factory walls. One such sketch during this series depicts various personal possessions. A credit card and festival programme were specifically annotated and ‘Obligatory Elements’ was written above it making reference to the festival’s commercialism.
Perjovschi uses drawing as performance and installation. Functioning as ‘public art’ he actively circulates ideas within society – conducting a running commentary on socially and politically prevalent issues. Closer in context to satirical cartoon than to traditional drawing his works serve as a medium through which he can broach political, economic and artistic subjects and a desire for societal change. In one playfully critical example he draws a man with holes in his head standing beneath a bathroom showerhead. He looks up at the shower expectantly but no water flows from it. Dissociating drawing from its traditional decorative or expressive labelling, his work is a temporal, anthropological and fast paced performance. The work concerns the artist’s daily intervention with his immediate environment and the world and his spontaneous drawing in response:
‘Even when covering the walls and floors of a building, such drawings are meant to be erased. It is the flux and progress of the cartoon which is important, and in order to be continued this must be ephemeral.’
Judit Angel ‘Report II’, rESt, 48 Venice Biennial, Romanian Pavilion, 1999
Perjovschi’s work, particularly extensive pieces that comprise hundreds of tiny drawings have been exhibited internationally since the mid 90s, including the 48th Venice Bienale 1995, Manifesta 2 in Luxembourg, 9th Istanbul Biennial 2005 and prominent international galleries and institutions that include Hamburger Banhoff, Berlin; Chicago Museum of Modern Art; Raum fur Kunst, Graz; and Moderna Museet, Stockholm. The artist has recently participated in a group exhibition ‘I Still Believe in Miracles, Dessins Sans Papier’ at ARC - Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and ‘Naked Drawings’ a solo show at Ludwig Museum, Koln.
Romania’s political history is pervasive in Dan Perjovschi’s work. During Nicola Ceausescu’s repressive totalitarian rule (1965 – 1989) the country’s cultural study and practise was limited to subjects that did not contest the ideology of the regime; that were non-progressive, non-contemporary. Development did not follow that of the West and any outside information was generally forbidden. Perchovschi’s works acknowledge and critique Romania’s current consciousness; still heavily under influence of its communist past and the stranglehold of its conservative social conditioning:
‘.. providing visual witness to how heterogeneous population collectively grapples with a shared homogeneous past in the reconstruction of the present-future. Perjovschi has actively engaged visual social commentaries for the purpose of producing political change creating a public dialogue where the act of making anything public still remains in question’.
Dr Kristine Stiles After the Wall – Art and Culture in Post Communist Europe, Moderna Museet Stockholm, 1999
Following the execution of Ceausescu and the fall of communism in 1989 he and Lia Perjovschi began travelling, collecting information and exhibiting their work. They later founded ‘The Contemporary Art Archive’ (CAA) in 1990. This quickly became an important atelier and archive for artists eager to source information. The CAA’s objective was to disseminate cheap publications, house lectures and performances and archive catalogues and films that had hitherto been unavailable:
‘The archive is not just to see Matthew Barney. But to make sense of how come this guy appeared, to see what he’s doing, it’s not like he came out of the blue. It was very interesting, because this kind of platform around us was missing, so we tried to do it small scale, in a way, with our own money. It was a decision.’
Dan Perjovschi. Interview with Farris Wahbeh December 2003 source: www.artic.edu
Since 1992 Perjovschi has contributed to weekly paper ‘22’ – so named after the fall of Ceausescu on 22 December 1989. ‘22’ serves as Bucharest’s mainstay opposition paper in a media climate still dominated by former Securitat journalists with communist and nationalistic leanings. Perjovschi executes spontaneous drawings for the paper based on current events. During Manifesta 2 this concept was developed into a visual diary and exhibition as a result of a similar collaboration with two Luxembourg newspapers.
Perjovschi was Artist in Residence at Collective Gallery in Edinburgh during the Edinburgh Festivals in 2004 as part of a Visiting Arts project. For this residency he mixed with performers and the viewing public producing a free newspaper and daily panels of his drawings in response to the festival´s culture and debates. Panels were installed throughout the city – in reference to communist era news reports pasted onto factory walls. One such sketch during this series depicts various personal possessions. A credit card and festival programme were specifically annotated and ‘Obligatory Elements’ was written above it making reference to the festival’s commercialism.
Perjovschi uses drawing as performance and installation. Functioning as ‘public art’ he actively circulates ideas within society – conducting a running commentary on socially and politically prevalent issues. Closer in context to satirical cartoon than to traditional drawing his works serve as a medium through which he can broach political, economic and artistic subjects and a desire for societal change. In one playfully critical example he draws a man with holes in his head standing beneath a bathroom showerhead. He looks up at the shower expectantly but no water flows from it. Dissociating drawing from its traditional decorative or expressive labelling, his work is a temporal, anthropological and fast paced performance. The work concerns the artist’s daily intervention with his immediate environment and the world and his spontaneous drawing in response:
‘Even when covering the walls and floors of a building, such drawings are meant to be erased. It is the flux and progress of the cartoon which is important, and in order to be continued this must be ephemeral.’
Judit Angel ‘Report II’, rESt, 48 Venice Biennial, Romanian Pavilion, 1999
Perjovschi’s work, particularly extensive pieces that comprise hundreds of tiny drawings have been exhibited internationally since the mid 90s, including the 48th Venice Bienale 1995, Manifesta 2 in Luxembourg, 9th Istanbul Biennial 2005 and prominent international galleries and institutions that include Hamburger Banhoff, Berlin; Chicago Museum of Modern Art; Raum fur Kunst, Graz; and Moderna Museet, Stockholm. The artist has recently participated in a group exhibition ‘I Still Believe in Miracles, Dessins Sans Papier’ at ARC - Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and ‘Naked Drawings’ a solo show at Ludwig Museum, Koln.
Author: Cate Rickards
Bio
Born: 1961 Sibiu, Romania
Editor "22" Magazine Bucharest
Guest editor Idea-Art and Society Cluj
Living and working in Bucharest
Dan Perjovschi is represented by Gregor Podnar Gallery Lublijana and Lombrad Freid Projects New York.
Editor "22" Magazine Bucharest
Guest editor Idea-Art and Society Cluj
Living and working in Bucharest
Dan Perjovschi is represented by Gregor Podnar Gallery Lublijana and Lombrad Freid Projects New York.
Works
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Established
2006
Borremans, Bryce, Perjovschi-Drawings, Wurtenbergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart, Germany
"May First", Moderna Museet Stockholm, Sweden
Dan Perjovschi, Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven, Netherlands
"Not me but you, not now but later" Kunstraum Innsbruck, Austria
"On the Other Hand" Portikus Frankfurt D
"Back to Back" Lombard Fried Projects New York, USA (with Nedko Solakov)
"The Room Drawing", Tate Modern London UK
2005
"Naked Drawings“, Ludwig Museum Koln, Germany
Locus, Athens
I shoot myself in the foot, New Gallery Peja, Kosovo
“Toutes Directions“, Le Quartier, Quimper Bretagne, France (with Nahum Tevet)
2004
“Drawing-Drawing” Gregor Podnar Gallery Lublijana (with Goran Petarcol), Slovenia
"Attila" Protokoll Studio Cluj, Romania
“No idea” Schnittraum Koln, Germany
2003
“Ich habe keinnen zeitraum” Brukenthal Museum, Sibiu/ Hermannstadt, Romania
“Endless Collection” Kunsthalle Goppingen (with Lia Perjovschi), Germany
Kunstverein Arnsberg (with Ricarda Roggan), Germany
“3 (6)”, Ibid. Projects, London (with Nathaniel Mellors), UK
“Working Title” Quartier 21, Museumsquartier Wien (with Lia Perjovschi), Austria
1999
“rEST”, 48th Venice Biennial, Romanian Pavillion (with SubReal), Italy
1995
"Anthroprogramming" Franklin Furnace, New York, USA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Established
2006
"Focusing Iasi/The social project" Periferic Biennial Iasi, Romania
"Give (a) Way", ev+a 2006 The annual Limerick Interntional Exhibition, Limerick Ireland
"Normalisation" Rooseum Center for Contaemporary Art, Malmo, Sweden
"Phantom" Charlotenburg Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
"The Vincent" Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2005
“New Europe. The Culture of Mixing and Politic of Representation” Generali Foundation Wien, Austria
“Istanbul”, The 9th Istanbul Biennial, Turkey
“I still believe in Miracles. Dessins sans papier” ARC Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Couvent de Cordeliers, Paris, France
"Just do it" Lentos Museum Linz, Austria
“Leaps of Faith”, Nicosia Cyprus
"Paradoxes: the embodied city", Gulbenkian Foundation Lisbon, Portugal
"On difference 1, Local Context-Hybrid Spaces", Wurtenberghischer Kunstverein Stuttgart, Germany
“Projekt Migration”, Kolnischer Kunstverein Koln, Germany
2004
No Idea, Schnittraum Koln, Germany
Artist in Residence to Festival City (unofficial), project in the frame of Off-Site, Collective Gallery Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Normalization, group exhibition at Nova Galerija Zagreb (part of a project including Rooseum Malmo and Platforma Garanti Istanbul) curated by whw
"Comunaute", Institut d´Art Contemporain, Lyon, France
"Passage d”Europe", Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France
"Off site" Collective Gallery Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
"Love it or Leave it" Cetinje Biennial, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Johann Koening Galerie Berlin, Germany
"Flipside" Artist Space New York, USA
2003
Urban Drawings, “In den Schluchten des Balkans” Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany
“Undesire”, Apexart, New York, USA
White Chalk – Dark Issues, Open City Models for Use, Kokerei Zollverein, Essen, Germany
No Title, Galerie de ESBAM (Ecole Superieure de Beaux Art de Marseille), France
2002
3(6), IBID Projects London, UK
2001
"Flux", First Goteborg Biennial, Goteborg Konsthalle
“New Ideas-Old Tricks” hARTware projekte, Dortmund, Germany
“Conversation – a short notice show” Belgrade Museum of Contemporary Art
2000-2001
“Arteast Collection, 2000+” Moderna Galerija Lublijana Slovenia, Orangerie Innsbruck, A and ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany
2000
“Café Helga und Galerie Goldankauf” Kunstraum Munchen, Germany
“Voila! Le monde dans la tête” Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France
“Leaving the island” PICAF, Pusan, Korea
1999-2001
"After the Wall" Moderna Museet Stockholm, Ludwig Museum Budapest, Hungary
Hamburger Bahnhoff Berlin, Germany
1999
rEST, Project for Romanian Pavilion at 48 Venice Biennial (curator Judit Angel), Italy
Faisseur d´histoire" Casino Luxembourg
"Rondo" Ludwig Museum Budapest, Hungart
1998
Manifesta 2, Luxembourg
"Money/Nations" Shedhalle Zurich, Switzerland
1997
"Selest´Art" Biennale d´Art Contemporain, Selestat, Alsace, France
“Bucharest nach ‘89” Ludwig Forum fur Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany
1996
“Experiment. Romanian experimental Art from ’60 until today” Gallery ? Bucharest, Romania
1995-1996
"Beyond Belief´, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, USA
Since 1993 participating at all editions of “Zone” International Performance Triennial Timisoara, Romania
PUBLICATIONS
Published Written
PERJOVSCHI, DAN - INNSBRUCK, KUNSTRAUM - My World. Katalog. Innsbruck 2006. 34 S. mit 16 Zeichn., Ppbd.
I Draw I Happy. Ed. by Lutz Becker & Sabine Oelze. Cologne 2005. 256 S. mit Zeichn. & handschriftlichem Text, brosch.
PERJOVSCHI, DAN. DC: Naked Drawings. Katalog. Köln 2005. Vorw. von Kasper König. Beitr. von Julia Friedrich & Marius Babias. 4to. 26 S. mit 8 Abb. & 16seit. Artist´s Insert, Ausst´verz., Bibliographie, Ppbd. - Text in dt. & engl. Sprache.
Castle stories, Edition La Mancha, La Napoule Art Foundation 2000
Postcards from America. Essay by Kristine Stiles. Pont la Vue Press New York. 1995
Merits
Fellowships/Artist in Residence/Awards:
2004 George Maciunas Prize
2004 Artist to Artist, Visiting Arts & Henry Moore Foundation Grant Glasgow; Artist in residence Collective Gallery Edinburgh
2003 Artist in residence Kokerei Zollverein, Zeitgenossische Kunst und Kritik, Essen
Visiting Professor & Artist in residence Ecole Superieure de Beaux Arts Marseille
2002 Henkel CEE Prize for Contemporary Drawing, Wien
1999 “Gheorghe Ursu” Human Rights Foundation Award, Bucharest
1999 Artist in residence IASPIS Stockholm
1997 Visiting professor & Artist in residence, Duke University North Carolina, USA
1995 ArtsLink Fellowship New York KulturKontakt Fellowship Wien
Artist in residence Franklin Furnace New York, USA
1994 MidAmerica Art Alliance/USIA Fellowship
1994 Artist in Residence, Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida, USA
2004 George Maciunas Prize
2004 Artist to Artist, Visiting Arts & Henry Moore Foundation Grant Glasgow; Artist in residence Collective Gallery Edinburgh
2003 Artist in residence Kokerei Zollverein, Zeitgenossische Kunst und Kritik, Essen
Visiting Professor & Artist in residence Ecole Superieure de Beaux Arts Marseille
2002 Henkel CEE Prize for Contemporary Drawing, Wien
1999 “Gheorghe Ursu” Human Rights Foundation Award, Bucharest
1999 Artist in residence IASPIS Stockholm
1997 Visiting professor & Artist in residence, Duke University North Carolina, USA
1995 ArtsLink Fellowship New York KulturKontakt Fellowship Wien
Artist in residence Franklin Furnace New York, USA
1994 MidAmerica Art Alliance/USIA Fellowship
1994 Artist in Residence, Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida, USA
Projects
This artist took part in the following project(s) organized/funded by the culturebase.net partner institutions.
Off-Site 2004: Dan Perjovschi
(01 August 04 - 31 August 04)
Artist to Artist International Scheme
(12 January 04 - 20 June 07)
