Established in Cluj in 2005, Galeria Plan B was initiated by boundary-pushing artists Mihai Pop and Adrian Ghenie. Plan B—the name chosen for the gallery—refers to the lack of public funding for art institutions in Romania that necessitates alternative solutions: solutions that come from individual efforts and a reframing of what is considered institutional. From the outset it has simultaneously functioned as a project space where Romanian artists meet, encounter new ideas and develop their practice, and as an exhibition space that presents contemporary Romanian art to the world.

Alongside various group and solo exhibitions presenting the work of Romanians like Victor Man, Ciprian Muresan, Miklos Onucsan, and Serban Savu the gallery has brought artists from further afield to Cluj. In Plan B’s show Through Popular Expression (2006), the gallery presented work by Chinese artists such as Cao Fei, Jun Yang, and Zhang Yuan, and the Hong Kong-based multidisciplinary platform MAP Office.

In 2008, under the directorship of Mihai Pop and Mihaela Lutea, the gallery established its second space in Berlin, in a former industrial building. Opening in a location with far greater proximity to the heart of the international art scene, Galeria Plan B’s first exhibition in the German capital, Berlin Show #1 (2008), showcased the work of artists such as Cristi Pogacean and Gabriela Vanga, alongside Ghenie himself. In 2012 the Berlin gallery relocated to the Tagesspiegel building complex—shared with several other galleries—on Potsdamer Strasse.

Galeria Plan B’s Cluj Gallery is being redefined as a centre of research and documentation dedicated to internationally shedding light on the work of key underappreciated Romanian artists from the last few decades. It is developing curatorial and research programmes, lectures, and artist talks tailored to young artists, art students, and scholars.

Galeria Plan B Artists

Galeria Plan B works with a diverse range of Romanian contemporary artists, including names like Rudolf Bone, Victor Ciato, Belu-Simion Fainaru, and Miklos Onucsan. These are shown alongside other artists such as Cornel Brudascu, Alexandra Croitoru, Adrian Ghenie, Victor Man, Iulia Nistor, and Serban Savu. Galeria Plan B also presents the work of since-passed influential Romanian artists Ion Bitzan, Horia Damian, Octav Grigorescu, and Mihai Olos. The gallery also works with artists from further afield such as Netherlands-based Iranian artist Navid Nuur, English artist Becky Beasley, and French-Moroccan artist Achraf Touloub.

Galeria Plan B Exhibitions and Art Fairs

Presenting Romanian art on the international art scene, Galeria Plan B participates in art fairs across the globe, including major international art fairs such as The Armory Show, New York; art berlin; SP-Arte, São Paulo; ART COLOGNE; FIAC, Paris; ARCOmadrid; Frieze London and New York; and Art Basel in Miami Beach, Basel, and Hong Kong.

In 2007 Plan B organised the Romanian Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale. Outside of the gallery projects Mihai Pop has also co-curated several group exhibitions in the context of the Prague Biennale 4, and curated the Romanian Pavillion at the 56th Venice Biennale. In 2009 Plan B helped initiate the Fabrica de Pensule project, which turned an old paintbrush factory in Cluj into an independent cultural centre. The gallery’s directors also contribute to the literature on their artists, editing catalogues and artist books.