Romanian Artist Radu Oreian Brings 'That Magic Light' to NYC

Romanian artist Radu Oreian has brought his latest body of work, "That Magic Light," to 1969 Gallery in Tribeca, offering a new glimpse into the evolving landscape of his creative mind. The exhibition will run through June 21, 2025, and is both a continuation and a departure for Oreian, whose work has previously captivated audiences in London, Prague, Mumbai, and Rome.

"I'm going through a different phase in my work now," Oreian explained. "I changed the way I painted in the last several years, and now I want to put in more emotion, to have the works coming from this energy and not really thinking with my critical mind but rather leave this stream of conscious take over."

Oreian, who lives and works in Marseille, France, has built a career on his ability to weave together disparate strands of history, mythology, philosophy, and pop culture into layered, intricate compositions. "That's the thing that we have to do as artists," he said. "To put ourselves, our lives there and also have some references about the world that we live in and the art history and to squeeze everything on one surface." "That Magic Light" presents paintings that oscillate between figuration and abstraction, filled with nods to Renaissance art, childhood memories, and contemporary culture. "There are elements from my childhood. There are visual references from art history and also small coats on today's world, and they all fit together in one figurative room," he explained.

The show marks a more emotional, intuitive direction for Oreian. "I want to create this alter ego, just to take the camera of one normal day of painting in my studio," he said. "Sometimes the answer is much closer than you think. You don't have to travel far away to talk about things that can be magical." The idea of "magic" isn't simply metaphorical for Oreian. It's rooted in the fleeting moments of daily life-the way light hits a table, the reflections in a glass. "Those reflections can be an instance of this magical light," he said. "I want to capture this bouncing ephemeral moments."

Visitors to the exhibition will be invited to step into these constructed worlds, which Oreian hopes will function almost like portals. "When you look at the collection of them, they do create an atmosphere," he said. "Having these large sizes in the gallery, it's inviting to step into these worlds. That was my intention, at least."

Oreian's artistic vocabulary draws heavily from his European background, with influences ranging from medieval frescoes to Roman mosaics. "My real passion is the medieval and early Renaissance," he said. "But at the same time, I really like the post-impressionist movement. It's extracting things that resonate with me from the last couple of thousand years."

Growing up in Romania-"a crossroads" of empires-also left a mark. "Romania is historically placed between these big empires, the Ottoman empire, the Russian, the Eastern and then the Western world," he explained. "There is a special mix there of all those influences" After years spent living in Berlin and now Marseille, Oreian has absorbed a wide spectrum of artistic influences. "All this baggage is stored somewhere," he said. "Painting for me is the place where I can just put it back into a different shape onto canvas."

The process of preparing for "That Magic Light" has been both demanding and exhilarating. "It's a little bit tight, but it's also fulfilling," Oreian said as he prepared the final pieces for shipment to New York. "Now every day I'm finishing one work. So yeah, the last hundred meters, let's say."

The anticipation of showing his work in New York-a city Oreian describes as giving him "a special buzz"-adds another layer of excitement. "Art is always about the process of creating, but it's also about sharing with people," he said. "To share this moment in which you stay one year in your studio and then you show these new paintings to the world."

Oreian's method for achieving the emotional resonance of his pieces is both deliberate and instinctive. "I kept asking myself this question: How do I do it? What do I paint about?" he said. "Sometimes the answer is really in front of you."

Through ultra-fine brushwork, subtle references, and layers of symbolic imagery, Oreian constructs paintings that reward patient viewers. "It's almost like you want to go into these studios," he said. "To have a painting that is so inviting and lashing details that you want to step into."

Looking forward to the exhibition, Oreian is eager to experience the viewer's journey. "Talking about art can be tricky sometimes," he said with a laugh. "My best way of expressing is still painting, not words."

For visitors to 1969 Gallery, "That Magic Light" offers a rare opportunity: a chance to follow an artist not just through history and culture, but through the intimate, flickering moments that define what it means to see, to feel, and, ultimately, to be.

For more information about Radu Oreian and 1969 Gallery, visitwww.1969gallery.com. Follow the gallery and artist on Instagram at @1969galleryand@raduoreian.