Urban Baroque – From Baroque to Neo-Baroque

A unique and spectacular event, held at the Art Museum of Timisoara, which presents three phases of the Baroque, in several separate rooms. The first room, of the past, begins with the Imperial Baroque where the furnishings evoke the atmosphere of a palace, connecting to the present moment through the paintings of Gheorghe Fikl and reaches a Baroque of the future, a minimalist baroque, presented by the video of the French artist Josepha Blanchet.

The Baroque appeared in 1600 in Italy. It is characterized by the abundance of oblique lines and exaggerated movements in architecture, painting, sculpture, by the grandeur and exuberance of the details. The noun "Baroque" comes from Portuguese and means an irregularly shaped pearl. Neo-Baroque is a term that indicates the artistic creations that have elements of Baroque, but do not belong to the Baroque period.

Our attention was drawn by the paintings of Gheorghe Fikl that fascinate us with the combination of sensual and funeral, erotic and obscure. His paintings are characterized by surreal type associations where the horizontal space is dominated by the animal and the vertical space lifts us, transcends. Symbol painted animals are usually bulls, sheep, peacocks, dogs, placed in the luxurious spaces, decadent, adorned with tents, glittering chandeliers that introduce us to a magical realism. The animal shapes are well defined with a special attention for the colors used in an absolutely figurative manner.

Life in the countryside is an archetype that inspires him and where he places the scenes that take place in the paintings, in the hills near his home in Socolari. The female character appears with a corset, shrouded in mystery and lace before the altar, ready for the sacrifice.

Gheorghe Fikl was born on April 1, 1968, in Timisoara, in a family with a great tradition in art. He graduated the Faculty of Arts of Timisoara and had exhibitions in major contemporary art galleries.

The exhibition is made possible through the generous support of Andrei Herczeg, through his foundation, along with Victor Neumann, director of the Art Museum of Timisoara and prof. Carol David.

The exhibition is open to the public from 23 July to 23 September, 2016.