The Galerie Jean-Gabriel Mitterrand is very happy to be able to present several series of photographic and filmic works, most of them historical, in an exhibition which aims to provide an important range of its approach.

Since 1967, Ion Grigorescu has focused on issues related to sexuality, the body, the landscape and of course the omnipresence of politics from the point of view of the communist regime as well as triumphant capitalism. During the long communist reign in Romania, the artist worked secretly and anonymously in self-censorship. His approach has always gone beyond the performative and intimate aspect despite a propensity to tap into his private world.

In recent years, several major international events, including the Documenta 12 in Kassel in 2007, have made it possible to glimpse a few images of a rich and fascinating corpus. This first solo exhibition of the artist in France tries to overcome this discretion and to present a supported preview to establish on a tangible evidence a remarkable artistic profile.

The curator of this exhibition is Ami Barak. He began with this project a series of collaborations with the Gallery Jean-Gabriel Mitterrand, Paris.

The exhibition is supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute in Paris as well as the publication in preparation which will be released at the end of 2008 under the auspices of Galerie Jean-Gabriel Mitterrand.

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About the artist

Ion Grigorescu (born in 1945, lives and works in Bucharest) is perhaps the most emblematic artistic personality of the post-war period in Romania. For a long time, his work remained confidential and it is only recently that his reputation has crossed the borders. Now the artistic community agrees that it is an exceptional artist and his past and recent works are valuable milestones in the contemporary artistic landscape.