Mihai Plătică

Works

Mihai Plătică

”Before graduating with a photography degree in Cluj, I was a professional athlete (long jump), which offered me a quite organized and rational experience. It also probably helped me to define my working technique later on. I have always been interested in the history of the body, the nature of materiality and the universal laws of physics. I like to conceive of objects/sculptures and photographs using scientific theories that allow for a different positioning. My approach is methodical, scientific, rational, but I try to open new perspectives on the world. In my exhibitions I wish to convey an entire mood and not just the object, but its context as well.” – Mihai Plătică

CV

Born in 1983, Brașov. Lives and works in Cluj-Napoca (RO)

STUDIES

2002-2006

University of Art and Design, Cluj-Napoca (RO)

SOLO SHOWS

2024

‘Oh, Be a Fine Girl/Guy, Kiss Me!’, Gaep, Bucharest (RO)

2021

‘Alpher-Bethe-Gamow’, Gaep, Bucharest (RO)

‘Suddenly Clear’ (with Diana Poput), The Art Museum of Cluj-Napoca (RO)

2019

‘Pillars of Creation’, BARIL Gallery, Centrul de Interes, Cluj-Napoca (RO)

2016

‘The Wide Open Skin’, BARIL Gallery, Centrul de Interes, Cluj-Napoca (RO)

GROUP SHOWS

2024

‘Edges of the graph paper’, Zina Project Space, Cluj-Napoca (RO)

2023

‘The Signs for Somewhere and Elsewhere and Here and Now’, Gaep, Bucharest (RO)

2022

‘The Domino Effect 3’, Gaep, Bucharest (RO)

2021

‘The Domino Effect 2’, Gaep, Bucharest (RO)

2020

‘Departures from the Sphere’, Franciscan Church, Cluj-Napoca (RO)

‘Both Ways’, EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF2020), Trieste (IT)

‘Salonul de obiect mic’, Cinema Arta, Cluj-Napoca (RO)

2019

‘Changing Places – Works by Artists of Centrul de Interes’, Institute of Contemporary Art – Dunaújváros (ICA-D) (HU)

Press

“Each photograph I make is based on a specific research model, similar to that used by a scientist. To a certain extent, I apply the same rigorous and analytical method, repeating experiments to validate the concepts I explore. Thus, photography, for me, is not just a way to capture images, but a tool to explore concepts and communicate ideas and emotions. (…) I like to develop series of works in a larger context and conceive them as exhibitions, defining my visual space like a set designer. For me, art has always been a way to understand the world and explore it in depth.”
“Se spune că nu contează ce cameră ai, ci contează cine-i fotograful. Sau artistul, în cazul de față. Când te uiți la o fotografie făcută în munții Apuseni după o furtună foarte puternică, în care devastării care se întrevede în fundal i se opune un prim plan cu flori sălbatice, prima impresie e că aduce mai mult cu un tablou impresionist. Apoi, artistul îți spune că imaginea e făcută cu un aparat digital din anii ‘90, de doar doi megapixeli, și realizezi, din nou, că important e cine e în spatele declanșatorului.”
”Îmi place să creez sentimentul științei în expozițiile mele, încercând a deschide noi puncte de vedere sau a indica o ficțiune. Am dorința de a surprinde întreaga atmosferă, contextul acesteia. Spațiul de sus [al expoziției Alpher-Bethe-Gamow, 8 martie - 6 mai, Gaep] e ca un laborator de lucrări bidimensionale și tridimensionale, iar jos am vrut și mai mult să creez o atmosferă prin ideea de relicve contemporane ale modelelor trecute prin știință.”
”Key components of the exhibition are natural landscapes explored through manipulation of the chromatic model. Whether they focus on the complexity of natural forces or the peculiarity of certain textures of elements found in nature, these works aim to question photography’s ability to capture the complexity of reality. The RGB model thus functions as a unique mediator between art and science, an exercise of visual remediation of the world.”

Exhibitions