gherghina costea
ceramic` contemporan`
terra incognita
Muzeul }`ranului Român 26 octombrie – 3 decembrie 2006
I have always been attracted by whiteness, like a sound of silence, like a void anticipating the beginning. It may have been the sound of the earth in its white glacier-ages, equally associated with the diurnal life, the light, the divine, the purity and the void. It gives me a great joy hearing the language of all that nature embraces: herbs, branches, wood-clearances as well as deep forest shade, rain, snow, charm of the air. Contemplating the endless line of forms and details, I found inner resources capable of shaping up my individuality. There are signs that have to be kneaded and filtered by the warmth of my heart before turning them into shapes. Being born in the countryside my life has always been linked to nature. My whole being became impregnated with an organic concept on space, time and earth. I have seen the inner being of the earth flooding the fibers in plants. I have seen the appearance of a plant and its miraculous flower, like a window letting the radiant divine light through: a symbol of liveliness, of a spiritual perfection. ”To strive like a plant, to ignite like a flame.” The almost silent, intuitive studying of the universal harmony of things helped me overcome myself. Art is an admirable lesson of sincerity, regardless of the prejudice surrounding us. The porcelain was my favorite material from the beginning. Lately, and for the first time as a ceramist, I felt suddenly like experiencing the stoneware. But my inquisitive attitude went one step further and I started using, on limited surfaces, earth samplings from the caves. It was such a delightful feeling to witness how the fire was converting those unmixed and unfiltered geological sediments, into unexpected ranges of colors and structures. Such experiments with ”unknown earths” quenched by fire, that I have just initiated, are likely to continue…
Confident` / Confidante, 2006, gresie [i por]elan / stoneware and porcelain 1150-1300 °C, 120 x 30 x 40 cm
Gherghina Costea
|ntotdeauna m-a atras albul, care sun` ca o t`cere, un neant dinaintea începutului. Poate acesta era sunetul p`mântului în perioadele albe ale glacia]iunii, dar el se asociaz` [i vie]ii diurne, luminii, divinit`]ii, purit`]ii [i vidului. O profund` încântare îmi provoac` [i limbajul a tot ce exist` în natur`: ierburi, ramuri, lumini[uri, umbra deas` a p`durii, ploaia, z`pada, mreaja aerului. Scrutând varietatea infinit` a detaliilor [i formelor, acestea mi-au oferit mijloacele proprii pentru a-mi dezvolta individualitatea. Semne ce trebuiesc fr`mântate [i limpezite în c`ldura inimii, astfel încât s` le pot pl`m`di \n forme. N`scut` la ]ar`, am dus o via]` strâns legat` de natur`. Am r`mas de atunci cu o concep]ie organic` asupra spa]iului, timpului [i p`mântului. |n plante am v`zut cum se revars` fiin]a l`untric` a p`mântului. Chipul plantei este fereastra prin care radiaz` lumina divinit`]ii. E un simbol al viului [i al perfec]iunii spiritului. „S` te avân]i ca o plant`, s` arzi ca o flac`r`.” Printr-un studiu t`cut, intuitiv, observând armonia universal` a lucrurilor, mi-am g`sit resursele pentru autodep`[ire. Arta este o admirabil` lec]ie de sinceritate, indiferent de prejudec`]ile din jur. Por]elanul a fost de la început materialul preferat. |n ultimul an, [i pentru prima oar`, ca ceramist, mi-am dorit s` experimentez gresia. Curiozitatea a mers îns` mai departe [i am folosit, pe suprafe]e restrânse, p`mânt din pe[teri. A fost o încântare s` v`d cum focul dezv`luie culori [i structuri neb`nuite ale acestor sedimente geologice neomogenizate [i nefiltrate. Asemenea experimente cu „p`mânturi necunoscute” trecute prin proba focului, pe care le-am ini]iat acum, vor continua...
Ciclul Gr`dini Selenare XI / Lunar Gardens Series XI, 2006, por]elan / porcelain 1300 째C, 60 x 30 x 155 cm
Ciclul Gr`dini Selenare XII / Lunar Gardens Series XII, 2006, por]elan / porcelain 1300 째C, 25 x 20 x 151 cm
Ciclul Gr`dini Selenare II / Lunar Gardens Series II, 2006, por]elan / porcelain 1300 째C, 50 x 40 x 135 cm
Ciclul Gr`dini Selenare IV / Lunar Gardens Series IV, 2006, por]elan [i p`m창nt din pe[ter` / porcelain and cave earth 1300 째C , 25 x 25 x 150 cm
Ciclul Gr`dini Selenare VI / Lunar Gardens Series VI, 2006, por]elan / porcelain 1300 째C, 55 x 50 x 168 cm
Cantata, 2006, por]elan / porcelain 1300 °C, 41 x 12 x 65 cm
critic de art` / art critic
hortus selenus / lunar gardens
Aurelia Mocanu
Se spune despre cei care seam`n`, r`s`desc sau altoiesc cu prinos c` au „mân` verde”. Ceramista Gherghina Costea are, atunci, „mân` alb`” pentru c` ridic` din caolin, de aproape trei decenii, înfiorate gr`dini lunare. Artist` de o exigen]`, de o distinc]ie [i o pasiune care-mi evoc`, [i fizic, feminitatea experimentatoare a Mariei Curie, Gherghina Costea elaboreaz`, cu continuitate ascendent`, prin ecua]iile ei tehnologice, o poetic` minu]ioas` a fragilit`]ii vegetalului mineralizat în por]elan. Un lut imaginat ca ]esut vegetal trece prin umezeal`, prin dexteritatea mâinii [i prin foc, pentru a încremeni ca lujer al unui vis pur de plant` alb`, nemuritoare. Roca alburie, cu siliciu [i aluminiu a Marelui Deal (Gaoling) are structura divin hexagonal` a fagurelui, molecula de ap`, divin` [i ea, care-i d` plasticitatea [i memoria atingerii. Astfel caolinul are partitura larg` de expresivitate artistic`, de la starea lichid` a por]elanului – barbotina – la vitrifierea de 1300 °C. Lutul alb se înmoaie la ap` dar [i la foc. Aceast` supunere gravita]ional` a moliciunii îl gemeleaz` vegetalului, cel cu seve [i oxid`ri. Dac` viul apei dispare prin coacere, formele arse de Gherghina Costea sunt tocmai astfel gândite \ncât s` evoce, s` exalte germinativul. Ceramista a devenit laborantulexpert al curbelor de cre[tere, al nodurilor de r`sucire, al plierii fragile, al franjului de ruptur`, acolo unde vibreaz` imaginar o sev`. De la o expozi]ie la alta, formele propuse de Gherghina Costea sunt din ce în ce mai învolte în spa]iu, mai ample, mai provocatoare ca fragilit`]i la proba incandescen]ei lor, aproape hortisculpturi cu compunere unduioas`, organic`. Principiul modular [i serial, prin telescop`ri de ramuri [i concaten`ri germinative, o conduc pe artist` la fire[ti solu]ii ambientale. Gherghina Costea scenografiaz`, ca „o oper` la alb”, spa]iile sale expozi]ionale cu por]elan tratat monumental. Marele recif horticol propus unei ample s`li a Muzeului }`ranului Român, în aceast` toamn`, va avea piese parietale pe lâng` ansambluri vibratile cu glazuri inedite din p`mânt rar de pe[ter`, lucr`ri petaliforme din gresie [lefuit` cu piatr`, por]elanuri dure, fosfatice, visând înmuguriri opalescente.
Glasul din pe[ter` / Voice from the cave, 2006, por]elan [i p`mânt din pe[ter` / porcelain and cave earth, 1300 °C, 36 x 10 x 63 cm
It is said about those that sow, plant or graft with success that they have a ”green thumb”. The ceramist Gherghina Costea has, then, the ”white thumb” because she rises from china clay, for almost three decades, shivering lunar gardens. A demanding artist, with a distinction and passion that to me evoke, even physically, the experimenting femininity of Marie Curie, Gherghina Costea elaborates with ascending continuity through her technological equations a meticulous poetry of the vegetal fragility mineralized in porcelain. Clay, imagined as vegetal tissue, imbibed with moist, the dexterity of the hand and fire, ends up motionless as the dream of a pure white plant, immortal. The silicate and aluminum oxides reach whitish stone deposit of the Big Hill (Gaoling) has the divine hexagonal structure of the bee comb, while the water molecule, divine as well, provides it with plasticity and the memory of touch. Thus, china clay has a large gamut of artistic expressivity, from the slip solution to the vitrified state at 1300 °C. The white clay is softened by water, but also by fire. This gravitational subjection of the softness twins it with the vegetal, with its sap and oxidations. If the life of water disappears through firing, the shapes fired by Gherghina Costea are so thought as to evoke, to exalt the germinal. The ceramist has thus become a lab expert of the growing curves, the twisting knots, of the fragile plying, of the breaking fringe, where an imaginary sap vibrates. From one exhibition to the other, the forms proposed by Gherghina Costea are more and more involute in space, more ample, more provocative, like fragilities at their incandescence test. They are like hortisculptures with undulating, organic compositions. The modular and serial principle, telescoping limbs and germinating concatenations, leads the artist to natural solutions for the ambience. Gherghina Costea stage-manages an ”opera in white”, occupying her exhibition space with porcelain at a monumental scale. The big horticultural reef proposed to an ample space of the Romanian Peasant Museum this fall, will have mural pieces, alongside vibrant ”ensembles” with original glazes made of deep caves sediments, petal shaped artworks made of stoneware polished with river stone, as well as fine hard porcelains or bone china clays, dreaming at opalescent budding.
Regenerare / Regeneration, 2006, gresie [i por]elan / stoneware and porcelain 1250-1300 °C, 53 x 32 x 90 cm
critic de art` / art critic
gr`dina de dinaintea lumii / the garden from before the world
Corneliu Antim
C`ut`rile Gherghinei Costea au \ntodeauna ceva ce provoac` insolitul, f`r` a aluneca \n frivolitatea experimentalist`, de[i inoveaz` adesea cutez`tor sub imboldul fascina]iei pe care o tr`ie[te \n fervoarea ei cercet`toare. Pentru c` artista \[i asum` [i un model de inter-rela]ionare sensibil` cu mediile din jur, re-descoperind secven]ial câte ceva din infinitatea misterului genetic al lumii ce suntem! Acest instinct explorator spre tainica intimitate a cuprinsurilor necuvânt`toare, i-au nutrit speran]a g`sirii unor alternative de comunicare cu toate aceste \ntruchip`ri ale viului. |n aceasta rezid`, cred, pornirea ludic` a artistei de a f`uri, potrivit propriei fantezii [i poetici plastice, pun]i de leg`tura cu „f`pturile” ce populeaz` fascinantele, prin vitalitatea [i diversitatea lor, paradisuri vegetale. Acestea sunt – \n accep]iunea imaginat` de artist` \n fabuloasa [i monumentala suit` sculptural` de por]elanuri ce ar putea fi intitulat` sugestiv [i \ntrucâtva poetic „Gr`dina de dinaintea lumii” – mizele semnificative ale crea]iilor sale din ultimii câ]iva ani. |n elaborarea formelor, Gherghina Costea urm`re[te \mplinirea a dou` principii, fundamentale \n crezurile ei estetice: valora]ia cât mai sugestiv` [i mai corporal` a luminii \n senzuale alternan]e de transparen]e [i opacit`]i, pe de o parte, [i p`strarea non-mimetic`, dar pregnant`, a particularit`]ilor expresive ale materialelor folosite. Dar [i ale interven]iilor cromatice, ale modelajului [i elementelor decorative grafiate, amprentate sau incizate, [i, desigur, ale subtilelor procese de ardere, care, \n inten]ia artistei, trebuie s` reflecte nu neap`rat lucrurile, ci duhul lor, inefabilul fiin]ei lor \n univers. |n ansamblul lui, acest concept expozi]ional, semnat Gherghina Costea, ne dezv`luie o anume latur` a aspira]iei fiin]ei umane, aceea de a a[eza semin]ele visului \n brazda realit`]ii, cu aerul c` jocul lui pl`m`ditor ar putea fi pe placul divinit`]ii. Gherghina Costea ne demonstreaz` c` [i realitatea visului poate nutri uneori realitatea obiectiv` a lumii.
Rodul vie]ii / Fruit of life, 2006, gresie [i por]elan / stoneware and porcelain 1250-1300 °C, 25 x 25 x 90 cm
Gherghina Costea's explorations seem to always have something that provokes unusual admiration, without drifting into experimentalist frivolity, even though she innovates boldly under the impulse of the fascination with which she lives her experiments. Because the artist also undertakes a model of sensible interrelationship with the environments surrounding her, rediscovering sequentially bits of the mysterious genetic infinitude of the world that we are! This explorer instinct for the secretive intimacy of unspeaking realms, nurtured her hope of finding alternative ways of communication with all these materializations of life. In this resides, I believe, the playful approach of the artist when fabricating, according to her own fantasy and artistic poetry, bridges connecting with the ”creatures” that populate the fascinating, through their diversity and vitality, vegetal paradises. These are – according to the fabulous and monumental sculptural porcelain collection imagined by the artist and that could be suggestively and somewhat poetically entitled ”The garden from before the world” – the significant stakes of her creations over the past few years. When developing forms and shapes, Gherghina Costea pursues the fulfillment of two principles, fundamental to her aesthetic credo: the most suggestive and corporeal valorization of the light in sensual alternation between transparency and opacity, on one hand, and the non-mimetically, but pregnant conservation of the expressive particularities of the materials that she uses. As well, those of the chromatic interventions, of the modeling and of the decorative elements penciled in, hand imprinted or incised and, of course, of the subtle processes of firing, which in the artist's intention must reflect not necessarily things, but their spirit, their ineffable being in the universe. As a whole, this exhibition concept signed by Gherghina Costea reveals a certain side of the human being's aspiration, that of laying the seeds of dream in the furrow of reality, with a feeling that this life giving and personification would please the divinity. Gherghina Costea proves to us that reality of a dream may become, at times, a nutrient for the objective reality of the world.
Manifest`ri artistice \n ]ar`: Quadrienala de Art` Decorativ` – Sala Dalles, 1980 [i 1984 Expozi]iile Na]ionale de Art` Plastic` – Sala Dalles, 1981, 1984, 1987,1988 [i 1989. Bienala Na]ional` de Arte Decorative – Galeria Teatrului Na]ional, 1991 Expozi]iile Municipale de Art` Decorativ` – Muzeul Na]ional de Art`, Muzeul Colec]iilor, Sala Dalles, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986 [i 1988 Expozi]ie de Arte Decorative – Galeriile Teatrului National,1994 [i 1996 Salonul de Art` Decorativ` – Muzeul Cotroceni, 1995 [i 1996 Bienala „Artele Focului” – Galeriile Teatrului Na]ional, 1998 [i la Galeriile Apollo, 2001 Expozi]ie de grup – Galeria Complexului Leb`da, Bucure[ti, 1999 Expozi]ie de Art` Contemporan` – Muzeul Cotroceni, 2000 „Artistul Lunii” – „Gold Art Gallery”, Hotel Hilton, Bucure[ti, 2001 Expozi]ie Ceramic` de grup – Galeria C`minul Artei, 2002 „Recipient”, expozi]ie de grup ceramic`-sticl` – Galeria Orizont, 2002 „P`durea din Frumoasa Adormit`”, expozi]ie-eveniment de grup – Galeria C`minul Artei, Bucure[ti, 2003 „OPTiuni”, opt cerami[ti la Galeria Simeza, Bucure[ti, 2003 „Recipient II”, expozi]ie de grup ceramic`-sticl` – Galeria C`minul Artei, 2003 „Expozi]ie de Arte Decorative” – Galeria Apollo, 2003 „Arderea Cerului”, expozi]ie de ceramic` [i sculptur` lemn a participan]ilor la simpozionul Muzeului Sângeorz-B`i, Bistri]a, 2004 „Salonul de Art` Decorativ`” – Galeria Apollo, Bucure[ti, 2005 „Ambient”, expozi]ie de grup – Funda]ia Veroniky Art, Bucure[ti, 2006 Expozi]ii [i concursuri interna]ionale: Bienala Interna]ional` de Ceramic` de Art`, Fran]a, Vallauris, 1982 Quadrienala de Arte Decorative, Germania, Erfurt, 1986 Expozi]ia Interna]ional` de Bijuterii de Fantezie, Cehoslovacia, Jablonec, 1987 Concurs Interna]ional de Ceramic` de Art`, Italia, Faenza, 1987 Expozi]ia European` de Ceramic` de Art` „Les Céramistes d’Europe”, Fran]a, Auxerre, 1989 Trienala Interna]ional` de Ceramic` de Art`, Egipt, Cairo, 1992 Expozi]ia de Art` Decorativ` „Nimagine”, Fran]a, Nîmes-Bagnols, 1992 Bienala Interna]ional` de Art`, Belgia, Nekkerhal Mechelen,1996 Expozi]ie de Art` Româneasc`, Ungaria, Budapesta, 1998 Expozi]ii personale: 1983 – Galeria Galateea, Bucure[ti 1988 – Galeria Galateea, Bucure[ti 1993 – Galeria Herriger, Erfstadt-Lechenich (KöIn) 1998 – Galeria Simeza, Bucure[ti 2006 – Muzeul }`ranului Român, Bucure[ti Premii: Premiul Uniunii Arti[tilor Plastici pentru artele focului, 1999
foto / photo credit design & layout
Bogdan G\rbovan Eugen Vasile Alexandru Brani[te
pre-press
Square Media
photo: Nina Mih`il`
Gherghina Costea
note biografice / biographical notes
N`scut` în anul 1955 în România. Absolvent` a Institutului de Arte Plastice „Nicolae Grigorescu” din Bucure[ti, 1978, Sec]ia Ceramic`. Membru titular al Uniunii Arti[tilor Plastici din România din 1990.
Local art events: Quadrennial of Decorative Arts – Dalles Hall, Bucharest, 1980 and 1984 National Art Exhibitions – Dalles Hall, Bucharest, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1988 and 1989 Biennial of National Decorative Arts – National Theatre Gallery, Bucharest, 1991 Municipal Decorative Arts Exhibitions, the National Museum of Art, the Collections Museum and Dalles Hall, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988 Decorative Arts Show, the National Theatre Gallery, Bucharest, 1994 and 1996 Decorative Arts Show – Cotroceni Museum, Bucharest, 1995 and 1996 Biennial ”The Arts of the Fire” – The National Theatre Gallery, 1998 and the Apollo Gallery, Bucharest, 2001 Group Art Exhibition – Lebada Centre Gallery, Bucharest, 1999 Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition – Cotroceni Museum, Bucharest, 2000 ”Artist of the month” – Gold Art Gallery, Hilton Hotel, Bucharest, 2001 Ceramic Group Exhibition – Caminul Artei Gallery, Bucharest, 2002 ”Recipient” – Ceramic and Glass Group Exhibition, Orizont Gallery, Bucharest, 2002 ”The Forest in the Sleeping Beauty” a group exhibition and art-event – Caminul Artei Gallery, Bucharest, 2003 ”Options”, Eight Ceramists – Simeza Gallery, Bucharest, 2003 ”Recipient II”, Ceramic and Glass Group Exhibition – Caminul Artei Gallery, Bucharest, 2003 ”Decorative Arts Show” – Apollo Gallery, Bucharest, 2003 ”Flames in the Sky” Sculptural Ceramics and Woodwork, artshow of the participants in the Sângeorz Museum Symposium, Bistrita, 2004 ”Ceramic Art Show” – Apollo Gallery, Bucharest, 2005 ”Ambient” – Veroniky Art Gallery, Bucharest, 2006 International art exhibitions and contests: International Binennial of Ceramic Art, Vallauris, France, 1982 Quadrennial of Decorative Arts, Erfurt, Germany, 1986 International Fashion Jewlery Exhibition, Jablonec, former Czechoslovakia, 1987 International Contest of Ceramic Art, Faenza, Italy, 1987 European Exibition of Ceramic Art ”Les Céramistes d’Europe”, Auxerre, France, 1989 International Triennial of Ceramic Art, Cairo, Egypt, 1992 Decorative Arts Exhibition ”Nimagine”, Nîmes-Bagnol, France, 1992 International Biennial of Arts, Nekkerhal Mechelen, Belgium, 1996 Romanian Art Exhibition, Budapest, Hungary, 1998 Personal exhibitions: 1983 – Galateea Gallery, Bucharest 1988 – Galateea Gallery, Bucharest 1993 – Herriger Gallery, Erfstadt-Lechenich (Köln), Germany 1998 – Simeza Gallery, Bucharest 2006 – Romanian Peasant Museum, Bucharest Awards: The National Award for the Arts of the Fire, 1999 Gherghina Costea tel./fax: +40 21 211 6136 cell: +40 72 830 3381 email: gherghina@terra-incognita.ro
Tempus fugit, 2006, gresie, por]elan [i p`mânt din pe[ter` / stoneware, porcelain and cave earth 1150-1300 °C, 360 x 36 x 20 cm
Born in 1955 in Romania. A graduate of the Bucharest University of Arts ”Nicolae Grigorescu”, Ceramic Art Department, in 1978. A full member of the Romanian Artists Association since 1990.
parteneri / partners
parteneri media / media partners
Cor / Chorus, 2006, por]elan / porcelain 1300 째C, 60 x 30 x 77 cm
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