VICTOR MAN


VICTOR MAN

‘Man puts together art history, personal life, religion, sex, and the subconscious on canvas, refusing to discard anything vague, to obliterate obscurity, and to counter instead the dissimulated rational clarity and theoretical pride of so many advanced artists.

Fully melancholic, cold but contorted, Victor Man shuns anything jocular, anything that solves problems in an illuminating way. Until recently he had to cover up this Romantic embrace of the purity of the soul and the ensuing damnation by disseminating cultural allegories with fabricated cognitive clues, inside of which an actually obscure, muddy subjectivity thrived, impenitently bathing in nonsense, abjection, and anxiety. The blacks only signaled the dark path through memory, oblivion, obliteration and objectless nostalgia. A true anti-Gauguin, Victor Man found Tahiti right in his studio, inside nearby museums. Folded textiles replaced ripe fruits, lead moonlight replaced the scorching sun.’

E. Kessler, ‘Every Lead Evening’, in Victor Man, exh. cat., Berlin: Galerie Neu / Cologne: Walther König, 2020, p. 18.

Image: Untitled (From Wounds and Starry Dreams), 2022, oil on canvas. Photo: def image

Biography


VITA

1974

Born


2007

Represented Romania at the 52nd International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia


2014

Deutsche Bank Artist of the Year


Lives in Europe across several cities

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Centre Pompidou, Paris

Centre International d'Art et du Paysage, île de Vassivière

Collection of Contemporary Art of the Federal Republic of Germany, Bonn

David Roberts Collection, London

Deutsche Bank Collection, Berlin

Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin

Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo (GAMeC), Bergamo

Kadist Art Foundation Collection, Paris / San Francisco

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (MUDAM), Luxembourg

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam

National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC), Bucharest

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Städel Museum, Frankfurt

Tate, London

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024

Gladstone Gallery, New York


2023

The Lines of Life
Städel Museum, Frankfurt


2022

Eyelids, Towards Evening
Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin

From Wounds and Starry Dreams
Galerie Max Hetzler, Paris (catalogue)


2021

1837, Abbozzo per un Autoritratto
Sant’Andrea de Scaphis, Rome


2020

Die Rose ist ohne Warum. Sie blühet, weil sie blühet
Galerie Neu, Berlin


2018

Flowering Ego
Gladstone Gallery, New York

The Chandler
Museo Tamayo, Mexico City

Entrelacs (duo show with Navid Nuur)
Centre d'Édition Contemporaine, Geneva


2017

Blum & Poe, Tokyo

Fürstenberg Zeitgenössisch, Donaueschingen


2016

Luminary Petals on a Wet, Black Bough
Galeria Plan B, Berlin

MD72 / Galerie Neu, Berlin


2015

Gladstone Gallery, New York


2014

Zephir
Deutsche Bank Kunsthalle, Berlin; also travelled to:
Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw;
Haus der Kunst, Munich


2013

The Third Cover
Galerie Neu, Berlin

In un altro aprile
Villa Medici – French Academy, Rome

Szindbád
Gladstone Gallery, Brussels


2012

Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg

The White Shadow of His Talent
Blum & Poe, Los Angeles


2011

Lazarus Protocol
Transmission Gallery, Glasgow

The Painting, the Drawing, and Other Objects and Situations (duo show with Dan Perjovschi)
Kunsthalle Lingen; also travelled to:
Overbeck-Gesellschaft, Lübeck


2010

The Dust of Others
Galleria Zero, Milan


2009

If Mind Were All There Was
Hayward Gallery Project Space, London

Gladstone Gallery, New York

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam

Centre International d'Art et du Paysage, île de Vassivière


2008

attebasile
Ikon Gallery, Birmingham

Black Hearts Always Bleed Red
Blum & Poe, Los Angeles

On relative loneliness
Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GAMeC), Bergamo


2007

Without going into the extravagance that’s in trees
Galleria Zero, Milan

Vestigial specialization on its way out
Johnen Galerie, Berlin

Johnen + Schöttle, Cologne


2006

With the First Totters
Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam

The place I’m coming from
Timothy Taylor Gallery, London


2005

Farewell till next time
Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam

Plan B, Cluj
 

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024

Summer Exhibition
Fondation Beyeler, Riehen

On Paper
Galerie Max Hetzler, Paris

Lacan, the Exhibition. When Art Meets Psychoanalysis
Centre Pompidou-Metz


2023

Looking Anew and Beyond: Contemporary Romanian Art from the Collection of the Arthur Taubman Trust
Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke

Picasso Effect

Museum of Recent Art Bucharest


2022

Notte Oscura – Conversation Piece Part VIII
Fondazione Memmo, Rome

Open Storage: 25 Years of Collecting
The Warehouse, Rachofsky Collection, Dallas 

Interior
Michael Werner, London

Common Ground: UCCA 15th Anniversary Patrons Collection Exhibition
UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Shanghai


2021

Fore-edge Painting
Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome

Carnivalesca. What Painting Might Be
Kunstverein Hamburg

When in Doubt, Go to a Museum
City Museum of Ljubljana


2020

Drawing 2020
Gladstone Gallery, New York

Psychic Wounds: On Art & Trauma
The Warehouse, Rachofsky Collection, Dallas


2019

On the spiritual matter of art
MAXXI Museum, Rome

Werethings
Galeria Plan B, Berlin

La Plage
Galleria Zero, Milan

Claude Mirrors
Schinkel Pavilion, Berlin

Louise Giovanelli
Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester

La Brique, the Brick, Caramida
La Kunsthalle, Mulhouse

Ex-East. Past and recent stories of the Romanian avant-garde
Espace Niemeyer, Paris


2018

Une saison roumaine au Centre Pompidou
Centre Pompidou, Paris

TRICOLOR
MARe – Muzeul de Arta Recenta, Bucharest

Alle. Künstlerinnen und Künstler in der Overbeck-Gesellschaft 1918–2018
Overbeck-Gesellschaft, Lübeck

Contemporary Dialogues with Tintoretto
Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca’ d’Oro, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Palazzo Ducale, Venice

Lilia & Tulipan
Kunsthalle Lingen


2017

In Search of Characters...
Galerie Neu, Berlin

The New Frontiers of Painting
Fondazione Stelline, Milan

Life a User's Manual
Contemporary Art Biennial, Timisoara

The act of drinking a Coke by yourself is the lowest form of art
Fonderia Artistica Battaglia, Milan

Thinking Out Loud: Notes For An Evolving Collection
The Warehouse, Dallas

Pélamide
Gladstone Gallery, Brussels

Con amore più che con amore
Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GAMeC), Bergamo

Open Ended: Painting and Sculpture Since 1900
Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco (SFMOMA)

Dissolve into a red dwarf
Island, Brussels

2016

Identity Revisited
The Warehouse, Dallas

Cher(e)s Ami(e)s: Hommage aux Donateurs des Collections Contemporaines
Centre Pompidou, Paris

These Strangers...Painting and People
S.M.A.K., Ghent

QUAND FONDRA LA NEIGE, OU IRA LE BLANC. Contemporary collecting at Palazzo Fortuny. Artworks from Enea Righi Collection
Palazzo Fortuny, Venice

Track Changes (curated by Plan B)
Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo

DÉPENSES
Labanque, Béthune

Quodlibet
Lempertz, Brussels

Monstres et Madones
Triple V, Paris


2015

All the World’s Futures: 56th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia
Central Pavilion Giardini, Venice


2014

Mirror
Frith Street Gallery, London

20 Years Galerie Neu
Galerie Neu, Berlin

Franz Graf – Siehe was dich sieht
21er Haus - Nationalmuseum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Vienna

States of Mind
Maison Particulière, Brussels

Álmoskönyv
Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw; also travelled to:
Galeria Plan B, Berlin

Vertigo in Painting
Centre D’art du Grand Quevilly

The Empty Pedestal
Museo Civico Archeologico, Bologna

Imitatio Christie's. partoftheprocess6
Galleria Zero, Milan


2013

Utopia Starts Small
12th Fellbach Triennale

Nightfall. New Tendencies in Figurative Painting
Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague

Invited Artist in the Guest Room of Mircea Cantor's Exhibition Q.E.D.
MNAC / National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest

DISLESSICA
Bianca Arte Contemporanea, Palermo

Nur hier: Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn

Ein vages Gefühl des Unbehagens
Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle

GEN X
Museo d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di San Marino

1:1
Atelier 35, Bucharest

partoftheprocess5
Galleria Zero, Milan

Cattedrale
Instituto Svizzero di Roma, Rome


2012

La Triennale. Intense Proximity
Palais de Tokyo, Paris

Six Lines of Flight: Shifting Geographies in Contemporary Art
Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco (SFMOMA)

European Travellers, Art from Cluj Today
Mücsarnok Kunsthalle, Budapest

A House of Leaves
David Roberts Art Foundation, London

Salonul de vara
Galeria Plan B, Cluj

Nightfall
MODEM, Debrecen

Fremde Überall – Foreigners Everywhere

Jewish Museum, Vienna


2011

A Geographical Expression
Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin

Salonul de mai
Galeria Plan B, Cluj

Caderea
Muzeul de Arta, Cluj

Curated by
Galerie Charim, Vienna


2010

14th Vilnius Painting Triennial
Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius

Der Offene Garten
Kunsthalle Lingen

Romanian Cultural Resolution
Spinnerei, Leipzig

Tanzimat
Augarten Contemporary, Belvedere Museum, Vienna

Berlin show #2
Galeria Plan B, Berlin

Household Goods
Haifa Mediterranean Biennale of Contemporary Art, Haifa

The Concrete Garden
off-site project, organised by Centre international d’Art et du Paysage, île de Vassiviére

Antidote 6
Galerie des Galeries, Galeries Lafayette, Paris

PPP, Public Private Paintings
Mu.Zee, Ostend


2009

Sequelism: Part 3 Possible, Probable and Preferable Futures
Arnolfini, Bristol

In the Time of Art
Fundación PROA, Buenos Aires

Biennale Estuaire Nantes / St Nazaire
Frac des Pays de la Loire Fonds Regional d'Art Contemporain, Carquefou

Dreaming the Mainstream
Vilma Gold Gallery, London

When the mood strikes
Museum Dhont-Dhaenens, Deurle

Lesposizione Universale
Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GAMeC), Bergamo

Reframing
Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Andratx (CCA), Mallorca

15th Anniversary Inaugural Exhibition
Blum & Poe, Los Angeles


2008

Wessen Geschichte / Whose (His)story
Kunstverein Hamburg

Locked-in
Casino Luxembourg - Form d'Art Contemporain

Back to Black
Kestner Gesellschaft Hannover, Hanover

Persona
Centre d'Art Contemporain du Parc Saint Léger, Pougues-les-Eaux

Kabul 3000: Love Among The Cabbages
Galleria Zero, Milan

Expenditure, Busan Biennale
Busan Museum of Modern Art

Art Focus 5. International Biennial of Contemporary Art
Jerusalem

Re-Construction. Young Artists Biennial
Bucharest

Berlin show #1
Galeria Plan B, Berlin


2007

Low-Budget Monuments. 52nd International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Vernezia
Romanian Pavilion, Venice

Gesellschaftsbilder
Kunstverein Hamburg

House Trip
Art Forum Berlin

Duet
Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York

Makers and Modelers
Gladstone Gallery, New York

More or less in the same place or another
Galeria Plan B, Cluj

Past, Present, Future Perfect: Selections from the Ovitz Family Collection
H&R Block Artspace, Kansas City Art Institute

Paper Baglady & Other Stories
Timothy Taylor Gallery, London

Prague Biennale 3
Prague

Filaturen
Sies + Höke, Dusseldorf


2006

Farewell to Icon
Anna Helwing Gallery, Los Angeles

Cluj Connection
Haunch of Venison, Zurich

AWOL
Biennial of Young Artists, Bucharest

The Sun on the Wall
Pavel House, Laafeld

Icon
Chung King Project, Los Angeles

Willa Warszawa, Warsaw

partoftheprocess2
Galeria Zero, Milan

Dark Dreams
Johnen + Schöttle, Cologne


2005

Post Fragile
Analix Forever, Geneva

Expanded Painting
Prague Biennale 2

Fragile
Analix Forever, Geneva


2004

Museum of Art, Cluj


2003

City Art Museum Ljubljana, Mestna Galerija 1

Views 2
Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Facing the Real
Artists House, Jerusalem
 

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Victor Man: From Wounds and Starry Dreams, exh. cat., Galerie Max Hetzler Berlin | Paris | London and Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther & Franz König, Cologne, 2023

Victor Man, exh. cat., Berlin: Galerie Neu, 2020

Victor Man: Childhood Drawings for Rózsa, exh. cat., Geneva: Centre D’Edition Contemporaine, 2018

D. Paparoni. Le Nuove Frontiere Della Pittura, exh. cat., Fondazione delle Stelline, Milan; Milan: Skira, 2017

Victor Man: Luminary Petals On A Wet, Black Bough, exh. cat., Berlin: Galeria Plan B / Sternberg Press, 2016

T. Slama, Victor Man, exh. cat., New York, Gladstone Gallery, 2015

Victor Man: Szindbád. Artist of the Year by Deutsche Bank, exh. cat., Berlin: Deutsche Bank / Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2014

If Mind Were All There Was: Nine Themes on Giuseppe Sacchi, exh. cat., Transmission Gallery, Glasgow; Milan: Kaleidoscope Press, 2011

Victor Man: attebasile, exh. cat., Birmingham: Ikon Gallery / Centre international d’art et du paysage de l’île de Vassivière

Y. Dziewior, T. Morton, H.U. Obrist, and A. Rabottini, Victor Man, exh. cat., GAMec, Galleria D’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Bergamo; Zurich: JRP/Rinigier, 2008

B. Schwabsky, Victor Man: The Place I’m Coming From, exh. cat., London: Timothy Taylor Gallery, 2006

Videos


Publications


Victor Man: From Wounds and Starry Dreams

Galerie Max Hetzler Berlin | Paris | London and Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther & Franz König, Cologne 2023
 

€ 40.00

Selected Press


Slash September 2022

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Beaux Arts February 2020

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