Ivan

Gavril Pop uncovers hidden nuances through meticulous and repetitive acts and explores the transformative potential of gestural processes and repetition. The accumulations and variations of his objects, from infinite configurations of geometric shapes to letters and puzzles emptied of meaning, are an invitation to probe one’s subjectivities and experiences. In his artistic practice, he is interested in the visualization of cognitive processes and the conjunction of elements of knowledge. He is also concerned with the relationship between the general public and art and constantly collaborates with foundations and associations in Timisoara in cultural mediation programs dedicated to contemporary art exhibitions.

Gavril Pop (b.1998, Timișoara) holds a bachelor’s degree in painting from the Faculty of Arts and Design, West University of Timisoara where he continued his master’s studies in heritage, restoration and curatorial studies. His recent projects in 2023 include 1:1 duo show together with Giulia Crețulescu at Ivan Gallery, Bucharest; Make a Wish exhibition together with Lucian Barbu at Balamuc,Timișoara; THE TWIST. Five Provincial Stories from an Empire, group show curated by Celia Ghyka and Călin Dan at Kunsthalle Bega, Timișoara. Gavril Pop has also conducted workshops such as You are Here. Actions and Emotion within the exhibition Performing 89 (curated by The Institute of Present, Faber, Timisoara) that took place between 11-13 October 2023 in Timisoara; ALB16 (1991) within the artistic residency at the Colegium: Art and Society in the 90s in Romania which took place between 22-25 May 2023. He is also concerned with the relationship between the general public and art and constantly collaborates with foundations and associations in Timisoara in cultural mediation programs dedicated to contemporary art exhibitions. He has published critical texts in the magazines Arta and 22. As an artist he has collaborated with independent spaces and artistic platforms such as Lapsus, Draft, Secret Garden (Timișoara), Camera (Cluj) and recently participated in the artistic residency program of niki e.v. in Hannover. He is also member of Balamuc artist run space and Indecis.

Ivan Gallery opened in 2007 as a private initiative in the still young Romanian gallery scene. The gallery’s programme started with local, Eastern European artists – be it established ones, such as Geta Brătescu, Paul Neagu, Lia Perjovschi or, more recently, Ion Grigorescu, as well as emergent ones – the duos Silvia Amancei & Bogdan Armanu, Anca Benera & Arnold Estefan, Cristina David, Ștefan Sava or Iulia Toma – aiming at making available their works and projects to a broader, international audience. We also represent Romanian artists living and working abroad, such as Bartha Sandor or Mădălina Zaharia, alongside foreign artists, such as Elijah Burgher, Ross Taylor, and Jaro Varga. The gallery’s focus has been on supporting the career of artists with an articulate, conceptual artistic discourse, while at the same time documenting and exhibiting internationally the conceptualist and experimental practice of insufficiently known Romanian artists active in the second part of the 20th century, such as Horia Bernea, Simona Runcan, and Florina Coulin. Ivan Gallery is the main gallery representing the Romanian artists Geta Brătescu and Paul Neagu and the first one to have shown their works in an international contemporary artistic context. The gallery has a fruitful collaboration with art institutions, supporting museum exhibitions for the represented artists.