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Iusty Art Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of the exhibition The Garden I Once Had, which for the first time presents the work of two artists — Cătălin DRUMI GRUDCO and Lavinia Maria ONICIUC.
Iusty Art Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of the exhibition The Garden I Once Had, which for the first time presents the work of two artists — Cătălin DRUMI GRUDCO and Lavinia Maria ONICIUC.
The exhibition The Garden I Once Had brings together works that investigate the concept of the garden as a symbol of introspection, of the tension between the ephemeral and the eternal, and of the transformation of memory and perception. Inspired by the metaphor of the hortus conclusus — the enclosed garden — the exhibition proposes a contemporary reinterpretation of this cultural symbol, exploring the garden as a space of fragility, nostalgia, and renewal. In medieval and Renaissance tradition, the hortus conclusus was associated with a sacred sanctuary, enclosed by walls, representing both physical and spiritual protection. This garden symbolized fertility, purity, and the isolation necessary for inner reflection, while also serving as a space for meditation where the balance between nature and order brought peace to the soul. Through its enclosure, the garden became a space separated from the world, a microcosm reflecting the entire universe, a place of regeneration and transformation. In this exhibition, the hortus conclusus is reimagined as a lost, fragile, and inaccessible ideal, an echo of the lost Eden and of memory deteriorating under the pressure of time.
The works in the exhibition propose a dialogue between real and imagined nature, between transience and eternity, between preservation and decay. The garden is seen not only as a physical space but as a liminal one, where memory and time coexist in tension, and the viewer is invited to contemplate the possibility of rediscovering an inner paradise.
Lavinia ONICIUC’s garden is a realm of melancholic chiaroscuro, where the plant life takes on an almost animistic presence. Dusk becomes a moment of revelation, and the artist’s paintings capture the mysterious spectacle of nature as silence envelops the garden. Through meticulous details and a palette of melancholic tones, Lavinia creates a subtle connection between viewer and the beauty of ephemerality, inviting introspection and a rediscovery of the world’s hidden order.
Cătălin Drumi Grudco’s works explore the profound dimensions of human psychology, focusing on the transformative power of dreams and memory. Using the layered texture of oil paint, the artist creates a visual metaphor that evokes how memories and dreams accumulate over time, each layer adding a new narrative dimension. His carefully chosen color palette and composition generate an atmosphere in which clarity and obscurity coexist, suggesting the ephemeral and fragmented nature of memory. This artistic approach invites the audience to reflect on the relationship between reality, dreams, and memory — to navigate what is known and what is forgotten, to defy the invisible, and to explore the countless possibilities of our subjective reality.
In this exhibition, the garden becomes a metaphorical space for dialogue between nature and the subconscious, between past and present. The nature patiently observed by Lavinia merges with Cătălin’s fragmented inner landscapes, generating a shared discourse about the search for an inner paradise and the tension between loss and rediscovery. The Garden I Once Had is an invitation to reflect on the fragility of memory, our relationship with nature, and the way we understand time and transformation within the space of our own soul.
Miercuri – Sâmbătă: 12:00 – 19:00
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