Oana Coșug is a visual artist who recently completed the agrégation at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. She has taken part in numerous international residencies and exhibitions, both solo and group, and was also part of the Virus Diary Project at White Cuib, in collaboration with Dan Perjovschi. In 2022, she received the Gustav Camus Prize, awarded by the Royal Academy of Belgium.
Oana Coșug’s works evoke landscapes from other worlds, marked by painful absences, melancholic explorations, and representations of desire.
“The expression of feminine corporeality is very present in my art. Starting from the fact that women are made vulnerable, especially through their social status, I try to convey, through my characters, the idea of breaking free from the sphere of insecurity. As a woman, you often feel unsafe, unprotected. Yes, we also have the capacity to bear a lot, but at the same time I sense an obstacle to our evolution, something strongly determined by society and education: from family to friends, you are expected to keep up with the pace of life like everyone else; if you happen to be hors cadre (outside the frame, different), it is no longer acceptable.”
The artist constructs a story about conflict and silent despair, within a continuous loop of mystery and wonder. There is no “before” and “after” in this narrative, no linearity beyond the traced outlines that lead us from one page to another and then back again, in a mysterious succession of events. At times, in silence and hidden from our gaze, a figure appears — unclear, covered by a cloak that contains her entire world unfurled above her.
