Augustin Răzvan Radu (b. 1974, Bucharest, Romania)
Short Bio
Augustin Răzvan Radu (b. 1974, Bucharest) is a contemporary artist working primarily in oil painting. His practice centers on thematic series that investigate historical trauma, architecture, vulnerability, and social structures—from the architectural wounds of the 1989 Revolution to modern allegories of survival and isolation. His works are included in private and public collections across Romania and internationally (Canada, Austria, China).
Artist Statement
My artistic practice is rooted primarily in oil painting, supplemented by acrylics and drawn studies that serve as conceptual blueprints for larger visual investigations. Central to my work is the exploration of memory, collective trauma, societal structures, and the silent narratives embedded within human and architectural forms.
Working predominantly in series, I examine moments of historical and personal inflection. From the bullet-pitted facades of the 1989 Romanian Revolution to the claustrophobic isolation of pandemic architecture, my canvases capture space not merely as physical structures, but as witnesses to time and power. Subsequent series—exploring themes ranging from religious iconography and socio-political uniforms to contemporary notions of beauty and survival—further reflect a continuous inquiry into how human vulnerability manifests beneath rigid institutional or cultural surfaces.
Through a dense, deliberate application of paint and a nuanced handling of texture and light, I seek to create a space of confrontation and quiet contemplation—where the canvas functions both as an archive of historical resonance and an open mirror for the viewer.
— Augustin Răzvan Radu
PERSONAL EXIBITIONS:
2022 Through the Looking Glass Dana Gallery, Iasi
2021 MIRRORS (2.0.21) – Senso Gallery, Bucharest, Romania
2019 The imminence of life in the sensitive shell – ArtHalle Gallery, Bucharest, Romania
2019 LSD – GMP Solutions, Bucharest, Romania
2018 S.O.S. – 1001Arte Gallery, Bucharest, Romania
2018 PAN- PAN (Sincere Flight Security Instructions) – Theodor Costescu Palace, Drobeta Turnu-Severin, Romania
2018 Pre-Summer Mood – AHK Romania, Bucharest, Romania
2015 CS 1.9.89 – Jecza Gallery, Timișoara, Romania
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTION):
2022 Tris de pictura Senso Gallery, Bucharest
2022 Why a story rather than the field of it? Senso Gallery, Bucharest
2020 WAS JeTzT? What’s next? – National Library of Romania, Bucharest, Romania
2019 Portretul ilegalistului la 30 de ani – 1001Arte Gallery, Bucharest, Romania
2019 Distant closeness, intimate expanse – FIVE Plus Art Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2019 Filth – LaBorna Gallery, Bucharest, Romania
2018 Work in Progress – ArtHalle Gallery, Bucharest, Romania
2018 National Salon of Contemporary Art – National Museum of Art, Bucharest, Romania
2018 Grup 47 – Caminul Artei – Bucharest, Romania
2018 Personal Abstract – 1001Arte, Bucharest, Romania
2018 Bestiar 2 – 1001Arte Gallery, Bucharest, Romania
2018 Extension + –UNA Gallery, Bucharest, Romania
2018 Metropolis Sancta – 1001Arte Gallery, Bucharest, Romania
2017 Astra Salons – Astra Museum, Sibiu, Romania
2017 National Painting Salon – Caminul Artei, Bucharest, Romania
2016 3rd Edition International Oil Painting Camp – Zhangjiajie, China
2016 Astra Salons – Astra Museum, Sibiu, Romania
2016 The Nature of Artists – Five Plus Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2016 Painting Studio 34 – Căminul Artei Gallery, Bucharest, Romania
2015 International Biennal of Painting – Chisinău, Moldova
2015 Dobrogea interbelica de la Sulina la Balcik – Muzeul of Art, Constanța, Romania
2015 The (Irreversible) Passage of Time – Annart Gallery, Bucharest, Romania
2015 Sweet Concrete – Elite Art Gallery, Bucharest, Romania
2015 The Sense of the Body – Albertina Academy, Turin, Italy
2014 Does Power Seduce the Soul? – Timișoara, Romania
2014 Exhibition of graduates from the Painting Department – UNARTE, Caminul Artei, Bucharest
2014 The Most interesting Fine Art Graduates of 2014 – Stirbei Pallace, Bucharest
2014 150 Years of UNArte. Painting, Graphic Arts, Sculpture – Dalles Hall, Bucharest, Romania
2014 Christianity in Dobrogea – Muzeum of Art, Constanța, Romania
2014 (IN)FINITY WE TRUST – UNA Gallery, Bucharest, Romania
2013 “EXTENSION” – Romalo Castle, Bucharest, Romania
PUBLICATIONS:
2018 TRIBUNA Magazine no. 387/2019
2015 Vol. XIV, LUMINA Magazine, edited by Sarah Lawrence College, New York, America
2015 Catalog IL SENSO DEL CORPO, edited by Academia Albertina di Belle Arti, Torino, Italia
PRIZES:
2016 Diploma scholarship for graduate students awarded by Unicredit Bank Romania
2014 First prize – National painting contest JUVENTUS, organized by TRIADE Foundation, Timișoara, Romania
2011/6 Merit-Based Scholarship, National University of Arts, Bucharest, Romania