Gabriela Vanga

b. 1977, Romanian

Biography

Gabriela Vanga is a Romanian contemporary artist living and working in Târgu-Mureș, Romania, and Paris, France. Vanga is known for her multimedia practice of sculptures, installations, videos and photography and has been an influential figure for the contemporary art scene in Cluj, Romania.

Born in 1977 in Târgu-Mureș, Romania, her oeuvre is marked by the investigation of concepts such as time, space and its continuum by the use of video, photography and sculpture. With an eye for so-called conceptual estheticism, Vanga balances between fiction and reality by suggesting spaces and concepts that do not exist. One could describe her work as trompe-l’oeils of a neo-conceptual artistic practice.

Gabriela Vanga has been a major actor in the contemporary art scene, not only as an artist but also as an editor and art critic. Vanga launched together with her husband Mircea Cantor and fellow artist Ciprian Muresan the artist-
run magazine titled Version. An initiative which has been of ongoing importance for the Romanian art scene.[1]

Gabriela Vanga studied at the École des Beaux Arts in Nantes, France after she had graduated in 2001 at the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. From 2002 to 2003, Vanga continued her eduction at Le Pavillon, Palais de Tokyo, France, in the laboratoire de création department.

Vanga has exhibited across the globe and is represented by industry leading galleries, such as Galeria Plan B in Berlin, Germany and Dvir Gallery in Tel Aviv, Israel. She has participated in group exhibitions at important institutions such as Espace Niemeyer in Paris, France; Tranzit Foundation in Cluj, Romania; Art Encounters Foundation in Timisoara, Romania; the National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC) in Bucharest, Romania; the Mucsarnok Kunsthalle in Budapest, Hungary; the Museum of Art in Cluj, Romania; the Palais Bénédictine de Fécamp in Fécamp, France; the Museum de Arte Contemporanea da Universidade de São Paulo in São Paulo, Brazil; the Romanian Cultural Institute in Madrid, Spain; Konsthall Anna Nordlander in Sweden; Kunsthaus Basselland in Switzerland; Palais de Tokyo in Paris, France; the Museo d’Arte Provincia di Nuoro in Nuoro, Italy; De Appel Arts Centre in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Württembergische Kunstverein Stuttgart in Stuttgart, Germany; the Kunsthalle Fridericianum in Kassel, Germany and the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest, Romania. Vanga has participated in major biennials with Version such as the Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy; Periferic 5 Biennial in Iasi, Romania; the Biennial of Prague, Czech Republic and the 5th Biennale of Cetinje in Montenegro.[2]

Artworks

Gabriela Vanga, *Candle Clock*, 2015. Candles and steel – 171 x 171 x 21 cm. Courtesy Galeria Plan B.

Gabriela Vanga, Mirare, 2015. Wood ladder, 2 mirrors – variable dimensions. Courtesy Art Encounters Foundation.

Gabriela Vanga, Pavel, 2006. Glass and white sand – variable dimensions. Courtesy Galeria Plan B.

Gabriela Vanga, All about…, 2010. Fifty bills of one dollar and plexiglas – variable dimensions. Courtesy Galeria Plan B.

Gabriela Vanga, Lumina, 2008. Light box – 100 x 100 cm. Courtesy Galeria Plan B.

Gabriela Vanga, Keep it unreal, 2003. Silent DVD. Courtesy Galeria Plan B.

Gabriela Vanga, Lightbox, 2007. Lamba print mounted on PVC – 36.5 x 53.2 cm. Courtesy Galeria Plan B.

Gabriela Vanga, Every word I tell you keeps me alive / the door, 2006. Fake door on moving wall – variable dimensions. Courtesy Galeria Plan B.

Notes:

[1] Jane Neal, “Cluj” in Art Cities of the Future : 21st century Avant-Garde. (London: Phaidon, 2013), p. 63.
[2] Galeria Plan B, Gabriela Vanga at https://www.plan-b.ro/artist/gabriela-vanga/ consulted 1/04/2021;

Last Updated on October 25, 2023

Sylvia Walker

Sylvia Walker (b. 1986, US) is an art historian, essayist, art critic, and curator. After contributing to numerous publications, and curating exhibitions in the United States of America and beyond, she currently works as the assistant director of Contemporary Art Issue (CAI).