Galeria Plan B, Berlin · May 1–30, 2026
When you step into Galeria Plan B’s space at Strausberger Platz and stand before the canvases, you cannot help but ask yourself: Is this a painting, a photograph, or a print? The answer actually encompasses all of the above; they are layers upon layers, overlapping one another.
Marieta Chirulescu’s images are simultaneously painting, photography, and print; they are at once copies, reproductions, and entirely original works. After passing through various modes of production between the real and the virtual, they reach their unified and almost definitive forms on the canvas. However, this permeability does not make the works easier to comprehend; on the contrary, it causes the viewer’s perception to constantly slip away just as they think they have grasped it.
The fundamental element defining Chirulescu’s practice is the field of “static noise” composed of muted tones that occupies a large portion of the canvas. In this space, which at first glance appears to be a negative void, the artist primarily intervenes in the peripheral regions, gently incorporating fragments of ordinary reality into the composition. By directly confronting painting’s most deep-rooted issue—its inherent flatness—she pushes the process of transforming perspective and the concern of mimicking reality into an entirely autonomous form.
Among this year’s productions, the work titled Building (2026) stands out, where inkjet printing, textiles, and silk overlap with flawless ambiguity. The artist, who currently teaches at the Kunstakademie Münster, presents the viewer not with her academic persona, but with her investigative side—the one that quietly and persistently experiments within the privacy of her studio.
If your path takes you to Berlin during May, be sure to stop by Strausberger Platz. This exhibition reminds us once again of the profound and productive vein of the Romanian contemporary art scene (especially the famous Cluj school from which Galeria Plan B draws its roots), albeit through a much more conceptual language.
The exhibition is open until May 30; thus, you have until the end of the month to experience this multi-layered journey.
Exhibition Details:
- Venue: Galeria Plan B, Strausberger Platz 1, Berlin
- Dates: Running until May 30, 2026
- Techniques: Inkjet print, oil on canvas, textile, and silk composition.
