© Adrian Cojocaru
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Carved from stone in three-dimensional form during the first decade of the third century A.D., The Severan Marble Plan of Rome remains to this day one of the most enigmatic and intricate maps of an ancient city. Since the first fragments were rediscovered in the 16th century, the city plan has been keeping archaeologists, residents and tourists perpetually enthralled. At first glance, the celebrated sporadic discoveries of new pieces (only 10-15% are known to survive to present day) may point towards the fact that humans have a particular enthusiasm when it comes to solving a good jigsaw puzzle. On further thought, there is no running away from the realization that we have an intrinsic connection with the concept of maps, as markers of movement.
Mental mapmaking was a quotidian necessity in our ancestors’ lives long before urban spaces were established. Nowadays we have the luxury of elaborate maps as we navigate a space for the first time, yet it is ultimately our own choice of motion through the extensive network of pathways that ingrains the experience into our core. We set our own landmarks and even proceed to label our surroundings based on the interactions we have with the inhabitants, creating our own cognitive maps in the process.
In the exhibition Il Pane è la Vita, Adrian Cojocaru thematizes this type of mental and affective mapping. The artist continues the personalized examination of urban identity and coexistence. This time, it’s about the visit in the Italian capital. By employing walking as part of his artistic practice, the paintings generated simultaneously capture the social realm and the complex circuitry of connections between the historical dimensions and the contemporary infrastructure of Rome.
Rome brings a discernible shift in focus from the artist’s earlier works depicting the urban space of contemporary Romania. The flâneur spirit is ubiquitous, yet elements such as lacunae in the pavement or deteriorated facades of buildings become secondary in this body of work. It can be regarded as the interwoven result of the fondness the artist carries towards Italy, having lived his formative years in the country and the compelling aspect of reading a city from a tourist’s perspective. As you glance at the warm tones and the saturated visual landscapes, it can be difficult to imagine the trip which is referenced in the paintings was taken in a cold December, with endless rain. Just as it’s suggested by the title of the show, the gastronomic experience also played a vital part in this vibrant and dynamic approach, in the position of a particular key to reading the city.
The manner in which Adrian Cojocaru meticulously constructs landscapes and interiors echoes the deep appreciation he has for architectural spaces. In La Rosticceria Piccola Cina, there is a reverence towards buildings as markers of sociality. The artist references Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère as he recollects the experience of finding a restaurant in the middle of a storm. Just as Manet chose to include particular symbols of the Parisian contemporary scene, such as the trapeze artist’s pair of feet, there is no escaping the presence of the ubiquitous gadget of this century, the smartphone, and the acknowledgment it birthed the mirror selfie phenomenon. The self-portrait of the artist on the left highlights his preoccupation as he encounters new spaces, always conducting a brief investigation into how surroundings can be comprehended.
The same inquisitory spirit characterizes the woman glancing over the cityscape of Rome. Qui, dal Rinascimento emphasizes the idea of the metropolis seen as a palimpsestic entity, employing loose brushwork in the background as a manner of representation of the ongoing metamorphosis of the urban space. The artist revers the buildings as complex structures which can only be created by cooperation and collective action.
Conversations take place between the works, as historic sights are placed in relation to urban transformations and the diaristic narrative reveals scenes of everyday human activity, of both residents and tourists inhabiting the public spaces. Il Pane è la Vita encompasses both our fascination on how inhabitants manage to make cities, constantly enhancing them and prompting new lines of inquiry and how there are significant moments in our lives when the cities make us. (Maria Mănăilă)
View the works here