Lateral ArtSpace

Lateral ArtSpace

Lateral ArtSpace is a non-profit artist-led exhibition and project space located at the Paintbrush Factory in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

It is dedicated to local, national and international emerging artists. Lateral was founded in April 2012 and is coordinated by three Romanian artists: Dragoș Bădiță, Cristina Curcan and Lucian Indrei. The project started as a response to the lack of exhibition possibilities for emerging artists. Lateral ArtSpace is open to various projects and collaborations, workshops and interdisciplinary research.

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Ciprian Mureșan, artist

‘‘Although a discrete project at the Paintbrushes Factory, Lateral has a more important role in this community than we might think at a first glance: it provides a space for artists to experiment, assuming from the very beginning a more relaxed, yet deep program, despite the financial problems this kind of spaces are confronted with in Romania. They avoided pitfalls, such as taking the fame of Paintbrushes Factory too seriously, attracting renowned names in order to confer an illusory important position, or importing things produced elsewhere, nicely packed in Cluj. The Lateral program escapes through this way of understanding things from the “quality” of being provincial; their system of reference is not limited merely to what is happening abroad or what they have seen in international magazines. Leaving place for trial, even with the assumed risk of error, at Lateral Art Space we can hear authentic voices, having the quality of a free platform.’’

Daria D. Pervain, Director at Sabot Gallery

I was always wondering whether Lateral leans towards the idea of lateral thinking, or towards the sideways, periphery, appendage. I’ve never asked them, as I believe that blurring your identity could be easily read as a statement today. So I find myself free to choose the lateral thinking over periphery and further notice that the artist-led (not ‘run’!) project adds a particular zest to our artistic community: their liberal modus operandi enables them to shift shape and therefore keep our curiosity alive. From a platform for experimentation, to a temporary Hall of Fame; from pop-up, to research-based projects, from collaborative ventures, to gallery swaps – a wonderful, Cluj-driven demonstration that we are heading towards a redefinition of the art system.

Corina Bucea, Manager at The Paintbrush Factory

Lateral Art Space started as a daring but in the same time shy initiative in Fabrica de Pensule / The Paintbrush Factory in Cluj – a place where visual arts meets performing arts, where artists meet galleries and the public meets contemporary art productions. When friends get together convinced by their strength to create a space for themselves and for others, interesting things can happen and Lateral Art Space have already proven they are doing that. Being the only artist-run space in Fabrica de Pensule, what Lateral Art Space managed to create is a place for representation and experimentation so much needed – where jumping from school to the responsibility of making a program and a vision of an exhibition space takes courage, will and determination. Lateral Art Space is a collective inside a collective, with a great potential to grow further as a flexible and open space for experiment and collaboration, doubled by an interesting positioning on the local (and beyond) art scene. What I would describe as an honest and collaborative project, Lateral Art Space is definitely already on the map and growing slowly but surely to be a strong hotspot.

Contact: 

Adresă: Fabrica de Pensule, Primul Etaj; str. Henri Barbusse nr. 59-61, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Web: lateralartspace.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Lateral.ArtSpace