Mircea Suciu Romanian, b. 1978

Mircea Suciu (b.1978, Baia Mare, RO) lives and works in Cluj-Napoca (RO). His work navigates the intersection of figuration and abstraction, exploring the psychological and socio-political tensions of contemporary society. Drawing from a wide array of sources, Suciu reinterprets and transforms imagery into a deeply personal and unique visual language, where the layering of meaning is as important as the layering of materials. His paintings, often composed of stark black-and-white photographic imagery set against richly colored backgrounds, grapple with themes of fear, violence, power, and the weight of history.

Raised in communist Romania, Suciu developed a keen awareness of how images can be manipulated to shape perception. This early exposure to the power of visual culture laid the foundation for his artistic inquiry. Suciu’s thematic concerns are broad yet deeply interconnected, ranging from the psychological impact of trauma to the mechanisms of control and oppression. His paintings often reflect on Romania’s transition from communism to capitalism and globalization, embedding cultural and historical collisions within his work. Classical references—from Greek antiquity to Renaissance artists like Botticelli and Baroque masters such as Velázquez—serve as anchors for contemporary issues such as racism, colonialism, and societal unrest.

Employing a distinctive technique that combines monotype, oil, and acrylic, Suciu constructs layered compositions that are both visually arresting and conceptually charged.  At the core of Suciu’s work is a meticulous process of image-making. He transfers photographic images onto canvas, which he then reworks with paint, creating a grid-like surface that embraces chance and imperfection. His imagery is drawn from a vast archive, spanning historical artworks, altered photographs, and contemporary media. This synthesis of references allows him to create compositions that oscillate between past and present, questioning the continuity of power structures, ideologies, and human struggles. His approach is not didactic but investigative, positioning him as a critical observer. 

After studying at the University of Art and Design in Cluj, where he earned his master’s degree in 2005, he spent a formative year in Palermo, Italy, working on Baroque painting restoration. This experience profoundly influenced his approach, leading him to experiment with texture, and layering as fundamental aspects of his practice.  Although often associated with the "Cluj School"—a group of Romanian artists, including Adrian Ghenie and Victor Man, who emerged from the same academic environment—Suciu remains skeptical of rigid classifications. He describes himself not as a painter, but as an "image maker," emphasizing his fascination with constructing powerful visual statements rather than adhering to traditional painterly conventions. His practice is rooted in a continuous dialogue between personal experience, historical consciousness, and formal experimentation. 

Mircea Suciu has exhibited extensively on the international stage, with solo presentations at SAC (Bucharest) and National Museum of Contemporary Art (Bucharest). He has participated in various biennials and triennials, including the Bruges Triennial, the Gwangju Biennale in South Korea, the 4th Prague Biennale, 11th Istanbul Biennial, 16th Vilnius Painting Triennial and the Timisoara Biennial. His work has featured in group exhibitions such as MARe Museum of Recent Art (Bucharest), Kunstmuseum Bochum, Weserburg Museum (Bremen), Museum Beelden aan Zee (The Hague), Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Espace Louis Vuitton (Paris), Fondation Francès (Senlis), Maison Particulière (Brussels), MODEM Center for Modern and Contemporary Art (Debrecen) and Budapest Hall of Art. His contributions to contemporary discourse have been widely documented in publications like Artpress, Flash Art, and Artnews, and his work has been the subject of books such as Hotel Empathy, A Touch of Evil, and The Light of Recent Events.