SANDWICH LIBRARY

In +AURA, Tudor Ciurescu continues his exploration of contemporary visual culture, while responding site-specifically to the Malmaison Studios—a space laden with history, having once functioned as a political prison. In the very first exhibition in Sandwich Library, Ciurescu makes a historical leap over the concept of aura reclaimed by Walter Benjamin to be an artwork’s unique presence in time and space. Recontextualizing the aura and situating it beyond the mechanical reproduction paradigm of an artwork, the artist unfolds layered, ironic reflections on image-making, personal narrative, and the commodification of presence within both cultural and historical contexts. “Aura Points” operate as a playful yet incisive conceptual framework for measuring one’s social capital—embodying a performative metric of “coolness” and confidence within collective perception. Each action or gesture is loaded with potential: it can either augment or diminish one’s aura, contingent upon the gaze of others. The system is inherently fluid, ironic, and subjective, transforming banal behaviors into value-laden performances. Here, identity becomes a gamified process, where participating in trends, curating fashion statements, or exuding effortless charisma translates into the accrual of aura—a humorous commentary on the spectacle of social validation and the cultural obsession with “coolness.” The chosen intermediality of the works - a monumental digital lightbox, evoking Ciurescu’s painting practice yet fully rendered in virtual space, an oversized 3D-printed sculpture of a book, and a light installation scanning the garden below, gesturing towards the building’s surveillance-laden past, leads to a wry meditation on social dynamics, history, and identity. Through playful, self-referential interventions, Ciurescu explores how contemporary life navigates between sincerity and spectacle, performance and memory—collapsing cultural pasts into meme-like moments where aura points are both earned and spent. 📍Sandwich Library - 137C Calea Plevnei, Malmaison Studios, right wing, 2nd floor __ Tudor Ciurescu (b. 1996, Craiova, Romania) is a visual artist currently living in Lausanne, Switzerland, after graduating from Ecole Cantonale d'Art Lausanne. The creation of images and objects is the basis of his practice. With interest in different narratives such as art history, future paradigms and the collective subconscious. From the intricacies of artificial intelligence to the timeless craft of printmaking, Tudor Ciurescu's work transcends traditional boundaries, offering a captivating journey through the evolving language of the young generation. His art becomes a vibrant tapestry that interweaves threads of tradition and modernity, forming a compelling narrative that resonates with the dynamic interplay between analog and digital. He has participated in group exhibitions at the Museum of Recent Art in Bucharest, Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest, Musee d'Art Romain Lausanne and in various galleries in Lausanne, Bucharest, Amsterdam, Paris, Bratislava or Basel. __ This event is part of the Project “Looking Glass”. A cultural Project co-funded by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. The Project does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. The AFCN is not responsible for the Project content of the project or the manner in which the results of the Project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding recipient