Ten knight faces at Simeza

Although he is severely scanning his entire creative life, the artist may look back without anger. He had three personal exhibitions in the United States, others in Japan, Belgium, England, Sweden and Switzerland. On September 1, he is going to open his first personal exhibition at Simeza and he is currently experiencing the emotions of a meeting with the only audience he appreciates and fears: his teachers, friends and fellows from Romania. A crucial point in his artistic biography is the exhibition from Turner Carroll Gallery (USA) back in 1994, named “Master & Apprentice.”

The master was famous Traian Filip, and the apprentice – Matei aerban, who was inaugurating the module (model) of “family” art, of the experience shared between teacher and student in the workshop. Now, when I met him in the space of his studio in Bucharest, in order to get a confession from him, I had to ignore the frenzy with which his own apprentices-colleagues were painting, drawing, sculpting, asking or offering advice.

The spiritual patron, with genuine docility, let himself caught by the creative enthusiasm and competition, serious, but fair, was perfectly rhyming – although this is impossible – with common action and friendship. Matei aerban has already placed on the walls of his studio the first “works” from what is going to be the essence of the future exhibition from Simeza. If I had to put the air breathed by these works in one phrase, I should speak about pre-Raphaelitism, art nouveau, symbolism.

Although the reference to Dante Gabriel Rossetti is obvious in certain pictures, the artist denies the parallelism. The congruence, if one may be found, should be sought for not in manner, aerban says, but in a certain romantic spirit that will explosively conquer the next century. Graduated from the graphic arts section within N. Grigorescu institute, Matei aerban states that his work cannot be named painting, although he uses a brush and colours.

“This clear separation between painting and drawing is usual here. Plastic reality is different though. I am making works, not paintings.”