Huguette Caland, Composition, 1980, oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm, MARe/Museum of Recent Art collection,
© Courtesy of the Caland family, photo credits: Courtesy of Ader auction house.
A Gateway to the Present in Contemporary Art
Alexandra I. Mas
Curated by Flavia Frigeri, All Our Todays is a major international group exhibition bringing together over 40 leading contemporary artists from across the world. Through a striking selection of painting and sculpture, the exhibition explores how artists capture the essence of contemporaneity, revealing how the “now” is represented in art.
“The exhibition is organised around a series of thematic constellations, oscillating between abstraction and figuration, that help viewers make sense of the many pathways chosen by international artists in the exploration of the self and the very nature of art, “ tells us curator Flavia Frigeri
At its core, All Our Todays is about color, form, and representation, inviting a deeply emotional and intellectual response to the art on view. It is a kaleidoscope of contemporary artistic visions, spanning the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, and Asia, offering Bucharest a groundbreaking artistic experience—one that, until now, required traveling to Berlin, London, or New York to encounter.
Between Abstraction and Emotion
While much of the exhibition leans towards abstraction, this is not an impersonal or detached minimalism. Instead, it unfolds along two fundamental paths:
One that seeks objective distanciation, where the artist engages in a disciplined dialogue with the self and the rules of the world.
Another that is driven by exaltation and raw subjectivity, where artistic expression follows an intuitive, visceral rhythm, pulsating with emotion, as if carried by a sanguine beat.
By bringing these works together, All Our Todays allows us to recontextualize their significance as living, evolving dialogues. This exhibition is not a showcase of past achievements; it is a germinating present, shaping the future of art and, by extension, our own sense of what comes next.
This exhibition marks an extraordinary achievement, highlighting Romania’s increasing presence on the global art stage. What visitors would typically expect to see in cultural capitals like Vienna, Berlin, or London, they can now experience in Bucharest, a city rapidly cementing its place as a hub for contemporary art in Eastern Europe. All Our Todays is a catalyst for cultural revitalization, shaping the present and future of Romania’s art landscape.
Curated by Dr. Flavia Frigeri, an internationally renowned art historian and curator, the exhibition benefits from her expertise in recontextualizing modern and contemporary art. Currently ‘Chanel Curator for the Collection’ at the National Portrait Gallery, London, Frigeri is at the forefront of reshaping collections through acquisitions and site-specific commissions. Her past curatorial work includes major exhibitions at Tate Modern, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and Turner Contemporary, alongside published works that contribute to expanding art historical narratives.
