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SERBAN SAVU: Close to Nature,

September 14 - October 21, 2011

SERBAN SAVU: Close to Nature

Past exhibition
  • Overview
  • INSTALLATION SHOTS
  • Press
  • Publications
  • Artist
  • Overview

    David Nolan Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Şerban Savu: Close to Nature on Thursday, September 15, from 6-8 PM. The exhibition runs through October 22, 2011.

    Şerban Savu (b. 1978) looks back at the history of landscape painting in his melancholic and elegant portraits of Romania. Since the fall of the Ceaușescu regime in the early 1990’s, block style housing, abandoned factories and incomplete public projects blight the Romanian countryside and urban neighborhoods. With a sympathetic eye, Savu observes the members of this newly democratic society outdoors in various stages of work and play. There is always a subtle friction in the paintings, an incongruity between the architecture, setting, and the presence of working class people trying to create a new and different life for themselves amidst the rapid and bewildering changes in the country after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The faces of the ordinary men, women, and children in Savu’s paintings are impressionistically blurred to preserve their anonymity; he observes these figures from his studio window or during walks, isolated in a scene, dwarfed by buildings or wide-open sky. When Savu does hone in on figures, they have the straightforward, modern presence of a portrait by Edouard Manet or a scene from Georges Seurat. They possess a quiet dignity bereft of any glorification or nostalgia, in sharp contrast to the heroic triumphalism present in Social Realism from the previous generation. The “New Man” of the Communist era, a fallen ideal, now strives to be “close to nature” in order to write a new history.

    We are also excited to announce the release of a new monograph, Şerban Savu: 2005-2010, published by Hatje Cantz, with texts by David Cohen (artcritical.com) and Rozalinda Borcila.

    Savu was most recently featured in his first solo museum show at the Pritzhanger Manor Gallery and House in Great Britain. His work has been included in many group shows internationally, including the Prague Biennial (2007) and the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art (2011). This is the artist’s second exhibition with David Nolan Gallery.

  • INSTALLATION SHOTS

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    • Serban Savu Bulgaria, 2011 oil on canvas 50 3/4 x 74 7/8 inches 129 x 190 cm
      Serban Savu
      Bulgaria, 2011
      oil on canvas
      50 3/4 x 74 7/8 inches
      129 x 190 cm
    • Serban Savu Close to Nature, 2011 oil on canvas 11 3/4 x 15 3/4 in 30 x 40 cm
      Serban Savu
      Close to Nature, 2011
      oil on canvas
      11 3/4 x 15 3/4 in
      30 x 40 cm
    • Serban Savu End of Program, 2011 oil on canvas 13 3/4 x 19 3/4 inches 35 x 50 cm
      Serban Savu
      End of Program, 2011
      oil on canvas
      13 3/4 x 19 3/4 inches
      35 x 50 cm
      Inquire
      %3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3ESerban%20Savu%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3EEnd%20of%20Program%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22comma%22%3E%2C%20%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E2011%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3Eoil%20on%20canvas%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E13%203/4%20x%2019%203/4%20inches%3Cbr/%3E35%20x%2050%20cm%3C/div%3E
    • Serban Savu Epiphany, 2011 oil on canvas 13 3/4 x 19 3/4 inches 35 x 50 cm
      Serban Savu
      Epiphany, 2011
      oil on canvas
      13 3/4 x 19 3/4 inches
      35 x 50 cm
      Inquire
      %3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3ESerban%20Savu%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3EEpiphany%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22comma%22%3E%2C%20%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E2011%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3Eoil%20on%20canvas%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E13%203/4%20x%2019%203/4%20inches%3Cbr/%3E35%20x%2050%20cm%3C/div%3E
    • Serban Savu Epiphany II, 2011 oil on canvas 11 7/8 x 15 3/4 inches 30 x 40 cm
      Serban Savu
      Epiphany II, 2011
      oil on canvas
      11 7/8 x 15 3/4 inches
      30 x 40 cm
    • Serban Savu Iara Valley, 2011 oil on canvas 34 1/4 x 47 1/4 in (87 x 120 cm)
      Serban Savu
      Iara Valley, 2011
      oil on canvas
      34 1/4 x 47 1/4 in (87 x 120 cm)
      Inquire
      %3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3ESerban%20Savu%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3EIara%20Valley%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22comma%22%3E%2C%20%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E2011%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3Eoil%20on%20canvas%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E34%201/4%20x%2047%201/4%20in%20%2887%20x%20120%20cm%29%3C/div%3E
    • Serban Savu Intervention Team, 2011 oil on canvas 13 3/4 x 19 3/4 inches 35 x 50 cm
      Serban Savu
      Intervention Team, 2011
      oil on canvas
      13 3/4 x 19 3/4 inches
      35 x 50 cm
    • Serban Savu Neighbors & Friends, 2011 oil on canvas 15 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches 40 x 30 cm
      Serban Savu
      Neighbors & Friends, 2011
      oil on canvas
      15 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches
      40 x 30 cm
    • Serban Savu New Road, 2011 oil on canvas 11 7/8 x 15 3/4 inches 30 x 40 cm
      Serban Savu
      New Road, 2011
      oil on canvas
      11 7/8 x 15 3/4 inches
      30 x 40 cm
    • Serban Savu Pleasant Chat, 2010 oil on canvas 13 3/4 x 17 3/4 in (35 x 45 cm)
      Serban Savu
      Pleasant Chat, 2010
      oil on canvas
      13 3/4 x 17 3/4 in (35 x 45 cm)
      Inquire
      %3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3ESerban%20Savu%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3EPleasant%20Chat%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22comma%22%3E%2C%20%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E2010%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3Eoil%20on%20canvas%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E13%203/4%20x%2017%203/4%20in%20%2835%20x%2045%20cm%29%3C/div%3E
    • Serban Savu South, 2011 oil on canvas 15 3/4x 11 7/8 inches 40 x 30 cm
      Serban Savu
      South, 2011
      oil on canvas
      15 3/4x 11 7/8 inches
      40 x 30 cm
    • Serban Savu The Bathers, 2010 oil on canvas 74 7/8 x 106 3/8 inches 190 x 270 cm
      Serban Savu
      The Bathers, 2010
      oil on canvas
      74 7/8 x 106 3/8 inches
      190 x 270 cm
    • Serban Savu The Brick Factory, 2011 oil on canvas 55 1/2 x 74 7/8 in (141 x 190 cm)
      Serban Savu
      The Brick Factory, 2011
      oil on canvas
      55 1/2 x 74 7/8 in (141 x 190 cm)
      Inquire
      %3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3ESerban%20Savu%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3EThe%20Brick%20Factory%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22comma%22%3E%2C%20%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E2011%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3Eoil%20on%20canvas%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E55%201/2%20x%2074%207/8%20in%20%28141%20x%20190%20cm%29%3C/div%3E
    • Serban Savu The Card Players, 2011 oil on canvas 53 1/8 x 70 7/8 in (135 x 180 cm)
      Serban Savu
      The Card Players, 2011
      oil on canvas
      53 1/8 x 70 7/8 in (135 x 180 cm)
      Inquire
      %3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3ESerban%20Savu%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3EThe%20Card%20Players%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22comma%22%3E%2C%20%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E2011%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3Eoil%20on%20canvas%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E53%201/8%20x%2070%207/8%20in%20%28135%20x%20180%20cm%29%3C/div%3E
    • Serban Savu The Ice Hole, 2011 oil on canvas 35 3/4 x 51 1/4 inches 91 x 130 cm
      Serban Savu
      The Ice Hole, 2011
      oil on canvas
      35 3/4 x 51 1/4 inches
      91 x 130 cm
  • Press

    • News

      Serban Savu at David Nolan Gallery

      Lloyd Wise · Artforum December 1, 2011
      Şerban Savu belongs to a loose-knit group of young Romanian painters based in Cluj-Napoca, a Transylvanian college town some eighty miles from Hungary. His subject is blue-collar work and leisure...
  • Publications
    • Şerban Savu: Paintings 2005-2010

      Şerban Savu: Paintings 2005-2010

      2011 Read more
  • Artist
    • SERBAN SAVU

      SERBAN SAVU

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