When you hear the word church, I suppose everyone thinks of church services, religious ceremonies and so on. Well, that's the scope of the church in the first place, but does not mean it has to be limited only to those activities. Today I went to visit an art exhibition hosted by the Unitarian Church of Targu Mures (Marosvásárhely). It may be strange to hear about an art exhibition in a church, but it is a very good idea in my opinion. Every church has a conference or let's call it meeting room, so why not? This way they can give a helping hand to artists too. There's no entrance fee by the way and visitation is open to anyone.
The church was built in Secession-style and was inaugurated in 1930, so at the end of this decade it's going to celebrate 100 years of existence.
As you enter the building, the hallway is impressing already. The walls are decorated by linocut or lino print artworks, all featuring Unitarian churches, from different villages.
The devil in me could not resist the temptation and I made this black and white photo, which gives back the atmosphere of those years when the church was built. I love it! Love it! Love it! I can't explain why I am so drawn to this style, but while I was walking out was thinking I would love a staircase like that.
This particular photo has no artistic value, if you're not counting the linocuts and unless you see what I want to show you. Looks at how deep the doorway is. That means the wall is that thick. Not something you see built these days.
The exhibition room is not big, which is actually a good thing as it makes it cozy.
The artworks were numbered and as I entered the room, there was an old couple in one end of the room, so i thought it would be polite not to bother them and start at the other part. This is when I realized I'm going backwards, but who cared as there is no rule about which part to start at.
When I saw the two paintings above, I started to smile. It may not mean much to you, but I recognized both places and it felt good. These paintings are featuring the medieval fortress of Targu Mures. The one on the left is a street view of one of the bastions with the reformed fortress church in the back. The other painting on the right is a segment of the brick wall of the fortress. The artist is a local, so no wonder these scenes have inspired her.
This is a photo of the fortress' wall.
This was where my eyes started to open. I was wondering, can you guess what I saw here that liked so much? Maybe, maybe not, but I'll tell you anyway.
This was one of the paintings I loved. Judging from the scene, this must be a scene from the streets of Sighisoara, a Transylvanian, medieval city that you must visit if you are in that area.
This was the other one, also from Sighisoara and I'm sure of that. Later I saw the price list and my suspicion was confirmed. I would be glad to hang this on my wall, but did not buy it.
Autumn is always present in art, especially when it comes to painting.
There are two paintings on the wall, but those may not be the highlight of this photo. Unfortunately I don't know who's head is on the fireplace, but the fireplace was more interesting to me. These fireplaces are as old as the building maybe. These were widely used back then, with wood and charcoal. Now it's just a decoration and a reminder of those past times.
These stones were not part of the exhibition, but looked cool. Each of them has a year painted on them, so these are not new either.
I've been to a bunch of exhibitions and what I have noticed lately is how much the frame and the framing counts to me. I knew that a lot depends on the framing, but seeing different frames I have quite a few preferences. I love this one too, I think it's perfect for this lovely painting.
Is it possible to like a painting, due to the frame? I don't know, but I like this one. The proportion between the thickness of the frame and the size of the painting is not the usual, but in my eyes that is a plus, not a disadvantage.
Blogging about exhibitions for me a lot of fun and the huge advantage is that what you can't see or don't notice at the exhibition, can see at home, browsing through the photos. And this is how I noticed some similarities between the above painting and the one that is the third up from here. Look at the reflection. You should see the trees, but instead you see only some naked branches. I suppose it would have been difficult to paint the exact reflection. But I think only crazy people can see that.
Anyway, it was a very nice exhibition and I'm glad I could attend as it ends on Friday. Next week there will be another one.