Răzvan Neagoe: Sinegrafia

Arsmonitor, Bucharest, RO

By Maxime Foucquet

January 25, 2024

Arsmonitor is currently showcasing a solo exhibition by Răzvan Neagoe titled Sinegrafia, hoffering an extensive survey of the artist’s evolution over the past two decades, encapsulating key themes, techniques, and recurrent subjects that have defined his body of work. It features various genres such as portraiture, still life, landscapes, and urban scenes, which collectively narrate the artist’s personal journey. However, these representational forms are often challenged and deconstructed by the technical processes involved in darkroom photography and camera work. As a result, we are pleased to discuss Sinegrafia accompanied with a visual anthology of installation views.

The selected works on view highlight the transformation of images into testimonies of photographic anomalies and modifications, moving away from recognizable forms to introspection and experimentation. Neagoe’s method prominently employs the fundamentals of analog photography, accompanied by a variety of experimental techniques. Through this, the imagery undergoes a deep exploration of psychological, existential, and phenomenological themes. Neagoe’s work explores the concept of the “meta-image”—a term introduced by W.J.T. Mitchell, which refers to an “image of the image”—initiating a conscious exploration into the nature and existence of images, a notion indicative of the “iconic turn.”

Neagoe, who trained as a painter under Teodor Moraru and completed his master’s with Mihail Mănescu, brings a painterly perspective to his photographic practice. His interest lies in the concept of the image as a trace, navigating a space where the image transcends its traditional role as a ‘window’—as defined by Alberti in painting—and as a ‘mirror’, as typically represented in photography. His work can metaphorically be seen as a “pictocorrection” of photography or an extension of painting techniques into overexposure. Neagoe combines the technological and chemical expertise of a lab photographer with the artistic sensibility and subjectivity of a studio painter.

The exhibition presents itself as a comprehensive personal essay, continuously probing the core aspects of photography. It extends beyond mere representation, exploring a wide array of technical and technological methods for capturing and developing images. For more information, please consult Arsmonitor’s website here.