23 November 2020 marks 100 years since the birth of Romanian-born German-language poet and translator Paul Celan, a multicultural intellectual whose literary work was appreciated throughout Europe, and whose life and work have inspired generations.On his centennial, join curators Anna McNay and Peter Harrap, professor Gabriel H. Decuble and artist Marius von Brasch for an online conversation celebrating Paul Celan’s life, work and artistic legacy as seen through the lens of two anniversary exibitions: ‘Celan 100 – Printre Cuvinte / Unter den Wörtern’ and ‘Beyond Other Horizons / Dincolo de alte orizonturi’.
The online panel talk will be followed by a closing statement from artist and curator Florin Ungureanu.
Exhibitions:
The ‘Beyond Other Horizons / Dincolo de alte orizonturi’ exhibition showcased contemporary British and Romanian painting, and was inspired by the themes of Paul Celan’s ’Mapesbury Road’ poem. 40 British and 40 Romanian Artists exhibited artworks at the Iași Palace of Culture. The exhibition was brought together by artist curator Peter Harrap; writer and curator Anna McNay; and artist Florin Ungureanu, and funded by the Romanian Cultural Institute. The newly-launched exhibition catalogue is available online at https://bit.ly/BeyondOtherHorizonsCat
‘Celan 100 – Printre Cuvinte / Unter den Wörtern’ is an exhibition celebrating the 100th birthday and 50th anniversary of Paul Celan’s death. The exhibition, which illuminates the life and work of the linguistic genius Paul Celan, was developed by the Bucharest National Museum of Romanian Literature, the German Studies Department of the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the University of Bucharest and the Austrian Cultural Forum Bucharest. The online version of the exhibition is available at https://online-exhibitions.at/celan/
Speakers:
Anna McNay – co-curator, ‘Beyond Other Horizons / Dincolo de alte orizonturi’. Anna is an art writer, editor and curator based in the UK. She has considerable experience of writing catalogue essays, as well as reviews, profiles, interviews and features for online and print publications. She frequently conducts live interviews and hosts and speaks on panels at galleries and art schools.
Peter Harrap – co-curator, ‘Beyond Other Horizons / Dincolo de alte orizonturi’. Peter is a British/ Romanian artist and curator. His exhibitions include No New Thing under the Sun (Royal Academy of Arts), Constable and Brighton: Something out of Nothing (Brighton Museum for the Arts Council) and Beyond Other Horizons, bringing together 80 artists to mark Paul Celan poetry and centenary at Iasi Palace of Culture. He exhibits internationally with a forthcoming exhibition in Los Angeles, USA planned for the summer of 2021.
Gabriel H. Decuble – co-curator, ‘Celan 100 – Printre Cuvinte / Unter den Wörtern’. Gabriel H. Decuble is a Romanian writer, translator and professor at the University of Bucharest, where he teaches Old and Modern German Literature and Comparative Literature. He has published numerous papers on literary theory, philosophy of religion, monographies about Nietzsche or the hagiography, as well as original poetry, novel, short prose.
Marius von Brasch – artist, exhibiting in ‘Beyond Other Horizons / Dincolo de alte orizonturi’. Dr. Marius von Brasch is a German-British painter who completed his practice-based PhD research in Fine Art Painting at Winchester School of Art. He was awarded Abbey Fellowship in Painting at the British School at Rome in 2013, exhibits widely and has a background in literature and psychotherapy.
Florin Ungureanu – co-curator, ‘Beyond Other Horizons / Dincolo de alte orizonturi’. Florin Ungureanu is a British/Romanian artist and curator. He holds a ‘Master of Fine Art’ degree form Goldsmiths College, University of London and has lived and exhibited internationally. His work explores the concepts of power, politics, history, identity and death through irony and humour.
The ‘Connected through culture: Paul Celan 100’ online event will be broadcast on Monday, from 18.00 Romania time, on the EUNIC Romania, British Council Romania and Austrian Cultural Forum Facebook pages. Oragnised by EUNIC Romania, British Council Romania and Austrian Cultural Forum, in partnership with the Romanian Cultural Institute and the Romanian Cultural Institute in London.