Curators Introduction :

CATS ARE TAKING OVER

Curated by Alexandru Niculescu & Daniela Palimariu

CATS ARE TAKING OVER is the first exhibition in the contemporary art pavilion of Villa Catena, marking a premiere for this space that aims to generate a warm formula for understanding art.

The exhibition uses the cat - symbol of intimacy, mystery and irony - as a pretext. Cats Are Taking Over is an incursion into the world of charismatic domestic felines, often considered too trivial for ‘serious’ art, which thus reclaim their place in contemporary creation. From housemate to cultural symbol, from mystical symbol to simple everyday presence, who else would be better suited as the main character in an exhibition about the contrasts of the present moment?

Through traditional techniques such as painting, ceramics, sculpture, or through conceptual works, audio, immersive installations and inflatable sculptures, the works brought together create a complex landscape of the present challenges, acting as a collective catalyst whose stimulus is, apparently, a simple pet.

Its various stances are among the most varied: leader cat, fetish cat, totem cat, feminist cat, anatomy of the cat, cat as institutional critic, medicine cat, Dacian cat, sacred cat.

The exhibition includes works created especially for this occasion as well as pieces from private collections. With this joint initiative, Sandwich and the Fildas Art Foundation, through the Catena for Art programme, open a new and invigorating dialogue between the public and contemporary art, highlighting an architectural monument and questioning, with humour and critical spirit, the way we relate to the exhibition space and to art in general.

The project partners are Institutul Francez, Neurohope, Krupa Foundation, Senso Arte.

ARTISTS
Aproximativ 28 (RO), Mihaela Ioana Atomei (RO), Liliana Basarab (RO), Marcel Broodthaers, Dan Basu (RO), Radu Boeru (RO), Anastasia Calinovici (RO), Tudor Ciurescu (RO), Coady (AUS), Vuk Ćuk (SR), Bernat Daviu (ES), Stoyan Dechev (BG), Ecaterina Cristescu Delighioz (RO), Pola Dwurnik (PL), Mari Eastman (USA), Elian (RO), Giles Eldridge (UK), Bianca Ferăstrău (RO), Dimitrie Luca Gora (RO), Dumitru Gorzo (RO), Tobias Hild (DE), Sorin Ilfoveanu (RO), Peter Jecza (RO), Martin Goya Business (CN), Sarah Lucas (UK), Olivia Mihălțianu (RO), Nico Mureș (RO), Marta Mattioli (RO), Giuliano Nardin (RO), Trine Lise Nedreaas (NO), Jin Ningning (CN), Radu Pandele (RO), Dan Perjovschi (RO), Alexandru Rangă (RO), Cristian Răduță (RO), Natasha Shulte (UKR), Francisc Șirato (RO), Anaïs Touchot (FR), Andrei Tudoran (RO), Gabriela Vanga (RO) Dan Vezentan (RO), Mihaela Vezentan (RO), Zhang Zhihui (CN), Béla Zoltán (RO).

Thurs. April 10, 2025, 6-9 pm
Vernissage & inauguration of Vila Catena
str. Radu Calomfirescu 15, Bucharest
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