Ioana Aron

How does one comprehend a story when encountering it for the first time? And what does one do when the understanding isn't quite clear? Cave of Forgotten Dreams? What does underground fiction look like? How many roles can an artist assume? And just how deep do passions truly run?

How does one unravel the essence of a story upon its initial encounter? And when its meaning remains elusive, how does one navigate its intricate depths? Cave of Forgotten Dreams? Delve into the clandestine realm of underground fiction. Contemplate the myriad roles that artists assume, and ponder the profound reaches to which passions can propel us.

Everything descends, cascading into the depths. Illuminated are those who discern the interplay of opposing forces, interwoven within the tapestry of enigmatic, ecstatic, profound, and paradoxical states. The symphonic compositions of the soul emerge as cave paintings, bearing witness to the troglophile artist's vision. Embodying an internal foundation akin to poetic ruminations, Ioana Aron emerges as a vibrant life force, entwined with the very fabric of human nature. Inscribed upon the panoramic canvas of a visual spectacle, her messages unite exquisite creations with visionary artists like Jenny Holzer and Sophie Calle, etching her place on the shelf of art history. It is Installation Art avant-la-lettre, seductive and sensual, a homage to the dignity of our sentient world.

Multidisciplinary in nature, the artist transcends the confines of the Allegory of the Cave, unexpectedly immersing herself in a 20th-century setting—a space reminiscent of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own. Seamlessly transitioning into the two-dimensional realm, Ioana assumes the role of a performer, deftly unfurling the visual elements of the exhibition through a cinematic endeavor. Overground Reveries: Traces of Self materializes as a short film, an archive document of public happening, capturing the ephemeral yet remarkable essence of a socially engaging experience.

Note to visitors: When you find yourself engaged in moments of gentle meditation, there is no cause for alarm. I recommend taking a look around, as the feelings that arise from within are universal sympathies that even the darkest of souls, willingly or unwillingly, will understand and acknowledge.

"Cave Of Forgotten Dreams" by Ioana Aron was born out of the desire to convey a series of messages, letters, and unspoken thoughts to the partner with whom she spent a period of her life. The initial idea was shaped during the first half of 2023 and started from canvases of various sizes from the series "Letters for My Husband", leading to the directorial composition of rooms featuring paintings, installation, assemblage, and textiles from different stages of creation.

The works have been placed in distinct scenarios. The route begins with the dark road, the cave in which the paintings from the letters series are rendered, arriving in an antechamber, where the spotlight is directed towards the canvas on the wall, "Pain" (2022), which depicts the two partners in a gripping setting, visually charged with a chromatic palette suggestive of emotions and sensations such as passion, mystery, and depth.

"A room of her own" was the structure behind the third set of the exhibition. In fact, it was the area where the artist's performance took place - conceived as a place of mystery, where ideas are physically manifested, and the creative act is revealed in the fullness of the moment. Ioana Aron showed a small part of her interior to the outside, wearing a wedding dress. The chosen dress mirrored, in fact, the painting incorporated in the textile installation in front of the worktable. The source of inspiration for the artist's self-portrait in the sewn materials, which occupy the space where she cut, painted, and attached the messages during the performance, is the work "Bridge with A Cigarette" (1933) by the Czech-born artist, Milada Marešová.

You see, Ioana Aron's body of work in the exhibition "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" is a veiled invitation to introspection. Each work is a universe of raw emotion, composed of fragments of love, vulnerability, passion, and pain - transcending the limits of canvas painting or installation; her creations are a visual narrative of human nature, fragility, resilience of the spirit, and self-discovery. In concluding this rather spiritual journey that Ioana Aron brought down into the physical space of MNȚRplusC, we proposed a participatory action of symbolic release through destruction. The audience did not watch but participated! in an extraordinary, cathartic event that will remain (perhaps) in history, and (certainly) in everyone's memory.

Ultimately, when was the most recent occasion you engaged in the act of deconstructing an exhibition?