A solo exhibition commissioned by the Art Encounters Foundation, Timișoara (Romania), curated by Diana Marincu. Photo: Andrei Infinit.
 
Following the architecture of the space, If a Story is Present is built around a nucleus of works developed over the last five years (2017–2022), engaging with Open Form theory—one of the most experimental approaches to art and architecture conceived by Polish architects Oskar and Zofia Hansen. Their methodology emphasises flexibility, collective participation, the activation of a “perceptive background,” and individual expression—conceptual and pedagogical guidelines that have remained central to their thinking.

A group of young and emerging artists based in Timișoara participated in a mentorship programme connected to the exhibition: Loredana Ilie, Andreea Ioniță, Ana Kun, Bogdan Matei, Teo Papadopol, Gavril Pop, Ioana Terheș, and Mihai Toth.

If a Story is Present proposes extending the institutional and artistic framework into an elastic, non-hierarchical territory, offering conceptual directions through an exploration of decentralised ideas expressed in formal and chromatic typographical language. We further applied these theoretical principles by using visual and text-based exercises to abolish the individuality of the works, segmenting them into “perception tools” that could be reinterpreted through a performative process.

Oskar Hansen’s unrealised museum proposal for Skopje, drafted in 1966 and conceived with multiple patterns of folding and expansion, served as another strong conceptual reference point. The exhibition presents works that engage with manual labour and with the processes of comprehending, interpreting, and representing forms of narration. These narrative strategies intersect with the politics of memory and oblivion, fragmented histories, and fictional or imaginary spaces.

This process required ongoing performativity and an acceptance of mentoring as a practical method for consolidating and sharing knowledge—offering guidance, transforming it into production, and, ultimately, into a display. The works produced on-site were conceptually interconnected and visually and stylistically fluid, allowing for an immersive collaborative process and sustained dialogue.