“The Ecologies of Care and Caring” is a large-scale event with a botanical theme, based on blending contemporary art, architecture, landscaping, and horticulture.
Artists, horticulturists, and architects collaborate to create a large exhibition, divided among three galleries in Bucharest.
Nicolae Comănescu, Hortensia Mi Kafchin, Andreea Medar, Ana Maria Micu, and Roman Tolici are among the 32 artists who will exhibit their works in September at Strata, Mobius, and Leilei galleries.
The program includes two interventions in the “Dimitrie Brândză” Botanical Garden in Bucharest, along with conferences, workshops, and curated walks by Gabriela Mateescu, together with researchers Valentina Iancu (visual arts), Eliza Yokina (architecture), and Prof. Dr. Mihaela Georgescu (botany).
“The imaginary paradise is always green. A vegetal heart, pulsating in the rhythm of absolute balance. Preserving the dynamics of the post-industrial era, urbanization continuously reshapes spaces, transforms ecosystems, and alters the course of life, modifying the discreet structures that sustain it,” a press release said.
Plant blindness is the new mantra at a time when the closest connection with nature is the fruit and vegetable section of the nearest supermarket.
Generally considered as being at the lowest rung of the hierarchy of life, plants are, in fact, of vital importance, carrying stories and messages, and can become powerful allies for various social groups.
“Plants, these modest living beings, ennobled, however, with countless virtues on which all life on Earth depends, constitute the bond … established between botanists, phytosociologists… and the artistic environment, sensitive and comprehensive to humanity’s ongoing quest.”
For some, plants represent the subject of stud…. For others, they are a source of inspiration… Together, they contribute to our understanding of our role in the protection and appreciation of these essential beings in the Logic of Life on Earth,” said Prof. Dr. Mihaela Georgescu, Botanical Research Coordinator
“Plants provide the breath of the ecosystem to which we belong. The living cover of the earth’s crust has been transformed into an apparently limitless resource, exploited for human survival. ….Is plant care an answer to the concern about the climate crisis?” said Valentina Iancu, the curator of the program.
The exhibition is divided into four sections, inspired by pop culture, folk culture, and common understanding: useful plants, poisonous plants, aphrodisiac plants, and ritualistic plants.
“The Ecologies of Care and Caring” starts from a series of questions that target the relationship between humans and botanical nature. By exploring care for plants, plants used for care, or concerns in the face of current ecological disasters, the exhibition introduces a complex perspective on the role of flora in human life and vice versa.
A workshop on medicinal plants will be held at Strata Gallery, coordinated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Luchian Vasilica. The organizers invite the public to a discovery walk of the plants near Mobius Gallery – together with Prof. Dr. Mihaela Georgescu – and to two conferences on topics of architecture, ecology, and nature, led by Eliza Yokina and Daniel Tellman.
USEFUL PLANTS. Strata Gallery – September 2nd – 20th, 2023, opening on September 2nd at 18:00. Artists: Horia Bernea, Nicolae Comănescu, Hortensia Mi Kafchin, Andreea Medar and Mălina Ionescu, Gabriela Mateescu, Diana Miron, Liliana Mercioiu, Ana Maria Micu, Roman Tolici, Iulia Toma, Miki Velciov, with architectural proposals by Beros Abdul Architects, Stardust architects*, Nicolas Triboi, Eliza Yokina. Botanical research by Adrian Mureș – master’s student at the Faculty of Horticulture in Bucharest, Biodiversity Conservation Management Master’s Program.
POISONOUS, TOXIC, HARMFUL PLANTS. Mobius Gallery – September 7th – 30th, 2023, opening on September 7th at 18:00. Artists: Maria Balea, Nicolae Comănescu, Iulian Bisericaru & Dragoș Dogioiu, Roberta Curcă, Katja Lee Eliad, Livia Greaca, Marina Oprea, Natalia Silaghi, Roman Tolici. Botanical research by Andreea Stan – master’s student at the Faculty of Horticulture in Bucharest, Landscape Architecture Master’s Program.
APHRODISIAC, RITUALISTIC PLANTS. Leilei Gallery – September 16th – October 30th, 2023, opening on September 16th at 18:00. Artists exhibiting on the lower level (ritualistic plants): Diana Matilda Crișan, Hortensia Mi Kafkin, Marta Mattioli, taietzel ticalos. Botanical research by Andrei Conțiu – master’s student at the Faculty of Horticulture in Bucharest, Biodiversity Conservation Management Master’s Program.
Artists exhibiting on the ground floor (aphrodisiac plants): Livia Greaca, Alina Marinescu, Andreea Medar, Ciprian Mureșan, Miron Schmückle. Botanical research by Andriana Gârstea – master’s student at the Faculty of Horticulture in Bucharest, Biodiversity Conservation Management Master’s Program.
Botanical Garden Bucharest – September 4th – 30th. Artists: Beniamin Popescu, Miki Velciov.
Botanical Research Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Mihaela Georgescu. Herbarium consultation and curation: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vasilica Luchian; landscape concept coordinator: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elisabeta Dobrescu | Visual arts curators: Valentina Iancu and Gabriela Mateescu | Architecture curators: Eliza Yokina.
