18 October 2021 by Mihai Toth
In an interview with Magda Radu, Geta Brătescu states that, “The studio is a mythical space for the artist. Being in the studio is a mythical experience. When you are in the studio, you are in a chosen space. You feel completely different from being in your house (in the common space). In my movie The Studio, I create three essential moments: sleeping, waking up and playing. This is life itself, especially the life of an artist, because practicing art without the feeling of playing is, in my opinion, a flaw.”
In an artist’s studio, space and time are “rattled”. The studio becomes impermeable; it turns into a capsule of ideas, thoughts and artistic expression. A laboratory of creation where questions, experiments, mistakes, accidents, games, analyses etc. prevail, the studio is the artist’s sanctuary that favours and prompts the delicate act of knowing oneself and reflecting on the environment.
Naturally, the studio acquires different features that vary with each artist’s approach. There are several types of studios. For instance, artists Olafur Eliasson, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami and others embrace the idea of an institution studio. In a standard studio, artists enliven the place; depending on their temperament and personality, their studio-space becomes an extension of their own. In the meta studio, artists themselves become a space to research and a place to disseminate, analyse and balance different concepts and ideas, often materialized under the modest form of a studio notebook/book. Then there is also the temporary studio, both indoor and outdoor, where artists like Marina Abramović choose to work.
Organised under the Art Encounters Biennial 2021, the programme entitled Open Studios Weekend promotes the local cultural activation. The public can visit the “holy” spaces of a large number of artists from Timișoara, having the opportunity to study their atmosphere in relation to the artists’ approach, personality and character. Among the studios that are open to the public are Studio Citadelle by Teo Papadopol, Balamuc, NavaC2 Group at the Students House, Adrian Florin Pop’s studio, Nada Stoici’s creative space, several independent studios of artists like Matei Gașpar, Alex Baciu, Suzana Fântânariu, Vazelina, Szollosi Ana Maria, an artist-run space called Baraka Artist (in collaboration with the West University of Timișoara) and others. The studios are open between 12 and 6 pm, from 15 to 17 October 2021.