About

Mona Vâtâmanu (born 1968) and Florin Tudor (born 1974) are artists, working together since 2000. Their artistic practice consists of film, photography, painting, performance, and site-specific projects. On the occasion of their exhibition Surplus Value at BAK, basis voor actuele kunst (06.09–09.11.2009), Vâtâmanu and Tudor took part in BAK’s Research-in-Residence program in 2009. Previous residencies include: FRAC|Nord – Pas de Calais, Dunkerque (2008); Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw (2008); Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Berlin (2006); and Project Room, Ludwig Museum, Budapest (2003). Recent solo exhibitions include: Graphisches Kabinett, Secession, Vienna (upcoming, fall 2009); Appointment with History, Lombard-Freid Projects, New York, 2008; August, Andreiana Mihail Gallery, Bucharest, 2008; Living Units, Mercer Union, Toronto, 2008; and Re-animating the city, Cooper Gallery, Dundee, 2006. Recent group exhibitions include: Liquid times, Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster (upcoming, fall 2009); Pièces de résistance: Forms of Resistance in Contemporary Art, Kunstmuseum Thun, Thun (upcoming, fall 2009); Nothing is worth more than this day, Andreiana Mihail Gallery, Bucharest, 2009; Blind Spots, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien, Vienna, 2009; Sounds and Visions, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, 2009; 5th Berlin Biennial, Kunst-Werke Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, 2008; Art as Gift, Periferic Biennial 8, Iaşi, 2008; Like an Attali Report, but different. On fiction and political imagination, Kadist Art Foundation, Paris, 2008; Since we last spoke about monuments, Stroom Den Haag, The Hague, 2008; Dada East? Romanian Context of Dadaism, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, 2008; Atomized, De Veemvloer, Amsterdam, 2008; Low-Budget Monuments, 52nd Venice Biennale, Romanian Pavilion, Venice, 2007; The Building Show, Exit Art Gallery, New York, 2007; Der Prozess, Collective memory and social history, Prague Biennale 3, Prague, 2007; and How to Do Things? In the Middle of (No)where…, Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Berlin, 2006. In addition the artists regularly participate in numerous festivals, screening programs, and curatorial projects. Vâtâmanu and Tudor live and work in Bucharest.

During their residency, the artists worked on the preparations and new productions for the exhibition Surplus Value, the most extensive overview on their work to this date, and the first research exhibition within BAK’s long-term project Former West. For Surplus Value Vâtâmanu and Tudor produced a number of major new works, such as the installation Lingouri de rugina[Rust Ingots], the installation Calea [The Path], the film Plus valoarea [Surplus Value], and new paintings in the series Intalnire cu Istoria Appointment with History. On the occasion of the exhibition the artists also collaborated with BAK on their first monograph, Mona Vâtâmanu and Florin Tudor, published by BAK and post editions, Rotterdam. Additional film material for new productions, to be included in upcoming solo exhibitions, was also shot in Utrecht during the artists’ residency.