May 5th, 2023
Mircea Cantor - Hands Adjectivating Work
Exhibition organized by the Muzeul Textilelor (MT) at the MT, Building B, Băița, Hunedoara
County, Romania
May 21th - June 17th, 2023
Muzeul Textilelor is honored to present the work of the internationally renowned visual artist Mircea Cantor — Hands Adjectivating Work. This exhibition is the continuation of the Museum's interest in preserving technologies related to traditional textiles and their impact on the works of contemporary artists. In 2019, the Textile Museum organized the exhibition Wool and Water. Wool and Water. Woven Felted Blankets of the Balkan-Carpathian Region, which presented the ancestral technologies used for the woven and felted blankets, the same technologies being used for Cantor's works, exhibited here.
The works in this exhibition were made in collaboration with a loom weaver from Săpânța, Maramureş in the summer of 2020. One can notice Mircea Cantor's interest in traditional textile art and Maramureşian savoir faire which has an older history, starting in 2008 when he made a "flying" wool carpet — "Airplanes and angels" — also in Maramureş, in Botiza, with the weaver Victoria Berbecaru, and other women from the village; also in 2008 he collaborated with the sculptor Vasile Bârsan for the work "Arch Of Trumph" — a reinterpreted Maramureșian gate; and at that time he collaborated with Burnar Tănase, the pottery artisan from Săcel, for a series of jugs specially
conceived for an installation/performance.
For Cantor, "the artist's hand is the most important tool," as it transmits ancestral knowledge and a way of life. Hence the title of the works "Hands are adjectives to numbers" which will be premiered in Romania after being part of the Kathmandu Triennial in Nepal in 2022. These cerga (blankets) were woven traditionally by looms, being the result of a multifaceted collaboration with an authentic weaver. On their surface you can see woven in black and white colors, a code that changes on each
piece (each cerga/blanket). This number is a reflection of a counter of world statistics in relation to the population of Romania, a population that has decreased significantly over the years due to international migration to Western nations. Cantor's collaboration with artisan weavers, who were very open to experimentation, dispelled the rigid idea that traditions reject or are refractory to changes.
Born in 1977 in Romania, he lives and works on the Earth.
Laureate of the prestigious Marcel Duchamp Prize (2011) Mircea Cantor makes films, sculptural installations, photography and drawing. His multidisciplinary art can be understood primarily in terms of a search for visual poetry, meditation and spirituality.
Inspired by the large and small events of everyday life, Cantor creates powerful poetic images that have the ability to imprint themselves well on your retina or your mind. He gained international attention in the early 2000s with various works such as "The Landscape Is Changing" (2003), a film showing demonstrators wearing large mirrors instead of slogans as they walked the streets of Tirana, and "Deeparture" (2005), a film that chronicles an encounter between a wolf and a deer in an empty gallery space. Recently, Cantor got interested on craftsmanship and tradition to relate to the 'intuitive' energy that tests how different fields of knowledge might have meaning and impact on human creation and the multiplicity of perspectives that shape our understanding of our relationship with time, consciousness, and experience.
His works are in prestigious collections such as MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, New York (USA); RENNIE MUSEUM, Vancouver (Canada); CENTER POMPIDOU, Paris (France); MUSEO NACIONAL CENTRO DE ARTE REINA SOFIA, Madrid (Spain); MAGAZINE 3, Stockholm (Sweden); KUNSTHAUS ZÜRICH, Zürich (Switzerland); PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART, Philadelphia (USA); HIRSHHORN MUSEUM, Washington D.C. (USA); CASTELLO DI RIVOLI, Turin (Italy); FONDATION FRANÇOIS PINAULT, Paris (France); WALKER ART CENTER, Minneapolis (USA); FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON, Paris (France).
Exhibition opening: May 21st, 2023, 3:00 PM
Press preview: May 21st, 2023, 1:30PM
Contact:
Florica Zaharia, Director and Co-Owner
Tel. +40 732 514 037
E-mail: florica.zaharia@muzeultextilelor.org / florica.t.zaharia@gmail.com
May 29th, 2022
Celebrating The Met: Highlights from the Gift of The Metropolitan Museum of Art to the
Muzeul Textilelor
Exhibition organized by the Muzeul Textilelor (MT) at the MT, Building B, Băița, Hunedoara
County, Romania
May 29th - October 29th, 2022
In 2018, a year after its founding, the Museum Textilelor received exceptional support from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in the form of a donation from the Met’s Costume Institute. The donation comprised 1,871 regional costumes and accessories indigenous to over eighty cultures worldwide, including a number of Romanian costumes of the best quality, generously given back by The Met to the Romanian heritage.
The exhibition, Celebrating The Met: Highlights from the Gift of The Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Muzeul Textilelor, honors that great institution on the occasion of its 150th anniversary in 2020. The high quality and wide-range of the objects included in the exhibition bear witness to The Met’s longstanding tradition of collecting with foremost attention to cultural identity and artistic value. The exhibition sets up a cultural dialog, displaying objects that show the intertwining of materials, techniques, and costume typologies within groups of populations from neighboring territories, as well as those that show major differences between cultures located at opposite geo-climatic areas.
Contact:
Florica Zaharia, Director and Co-Owner
Tel. +40 732 514 037
E-mail: florica.zaharia@muzeultextilelor.org / florica.t.zaharia@gmail.com
Julay 29st, 2022
Weavings from My Grandmother—Paintings by Mirela Trăistaru, August 6th – October 28st, 2022
Muzeul Textilelor displays for the second time the work by PhD. Mirela Trăistaru, a well known artist at national and international level. The work displayed here are inspired by the material and immaterial heritage she has from her predecessors. They are the result of the research and creation project A century, a story, an inheritance, which investigates the defining duality of the contemporary people: on one hand, the global man, the hi-tech man, dependent on a life lived in speed, and the traditional man who feels the need for spiritual recharge from the mystical atmosphere of the place of origin, the man who seeks his identity in the dowry box of his grandparents.
The personal history of the artist Mirela Trăistaru lies at the basis of the whole concept of the project: her parents and grandparents lived their lives influenced by the two world wars. The great-grandfather from Transylvania (Valea Someşului Mare, Năsăud) fought in the First World War. He was taken prisoner and worked in coal mines in Siberia, returning to Romania to his wife and ten children after four years. Both Grandparents fought in the Second World War: the paternal grandfather from Stroeşti, near Horezu, died on the front - the last memory of the artist’s father focuses on the image where he is a child, and hand in hand with his younger brother, watched his father, dressed as military, leaving the village for a war where the return isn’t promised. The maternal grandfather from Nepos (Someșul Mare Valley) stayed in the Odessa camp and returned to Romania after 1945. Meanwhile, her grandmothers and great grandmothers were sewing and weaving on the loom - women and children were also direct victims of the war, not indirect victims since women's war were personal and familiar.
Press preview: Saturday, August 6th, 2022, 3:00pm
Contact:
Florica Zaharia, Director and Co-Owner
Tel. +40 732 514 037
E-mail: florica.zaharia@muzeultextilelor.org / florica.t.zaharia@gmail.com
May 1st, 2022
Symbol and Splendor: Woodcut Inspired by the Ancestral Design of the Pădureni’s Blouse, May 14th – August 1st, 2022
The symbolism, beauty, and age of the motifs of the Pădureni costum cannot be questioned. The motifs, preponderently geometric, are based on fundamental symbols characteristic of ancient cultures: the center or the point, the cross, the sky and the square, the triangle, the spiral, suns and stars, the apple, the ear of wheat, the ram’s horn, and others. Some symbols have merged with each other, or over time they have aquired multiple meanings, all harmonised and completed in an integral knowledge. They are all considered by experts to be absolute symbols, because they contain the essence of life. Because of this, the symbol was considered a cipher which, decoded and decrypted, could be an important source of information.
The exhibition Symbol and Splendor: Woodcut Inspired by the Ancestral Design of the Pădureni’s Blouse will be at the Muzeul Textilelor, Building B, Art Café Gallery, Băița, Hunedoara County, from May 114th- to August 1th, 2022. The exhibition is organized by the Muzeul Textilelor in collaboration with the The Center for Culture and Art of Hunedoara County. The research, photographs, writing, and coordonation of the work included in the exhibition was done by Mr. Mircea Lac, Prof. of Living Tresure of Hunedoara County. The woodcut work made by the students of the „Traditional Art Class” of the Popular Art School from Deva, includes ancestral symbols of the traditional culture of the Padureni area: The Cross, Crucea; Pizar (S shape); the Star, Steaua; Gogâște (swastika); Wheat Ear, Spicul de grâu; Pup; Tri; Heli with four eyes, Heli cu patru ochi; The Apple, Mărul; and Budiana.
Press preview: Saturday, 14th May, 2022, 3:30-5:00pm
Contact:
Florica Zaharia, Director and Co-Owner
Tel. +40 732 514 037
E-mail: florica.zaharia@muzeultextilelor.org și florica.t.zaharia@gmail.com
September 21st, 2021
Fulbright Scholar at the Muzeul Textilelor, September 21st – October 9th, 2021
Muzeul Textilelor is hosting a Fulbright Scholar, for a program during September 21st – October 9th, 2021. The program focuses on the methodologies of preservation, conservation, restoration and display of bidimensional textiles, and aims to disseminate knowledge related to these methodologies to a large number of museums’ professionals. From this perspective, this program includes visiting museums in Romania, and interacting with their professional staff members. Professionals and students working with historic textiles would be informed about new methodologies used in the United States, particularly at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Dr. Olha Yarema-Wynar, the Fulbright Scholar we are hosting at the Muzeul Textilelor has an outstanding experience and knowledge related to the subject by working for many years as textile conservator in the Department of Textile Conservation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This program is aligned with one of the Muzeul Textilelor’s missions which is to create a center for research and professional interaction among experts and young professionals from the national and international community. Although, since its formation in 2017, the Muzeul Textilelor has interacted with many professionals, and hosted researchers and interns, the opportunity of having a Fulbright Scholar gives us the possibility to interact with a larger group of professionals, and bring this activity to another level.
Contact:
Florica Zaharia, Director and Co-Owner
Tel. +40 732 514 037
E-mail: florica.zaharia@muzeultextilelor.org și florica.t.zaharia@gmail.com
July 1st, 2019
International Festival of Extra-ordinary Textiles (FITE), "Déviations", July 6-8th, 2019
Muzeul Textilelor, Băița City Hall and Școala Gimnazială Băița are pleased to invite you at the International Festival of Extra-ordinary Textiles (FITE), Déviations, which is organized by French partners in collaboration with Romanian cultural and educational institutions.
This program it is a part of the FITE România, which will take place in Băița, Brașov, Sibiu, București and Constanța, on July 6-14th, 2019. Please find the program for July 6th and 7th in the attached document. The program will be opened to the public in Băița and Hărțăgani, Hunedoara County.
The event taking place on Monday, July 8th, it is reserved to a group of specialists for discussions and decisions making regarding the European project of extra-ordinary textiles.
For details please see the attached invitation. You can find more information about the Museul Textilelor at www.muzeultextilelor.org.
Contact:
Florica Zaharia, Director and Co-Owner
Tel. +40 732 514 037
E-mail: florica.zaharia@muzeultextilelor.org și florica.t.zaharia@gmail.com
May 24th, 2019
The opening of the Wool and Water—Woven Felted Blankets of the Balkan-Carpathian Region Exhibition - Muzeul Textilelor, Building B, Băița, No. 20A, Hunedoara County, România
Traditional blankets, cerga și țolul, textile objects with a specific function, are the messengers of a complex textile technology, and imply the breeding of animals for wool, the cultivation of plants for fibers, and the management of water power. These blankets represent the essence of the relationship between the artistic creation attained in the home textile industry over centuries, and the necessities imposed by the mountain environment. At the same time, the pieces define the human relationship of the various participants, to the technological process of producing them.
Based on long-term scientific investigation, which included in-situ research and lab work, in particular technical analyses and fiber microscopy, this exhibition aims to familiarize the public with the art of producing traditional blankets typical to the Balkan-Carpathian area. We also intend to bring out the common characteristics of these pieces produced by various populations who lived in similar geo-climatic conditions.
The exhibition has four sections: the materials and technologies for producing blankets, cerga with tufts (ciupi), Aromanian blankets, and thin blankets called țol. The objects from the exhibition belong to the collection of the Muzeul Textilelor.
The exhibition’s curator is Dr. Florica Zaharia.
We welcome the press on May 24th, 2019 at 5:00PM. For details please see the attached invitation. You can find more information about the Muzeul Textilelor at www.muzeultextilelor.org.
Contact:
Florica Zaharia, Director and Co-Owner
Tel. 40 732 514 037
E-mail: florica.zaharia@muzeultextilelor.org and florica.t.zaharia@gmail.com
March 16th, 2019
The opening of the "Decades of Visual Memory—Photographs by Ana and Gheorghe Tripon" Exhibition.
Muzeul Textilelor, Building B, Băița, no. 21, Hunedoara County, România
The first ever exhibition dedicated to the photographers Ana and Gheorghe Tripon includes photographs taken by them between 1958-1992, as well as a few taken by unknown photographers during the first half of the 20th century – before their time. Located in Băița, Hunedoara County, România, the two photographers portrayed places, people, the important moments in their lives, social events, and the costumes and textiles specific to the region. Their photographs are mostly monochrome (black-and-white,) but there are also some in color, and some that have been colored.
The photography of Ana and Gheorghe Tripon served the need of Băița region comunity members to immortalize in images the people they loved, capturing the important moments in their lives. Along with the fulfillment of this mission, their photographs convey the documentary value of recording people's life style, and the traditional physical assets of the region – the architecture, the costume and the home-made textile inventory.
The rapid transformations that occurred during the 20th century can be observed throughout the Tripon’s photographs, and we can establish connections between various eras.
In today's context, when photography produces instant images, Ana and Gheorghe Tripon’s photography, from photo shoot to film processing was the result of an intense creative labor but also of a technical accuracy, remain unique.
The photographs included in the exhibition belong to the following collections: Ana Tripon, Muzeul Textilelor, Elena Țucă, and Victoria Tripon.
We welcome the press on March 29th, 2019 at the following times: 11:00am to 1:00pm, and at 5:00PM.
The exhibition is curated by Florica Zaharia.
Contact:
Ana Teodora Draguș, Vicepreședinte și Co-proprietar
Tel. 40 733 986 594 / e-mail: ana.zaharia@muzeultextilelor.org
May 25, 2018
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Donation to the Muzeul Textilelor, Băița, Hunedoara County, Romania.
The Muzeul Textilelor recently received an important donation of 1,871 costumes, accessories and textiles from The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City. This group encompasses artifacts from near 100 cultures around the world, including pieces from eastern European countries, and in particular Romania. This donation enriches the Muzeum Textilelor’s existing collection of approximately 10,000 pieces.
The Museum will use this unevaluable donation for exhibitions, scholarly research, students’ studies, and publications. “The Opposite Cultures—Romanian and Japanese Traditional Costumes” to open in spring 2019 at the ASTRA Museum in Sibiu, Romania, will be the first exhibition to include pieces from The Met’s donation.
We are enormously thankful to our American colleagues for their generous support toward our young Museum. The Muzeul Textilelor formally opens on May 26 and will open to the public on May 28, 2018.
Opening of the Muzeul Textilelor in Baita, Hunedoara County, Romania
The inauguration of the Muzeul Textilelor will be on May 26, and the opening to the public on May 28, 2018.
The Museum is owned by Florica and Romulus Nicolae Zaharia and their daughter Ana Teodora Dragus. The textile collection, formed during the last four decades, encompasses approximately 12,000 textiles and tools. Its focus is on textile materials and techniques used worldwide. The Muzeul Textilelor is the first museum of its kind in Romania and, to our knowledge, in all of Eastern Europe.
The two inaugural exhibitions reflect the type of collection the Museum houses, and its mission. Textiles-Art and Necessity: Highlights of the Muzeul Textilelor Collection displays examples of textiles from various cultures including fabrics made of a wide range of textile fibers, as well as tools, costumes and accessories, and textiles for interiors. The Mathematics of Weaving: Work by the Students of Hunedoara County, at the Museum’s Art Café, demonstrates our commitment to working with the young members of the community. Both exhibitions are curated by Florica Zaharia.