Public Talk. Anatomy of an Exhibition: TERRA LUCIDA, Kancsura István | Radu Șerban

The Cluj-Napoca Museum of Art, an institution operating under the authority of the Cluj County Council, is organizing a public meeting entitled Anatomy of an Exhibition: Terra lucida on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, at 11:00, in the museum’s Festive Halls.

The event will bring together Prof. Lucian Nastasă-Kovács, manager of the Cluj-Napoca Museum of Art, as moderator; the exhibiting artists Kancsura István and Radu Șerban; and Dr Dan Breaz, curator of the exhibition. The discussion will present the origins, development, and conclusions of the artistic project Terra lucida.

Originally shown at the Galeria Sztuki Współczesnej BWA SOKÓŁ in Nowy Sącz, Poland, between 10 July and 29 August 2026, at the invitation of Małopolskie Centrum Kultury SOKÓŁ, Terra lucida was an international contemporary art exhibition featuring works from the collection of the Cluj-Napoca Museum of Art and from the personal collections of the two artists.

Bringing together painting, drawing, object, digital print, installation, and video, the exhibition proposed both a synthetic and analytical visual discourse, reflecting the evolution and current state of contemporary Romanian art in Transylvania, while also expressing the legacy of Romanian modern art.

The project was made possible through the invitation of Małopolskie Centrum Kultury SOKÓŁ, represented by its director, Andrzej Zarych, and through the sustained support of the Cluj-Napoca Museum of Art, represented by Lucian Nastasă-Kovács. The exhibition aimed to strengthen Polish-Romanian cultural relations. Its Latin title, Terra lucida — meaning “transparent earth” or “luminous earth” in a metaphysical or spiritual sense — was inspired by a phrase from the poetry of Joseph Donahue.

A key role in shaping the exhibition was played by works from the museum’s collection. Kancsura István was represented by The Father of the Prodigal Son from 1982, a significant example of his figurative painting from the 1980s. Radu Șerban was represented by ten works from the series The Image of the Image from 2008, digital prints on canvas that blur the boundaries between photography, printmaking, and painting, while transforming biographical memory into a museum-like visual language.

The association of the two artistic approaches created a visual space in which formal experimentation meets the archaic, and spiritual values intersect with conceptual clarity and visual restraint. In this sense, Terra lucida offered a comprehensive perspective on an important period of contemporary art in Transylvania.