SALUT – An exhibition by Romanian artist Matei Bejenaru
Offspace Gallery, Vienna
Gartnergasse 1/7, tel/fax 01 961 98 41
Opening: December 13, 2002, 7-9pm


Matei Bejenaru’s SALUT exhibition is dealing with social and political aspects of gypsie (Roma) communities from different East-European countries. After the collapse of communism, gipsie communities faced different economical and separatist pressures in their countries as well in all Western Europe. The artist is focusing on Romania, the country with the largest gipsie minority in Europe and Czech Republic, where gipsies integration is difficult.
Matei Bejenaru’s art project is trying to create a communicational shortcut between the gipsie communities from the cities of Brno – Czech Republic and Iasi – Romania, by inviting some gipsie people to meet in Offspace Gallery. After a never ending time of international circulation restrictions, both in Romania and Czech Republic, they will have the official right to travel abroad in dignity, because of an art project. Also, two videos with interviews in gipsie language, shoot in Brno and Iasi, will be exhibited in the show.

Matei Bejenaru is a visual artist and curator from Iasi, Romania. In his last art projects he is focusing of social problematics of minorities in his country, as well with the situation of cheep Romanian workers in Europe. In his project “Strawberry Fields
Forever”, from October 2002 he made a research about the situation of Romanian agricultural workers in Catalunyia, Spain.
Matei Bejenaru had different solo shows at ATC Space Chicago in 2000 and at Kulturkontakt Gastatelier in 2002. In 2001 he participated in the Romanian Pavillion at the Venice Biennial, in the frame of “Context” project. He partipated to several Romanian group shows at Ludwig Museum in Budapest (1997), IFA Gallery Berlin (2000). Also, he is the director of Periferic International Biennial for Contemporary Art in Iasi, Romania (more informations on www.periferic.org).