Galateca Gallery in Bucharest was invited by the Romanian Cultural
Institute to itinerate the exhibition ‘Măiastra – The Untold Story of the Romanian
Blouse’ in Bern between 9-14 September and Dublin between 14-24 October, part
of the Romanian Days celebrated in these two cities.
“Măiastra - The
Untold Story of the Romanian Blouse” is an
exhibition which focuses on “IA” or the Romanian Blouse as a symbol of Romanian identity
and showcases a selection of museum quality blouses presented as an art
installation. Either it was for celebration, ceremony or for everyday use, the
Romanian blouse was considered a sacred garment which accompanied women
throughout their life. Nowadays, IA is still part of the collective memory and
is now increasingly present in everyday fashion and patrimonial discourses. The
installation of blouses is accompanied by famous archive photographs of Queen
Marie of Romania dressed in traditional Romanian costume, a series of over 100
unique inter-war period photographs from the collection of British
anthropologist Beryl de Zoete and texts from anthropological and ethnographic
books, revealing the hidden meaning of the signs embroidered on each blouse.
The exhibition will include artworks by two contemporary
Romanian artists Vlad Țenu and Aurel Tar, who have been inspired by the
patterns on the Romanian Blouses, and a selection of object and fashion designs
inspired by Romanian ethnographical elements, such as Ziurel, Furga Murga,
UnacaLuna, RONATIV, The Craft Lab, Iutta and LANA from NeoGalateca Gallery
Shop.
This is a collaborative
project of GALATECA Gallery of Contemporary Art and Design in Bucharest
inspired by La Blouse Roumaine community, organised in partnership with Romanian Cultural
Institute and Horniman Museum in London.