WIN Gallery welcomes you to "Ages of a Mirror", an exhibition celebrating the power of image to reveal, to conceal and to distill what remains.
Who am I? Who are you? We introduce each other every day. An exchange of names, ages, professions and passions. Yet to distinguish one another, we need something more. Enter the power of image - a face, a silhouette - that seals our sense of identity. Not only for others, but for ourselves as well, it becomes a bridge from category to individual.
Children, between one and two years old, begin to recognize themselves in the mirror. Not a toy, not another baby, but their own skin and expression. From that point on, the mirror accompanies each of us through life. Perhaps it keeps traces of us long beyond that.
A friendship with the mirror is a delicate matter. A game of habit and need. A jolly, flattering fellow on good days and a mischief that doesn't spare a wrinkle on bad ones. But is it honest? On the surface, it would seem that way. Yet, if we search for the core, for the things that make us who we are, the question branches into countless nuances. Each encounter feels intimate and awkwardly distant. Just like our eyes need light to see, mirrors need time to reflect clearly.
The new exhibition proposed by WIN Gallery - Ages of a Mirror - invites you to go past the classical duality of appearance and essence. Perception is shaped not only by the physical reflection but by a ripening of thought. It is only then that we learn a smile may convey happiness, irony, a shield or social gesture. Would an older Narcis have fallen in love with himself as easily? The refinement of meaning gives even glass a different depth.
Twenty-nine artists contribute to Ms. Marinela Mantescu Isac's curatorial vision, showcasing works of painting, sculpture, textile art and mixed media. Two themes permeate the storyline: image, with its capacity to reveal and conceal and, time, with its skill to distill, to choose what and how remains.
The mirror is not an isolated object but rather a representative of things, places and people that show us who we are. Clear lakes, echoes, another person's gaze. Time does not merely sign the post-scriptum. It is always there as a backdrop. A handful of faded petals. A scent of seasons to come. In profile, looking toward the past, we become infused with all the colors and imprints we carry within. The imperfections and the trials of yesterday shine through as a testimony of resilience. Important and unimportant balance each other differently. Looking the other way, toward the future, we are not only witnesses but architects of our own image.
WIN Gallery engages in cultural initiatives that honor the present but strive to enrich the future, with valuable art, ideas, with actions. It all starts with this question: "Who am I". We can take a minute or a lifetime to answer it. We can start now.
Cristian Pascu - Patron of the Arts
Irina Stoenescu - Chairlady
Catalin Gurita-Manole - Director of Experience
