EXTENSIVE EXPLORATION OF THIS MOSTLY UNDERGROUND-DADAIST APPROACH

Gheorghe Fikl (born 1968, Timisoara, Romania) is one of Romania’s most original and thought-provoking contemporary artists, firmly established as a master of the neo-Baroque.

Gheorghe Fikl ranks among the most impressive post-Communist Romanian artists in terms of the art collectors keen interest in his works and the appreciation of his market rate. He studied at the Cluj University of Art and at the newly-established University of Art in his native Timisoara; his graduation work of 1998 has since been on permanent display at the University.

Encouraged by professor Romul Nutiu, Fikl’s initial academic formation was in the area of experiment and installation, producing highly original mixed-media works, both in terms of concept and execution.

His extensive exploration of this mostly underground-dadaist approach, where he excelled in the random association of found-objects, prints, painting intervention, photography etc, led him gradually to a special interest in producing striking, unexpected composition, which de-stabilizes the viewer by the powerful contrast of the associated elements.

Free associations and uncommon juxtapositions inspire us, especially when they carry the weight of archetypal values that we inherit generation after generation.

THE TREMENDOUS SUCCESS OF NEW AESTHETICS

This new aesthetics soon became Fikl’s trademark and brought him to the attention of art critics and collectors in Romania, where he enjoyed tremendous success. This was followed by several solo shows in Luxembourg, New York, Lisbon and London, which began to open his work to a global audience.

His 2017 exhibition at the Ajuda National Museum in Lisbon was a turning point, as it presented the artist in a high-visibility international context, in an art space which had shown work by Joanna Vasconcelos and, immediately after Fikl’s show, a new exhibition by Joan Miro.

Gheorghe Fikl’s works have since become part of important private collections in Romania, the United States, Portugal, France, Italy, Andorra, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland and Great Britain – including those of the Prince of Wales Transylvanian collection, The Bonte Foundation, the Maria Nobrega Foundation and the Gordon Watson collection.