In eerie paintings of human figures constricted by an array of devices and materials, Teodora Axente explores states of internal crisis. For Axente, the juxtapositions in these scenes between human emotions and the odd assortment of foil, satin pillows, and nylon bags are meant to evoke the duality of spiritual and material and reference the human desire to reshape oneself. A member of the Cluj School, Axente shares with this young group of Romanian painters her dark, sultry colour palette and preoccupation with the uncertainty of the individual in modern society. Despite the uncanniness of her subject matter, however, she considers her practice to be a game of sorts. 'I see the game as an escape,' Axente says. 'Who can prove to me that the world I build is not the real one?'
Read MoreTeodora Axente (b. 1984, Sibiu, Romania) received both her MFA and PhD at the University of Art and Design, Cluj Romania, also known as The School from Cluj. Succeeding graduates such as Adrian Ghenie, Ciprian Muresan, Victor Man and Serban Savu, Axente is finding her own unique voice and a new story to tell. During 2011 Teodora Axente was the recipient of the Essl Art Award resulting in a group exhibition at Essl Museum in Vienna. In 2015 her work was exhibited at Boulder MoCA Colorado in Defaced, at Museum of Art, Cluj-Napoca in T.A.N.G.O., and at Hugo Voeten Art Center in Belgium in My Name Is Artist. In May 2016 she had a solo presentation at Hugo Voeten Art Center. In 2017 Teodora Axente has been awarded the grand prize during the Frissiras Museum's third^ ^Frissiras Award for European Painting. In June 2018 she presented her works at at the Museum of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca.
