WIN Gallery concluded 2024 with an impressive array of events, solidifying its position as a benchmark of excellence in promoting Romanian and international art. The gallery's commitment to education through art, ideas, and human relationships was evident in each of this year’s initiatives, all aligned with its mission to bring art back to the core of cultural life.

This year, the gallery brought to the forefront Romanian and Spanish audiences a stellar lineup of artists, including Corneliu Drăgan, Marcel Lupșe, Laurențiu Midvichi, Gabriel Caloian, Horia Roșca, Daniela Grapă, Carmen Marin, Constantin Pacea, Marinela Măntescu-Isac, and many others. In addition to exhibitions, the gallery participated in public cultural events, aiming to promote Romanian culture and rekindle art’s connection to people.

The spring of 2024 opened festively with the Fiesta del Mărțișor collection, organized in collaboration with the Romanian Consulate General in Seville. WIN Gallery showcased a floral-themed exhibition featuring works by 10 contemporary Romanian artists. Highlighting the symbolic and cultural importance of this spring celebration, the exhibition brought the fresh and hopeful spirit of a new beginning to the Iberian space.

At the same time, with support from the Romanian Cultural Institute in Madrid, WIN Gallery unveiled Tocados por el mar, an exhibition designed to stimulate the senses with 40 paintings at the 43rd edition of ARCO Madrid International Art Fair. These artworks explored diverse perspectives on nature, from unique interpretations of wind to abstract marine landscapes, stirring profound emotions in viewers.

In the wake of these Spanish exhibitions, Connecting Worlds launched at WIN Gallery in Bucharest, merging the paintings of Gabriel Caloian with the sculptures of Ion Iancuț and Bogdan Hojbotă. As the title suggests, the collection aimed to connect the personal worlds of these artists, inviting audiences to peer into their creative universes through evocative sculptures and vivid paintings.

The summer season began with Horia Roșca's solo exhibition, Devotion to Detail, which emphasized attention to detail and the interaction of spaces through abstract and synesthetic dynamics. Roșca masterfully combined elements of classical and contemporary art, creating bridges to the essence of things through detailed exploration.

As Nietzsche once said, “Autumn is more of a soul’s season than nature’s.” True to this sentiment, Daniela Grapă unveiled her collection, Passions of the Soul, at WIN Gallery in September. Her paintings, often unsettling, brought intense emotional introspection to the forefront, offering universal emotions a vivid form. The exhibition became a moment of deep reflection for all attendees.

In October, Carmen Marin opened the door to a dreamlike space with her exhibition, Beyond the Ordinary. With a mastery of artistic expression, the artist guided viewers through memories and dreams, blurring the line between reality and imagination. Her works evoked strong emotions, creating a refuge where one could retreat. Concurrently, WIN Gallery exhibited her works alongside those of Constantin Pacea in a dual collection that showcased its presence both internationally and in Romania, at WIN Gallery and MNAC.

The final vernissage of the year in November celebrated Marinela Măntescu-Isac with the retrospective collection, Retrospective, paying tribute to her remarkable career. With a reputation of high esteem, Măntescu-Isac displayed works capturing themes of appearance versus essence. Her paintings, featuring still-life scenes, natural landscapes from Turkey, Bulgaria, and Greece, and compositions with various objects, were imbued with pearly and glassy colors that added distinct personality. The result was a profound retrospective of her life’s work.

For WIN Gallery, 2024 was a demonstration of excellence in supporting and promoting art. Through diverse exhibitions, the constant presence of high-ranking representatives from the Ministry of Culture, collectors, diplomats, and art enthusiasts, and its active role on the international stage, the gallery succeeded in building bridges between tradition and innovation, between local and global art.

WIN Gallery proved to be not just an exhibition space but a meeting place for ideas and emotions, reaffirming Romanian cultural values in an international context. Looking ahead, the gallery promises to continue its remarkable journey, offering the public new and transformative aesthetic experiences.

Ph.D. Researcher Andrei FĂȘIE