RALUCA ARNĂUTU: HERBARIUM: Altes Dampfbad, Marktplatz 13, 76530 Baden-Baden

The contemporary artist woman Raluca Arnăutu is set to unveil a series of more than twenty collages, objects and floral mini-installations in the framework of the solo show entitled “Herbarium” at the historic Altes Dampfbad in Baden-Baden. The solo show “Herbarium”, curator Diana Dochia, PhD, which opens on Friday, 19^th July 2024, between 17:00 – 21:00 o’clock, will run until 28^th July 2024, invites viewers into a world where nature and artistry converge. Through a variety of media, including sculpture, paper works, and mixed media installations, Raluca Arnăutu creates a dialogue between the organic and the crafted, encouraging viewers to reflect on the relationship between humans and the environment. All the artworks were made for this solo show and presented for the first time to the public. The exhibition could be visited from Tuesday to Friday from 13:00 until 18:00 o’clock and Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 until 17:00 o’clock. In other timeframe by appointment at info@anaidartgallery.com or at +49 (0) 172 40 44 166.

The solo show “Herbarium” signed by Raluca Arnăutu is the third pop-up exhibition of Anaid Art Gallery in Baden-Baden, in the framework of the anniversary year "20 years of Anaid Art Gallery 2004 - 2024". The gallerist Diana Dochia declares: “After every ten years, I made a change in the life of the gallery, because change means evolution: 2004 - Bucharest I 2015 - Berlin I 2024 - Baden-Baden”.

In time, the artist began to collect plants and flowers that she kept under observation, watching them change their shape, colour and geometry. Following this period of observation, a series of collages was born where the paper surface was invaded by a decomposed and recomposed plant, which led to the appearance of new illusory species. In relation to this transformation, the artist stated: "in the architecture of new species there is a special dimensionality, as in some places they lose their original texture and shape, turning into chimeras".

"Herbarium" is an imaginary laboratory, where the collection of plants is systematized and arranged either through collage, by means of a sculptural object or in situ through mini-floral installations. The exhibition imagined by Raluca Arnăutu may remind us of Aby Warburg's Mnemosyne Atlas through the combinatory experiments which follow a metonymic, intuitive logic; by juxtaposing images loaded with connotations and placed in a random sequence which may describe what Warburg called "bewegtes Leben" (life in motion or animated life).

"Herbarium" can also be interpreted as an imaginary mapping of the plant element by the way the artist explores the meanings of each constitutive element of the collages. Collages become, as Warburg said about his Atlas, "a space of dynamic thinking" [Denkraum], of compositions, recompositions, superpositions, metamorphoses.

For more information, please visit www.anaidartgallery.com or contact Dr. Diana Dochia at info@anaidartgallery.com.

Raluca Arnăutu (b. 1977) graduates from the University of Art from Bucharest. She became known for her textile installations in the exhibitions “Beasts and Superbeasts” (2011) and “Zoolandia” (2013) at the Anaid Art Gallery in Bucharest. In 2012 she represents, together with the artist Suzana Dan, Romania at the 3rd International Kids’ Carnival “Tales and Thoughts” in Venice, Italy with the project “Beasts and Superbeasts”. In the last ten years, her main interest - collage and site-specific textile installations - has led her on an international exhibition path, being invited to large group or solo exhibitions in art centers, museums and galleries. In 2015, she has his first solo show in Berlin, "Daydreaming Heart" at Anaid Art Gallery. In 2017 she is invited to exhibit in a group exhibition entitled "Les rencontre des mondes" at the Abbey of Notre Dame du Voeu in Cherbourg-en-Contentin in France and in 2018 she has her first solo show in Budapest, "Deconstruction", at the center of contemporary art Kahan Art Space. In 2021, a large-scale textile installation was created and integrated into the exhibition "Aqua. La Vie dans L'eau" at the Musée Thomas Henry in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France. Her works are in important public and private collections in Romania, Germany, Belgium, Austria, France, Hungary, etc. She works and lives in Bucharest. Raluca Arnăutu is represented by Anaid Art Gallery since 2011.

Altes Dampfbad, located in the heart of Baden-Baden, is a historic venue renowned for its cultural significance and architectural beauty. The space offers a unique setting for contemporary art exhibitions, blending classical elegance with modern artistic innovation. Baden-Baden is a UNESCO heritage site, where you can find the most beautiful mixture between old buildings and contemporary art museums and exhibitions.

Anaid Art Gallery, founded in 2004 by the art historian Diana Dochia, PhD, is dedicated to promoting contemporary art and supporting innovative artists from around the world. Known for its forward-thinking exhibitions and diverse programming, the gallery has established itself as a vital platform for contemporary artistic expression. This year Anaid Art Gallery celebrates 20 Years on the market of international contemporary art. Starting as a contemporary art gallery in Bucharest in 2004, in a former communist country, being in that moment the 3^rd established private gallery in the hole country (Romania); Anaid Art Gallery opened a second gallery in 2015 in the heart of Berlin. In 2024 the headquarter of the gallery moved to the beautiful cultural city of Baden-Baden.