Ada Muntean

Last weekend of the exhibition L'Heure bleue > finissage tomorrow strarting 4pm, concert at 7pm. I'm very happy to present @ada.muntean_ , for the second time in the gallery, with whom I collaborated on so many projects. She was born in 1987 in Cluj-Napoca, where she lives and works In 2009 she graduated from the Graphic Department of the University of Art and Design in Cluj, where she got her master's degree in 2011 and her doctorate in visual arts in 2019. The series “Accidents in Paradise” revolves around the idea of accident, perceived as an essential condition in the creative process and, last but not least, in the dynamics of contemporary existence. Accidents in Paradise can be seen as a metaphorical series that maps the paths of imperfections meant to celebrate the unforeseen in a carefully constructed plastic universe. Paradise is, by definition, a perfect space, suspended outside of history and conflict – a utopian projection that ignores the complex reality of the human condition. Accidents in Paradise explores the idea that any attempt to build or imagine a paradise is doomed, sooner or later, to collide with chance and imperfection. One argument in support of this idea is that the notion of paradise presupposes a radical exclusion of accident – understood as error, dysfunction or deviation. It is precisely this exclusion that makes it vulnerable. By analogy, in contemporary times, any system – be it political, ecological or affective – that aspires to perfection ignores the essentially unpredictable dimension of existence. The artist investigates inevitable collisions, through works that destabilize the expected harmony and reveal traces of fragility, inner conflict and material accident. The compositions speculate on the accident as a means of reflection on impossible ideals. Thus, the paradisiacal is not rejected, but deconstructed from within, with lucidity and irony. Accidents in Paradise does not take shape as a critical commentary on utopia, but becomes a series that affirms the value of imperfection as a vital space for creation, reflection and resilience. #exhibition #cyanotype #analogphotography #experimental #contemporaryart

@ada.muntean_ ‘s ‘Scars from Soft Blades’ grew from the idea that memory, subconsciousness and lived experience slowly build personal inner worlds. In this recent series, created specifically for our gallery space, the scar becomes more than a mark of pain — a metaphor for transformation, for the way experiences remain with us and continue to shape us over time. Fragments of memories, sensations, mental images and present moments overlap throughout the series, forming a space suspended somewhere between reality and fiction, lucidness and dreaming. The exhibition remains on view at Himera, at @isho_timisoara for two more weeks, with visits by appointment only — Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, via the link in bio.

▶ Proiectul 'Scars from Soft Blades' operează – atât formal, cât și conceptual – la intersecția dintre memorie, subconștient și universuri imaginate. Titlul funcționează ca un oximoron asumat: blades (lame, asociate gesturilor de tăiere și distrugere) reconfigurate ca soft (fragile, aproape afective). În această cheie, rana nu mai semnifică doar durerea, ci devine un instrument al memoriei, un loc al metamorfozei și al devenirii. O analogie sugestivă poate fi făcută între amintirea trecutului – 'the scar'– și experiența prezentului – 'a soft blade' –, cu care negociem și cochetăm permanent. Imaginea nu se limitează la ficțiune sau la documentarea realului, ci se constituie ca un hibrid: o țesătură de flashback-uri provenite din experiențe anterioare, suprapuse peste fragmente de prezent. Această construcție vizuală funcționează ca o arheologie afectivă, în care trecutul și prezentul coexistă, conturând un imaginar personal. Compozițiile oscilează între luciditate și vis, între dimensiunea senzorială și cea conceptuală. Elementele centrale din lucrări gravitează în jurul unei realități perisabile, înglobând mici fragmente prețioase de efemer. 'Scars from Soft Blades' nu explorează suferința în sine, ci procesele de asumare care o urmează. Demersul meu acordă o atenție specială materialității și valorii suprafeței, înțeleasă atât ca suport fizic, cât și ca mediu activ, capabil să declanșeze reacții afective. Privitorul e invitat nu doar la contemplare, ci la o experiență de proximitate și la stabilirea unei relații aproape tactile cu lucrările. În acest context, suprafața încetează să mai fie doar un strat exterior și devine un spațiu de negociere între privire, corp și memorie. _______ Lucrările pot fi văzute la Galeria Himera din Timișoara până pe 30 mai.   #PicturăÎnClivaj #GraficăÎnClivaj (Link în bio pentru seria integrală.)

Scars from Soft Blades [close-ups from my latest solo show] on view @himera.ro until 30th of May. 💥 #contemporaryartist #contemporaryart #artgallery #painting #graphic_arts

A key element in this new series of @ada.muntean_ is the way in which memory is presented visually. ”The most intense memories are often connected to painful experiences, and this tension is transfigured through the metaphor of the scar. If the memory of the past can be understood as a scar, then existence itself becomes a soft blade: a constant presence we negotiate with, swaying between attraction and the inevitable confrontation with the marks it leaves behind.” Scars from Soft Blades, Ada Muntean’s solo show is on view unti May 30 at the gallery at @isho_timisoara ✨ Visits by appointment only — Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, via the link in bio.

Two artworks, part of my latest series - Scars from Soft Blades, now on display @rad.fair 2026 Bucharest in @himera.ro booth. See you this weekend @rad.fair 🔥 #contemporaryartist #contemporaryart #drawing #radfair2026 #himera

One of the nicest experiences I've had as a visual artist so far, the printmaking residency at @portside_graphics with @teocosman . I've experimented with monotype, monoprint, drypoint, risoprint and cyanotype techniques. Thank you @tom_dries & @teocosman for making this possible. 🔥 #printmaking #portsidegraphics #evergem #ghentbelgium #graphic_arts

Merci à toutes et à tous pour votre présence lors du vernissage de l"Heure bleue, avec la participation des artistes @tom_dries , @irina.dora , @kamukiwi , @ada.muntean_ @idalierey et @flavia.parone . Nous vous attendons de mercredi à vendredi de 14h à 18h, samedi et dimanche de 12h à 17h, jusqu'au 17 mai à @espace_intermediaire Impasse Saint-Jacques 3, Bruxelles. #vernissage #exposition #cyanotype #techniquetraditionnelle #bleu

Decisions #decisions Preparing for the opening of "L'Heure bleue" > tomorrow 15.04 at 6 pm With @tom_dries @irina.dora @kamukiwi @ada.muntean_ @idalierey @flavia.parone #exhibition #cyanotype #blue #alternativeprocess

Il est temps pour "L'Heure bleue", exposition réunissant six artistes contemporains autour de la cyanotypie experimentale @tom_dries @irina.dora @kamukiwi @ada.muntean_ @flavia.parone et @idalierey 🎨🖼️✨ Le vernissaje aura lieu mercredi 15 avril à partir de 18h, l'exposition étant ouverte jusqu'au 17 mai. La cyanotypie est l’une des plus anciennes techniques photographiques, inventée par John Herschel en 1842. Elle a servi à la réalisation du premier livre photographique, British Algae, publié par la botaniste Anna Atkins à partir de 1843. L’image est obtenue par l’impression directe sur une surface photosensible, sans l’intermédiaire d’un appareil photographique. C’est une technique non argentique, utilisant des sels de fer qui, par exposition à la lumière, forment un pigment stable, le bleu de Prusse, d’où la couleur bleue caractéristique. Malgré sa simplicité (bon marché, facilité d’exécution), ou plutôt à cause de celle-ci, la cyanotypie n’a jamais eu le cachet dont d’autres techniques photographiques ont bénéficié (il existe des histoires de la photographie qui ne la mentionnent même pas). On lui reprochait qu’elle était « trop bleue », non conforme à la réalité, peu convenable pour certains sujets. À part quelques notables exceptions, la cyanotypie était réservée à l’usage des amateurs, ou bien, en architecture, à la reproduction de plans et de documents, à la manière d’une photocopieuse manuelle. Ses applications techniques ont placé la cyanotypie en marge de la pratique artistique, se situant entre copie et reproduction. À partir des années 1960, les techniques historiques, et notamment le cyanotype, ont fait leur retour dans l’art photographique, ce dernier étant apprécié pour son caractère artisanal et son aspect atypique. Aujourd’hui, la cyanotypie est l’une des pratiques photographiques alternatives les plus répandues. #exposition #experimentation #artcontemporain #pratiquealternative #cyanotype

Scars from Soft Blades, @ada.muntean_ solo show, is on view until May 30 at the gallery. Part two of the conversation between @ada.muntean_ and @andipopescu moves into how the show took shape — from the first idea of a solo, to working through the pieces, the selection, and finding the right balance between them. Visits by appointment only — Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, via the link in our bio. This weekend, the gallery will be closed for the Easter holidays. @isho_timisoara @agapewine @atelierderame

After the opening of Scars from Soft Blades, @ada.muntean_ and @andipopescu had a relaxed conversation in front of the gallery at @isho_timisoara , in the Sunday sun. An open, easygoing exchange about how they met, how their collaboration started, about Ada’s new solo show, and more. It made us think this could turn into something we keep doing — small conversations with artists and curators, from time to time. For now, we’re splitting this one into a few episodes. This first one is about how they met. — Scars from Soft Blades is now on view at Himera. Visits by appointment only — Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, via the link in our bio.💫