GAEP 2014—2024: 10 years of transformation, and counting
Over 45 exhibitions, 29 international art fair participations, urban interventions, mentoring programs for emerging artists, performances, screenings, artist talks, partnerships with museums and companies, and a relocation – GAEP’s first decade of activity is a story of steady accumulation and transformation. Watch a video with highlights from the last 10 years and check out the timeline below.
Video: Adrian Agheniței
2014
Andrei Breahnă and Raluca Șoaita open Eastwards Prospectus, later rebranded as GAEP. The gallery is meant to be a platform for research and presentation of contemporary art from Eastern Europe. Its first location is a 19th century villa on 50 Plantelor Street.
The first exhibitions – one for each of the two exhibition spaces: upper floor and basement – open in October 2014. In its ten-year history, the gallery presented a total of 47 personal and group exhibitions, including the award-winning Marilena Preda Sânc: Subjective (De)Constructions (Radio Romania Cultural Award 2020, Visual Arts category) and Mircea Stănescu: Meditation upon Measure (Nomination for Radio Romania Cultural Award 2022).
2015
GAEP’s first presentations at international art fairs. A total of 29 participations mark the gallery’s first decade of activity, including two award-winning booths: Special Mention Sardi per l’Arte Back to the Future at Artissima 2017 with a solo presentation by Marilena Preda Sânc and Opening Prize at ARCOmadrid 2019 with a solo presentation by Ištvan Išt Huzjan.
2016
The gallery coordinates Tania Mouraud’s first urban intervention held simultaneously in 9 cities. CTJLFDM (CRIERTOUJOURSJUSQUALAFINDUMONDE) was seen on 91 billboards in Bucharest, Iași, Roman, Bacău, Buzău, Pitești, Craiova, Sibiu, and Cluj.
2019
Eastwards Prospectus becomes GAEP to reflect the new international nature of its portfolio, which features artists from different parts of the world: France, Germany, UK, Brazil, etc.
2021
The start of mentoring programs for emerging artists. The pilot project, called Shortcuts, was followed by four extensive programs under the name ACCELERATOR: in Bucharest, Brașov, Câmpulung, and public spaces in various cities.
2021
GAEP coordinates the restoration of 26 large-scale collages from the 1980s by Mircea Stănescu, paving the way for the artist’s solo exhibition at the National Museum of Contemporary Art – MNAC Bucharest later that year.
2022
Art Set by GAEP is launched. The one of a kind integrated art solution transforms the workplace into a more creative environment through rotating art exhibitions, customized seminars, and interactive workshops for office workers.
2023
The gallery relocates to a 300-sqm custom-designed space on 8 Giuseppe Garibaldi Street. The new location combines the codes of a “white cube” with the specific details of a space built at the end of the 1950s in Floreasca.
2024
On the occasion of GAEP’s 10th anniversary, the exhibition Mnemonics [back to the future] brings together new works by all the 14 artists that the gallery represents or collaborates with on a long-term basis: Răzvan Anton, Pavel Brăila, Felipe Cohen, Vlatka Horvat, Théo Massoulier, Sebastian Moldovan, Tania Mouraud, Damir Očko, Cătălin Pîslaru, Mihai Plătică, Raluca Popa, Marilena Preda Sânc, Mircea Stănescu, Ignacio Uriarte.