Intimate, predominantly small-format paintings seemingly lost in time characterise the work of Romanian artist Victor Man. Subtle influences of the pre-Renaissance period and echoes of Symbolism can be discerned in his melancholic imagery. In deep dark green, blue, and black, Man creates works as sensitive as they are enigmatic, dominated by an existentialist, sombre, introspective tone. Stylistically complex and difficult to categorise, yet unmistakable, the Cluj-born painter has for years been considered one of the most sought-after and, at the same time, rarest protagonists of contemporary art. His œuvre reveals numerous art historical references but also represents a unique position in contemporary painting. A fascinating dialogue between history and the present emerges.

A solo exhibition of Man’s work is taking place at the Städel Museum (Frankfurt) in 2023.

Victor Man was born in Cluj, Romania in 1974. He now lives and works in Rome, Italy and Cluj, Romania.

Collections

Victor Man’s work is part of public collections worldwide. These include the Centre Pompidou (Paris), Centre International d'Art et du Paysage (île de Vassivière), Collection of Contemporary Art of the Federal Republic of Germany (Bonn), David Roberts Collection (London), Deutsche Bank Collection (Berlin), Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (Turin), Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Kadist Art Foundation Collection (Paris / San Francisco), LACMA Los Angeles County Museum of Art, MUDAM Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (Luxembourg), Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam), SFMOMA Museum of Modern Art San Francisco, MNAC National Museum of Contemporary Art (Bucharest), Städel Museum (Frankfurt) and the Tate (London).

Exhibitions

His work has been featured in exhibitions at Galerie Max Hetzler (Paris), Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (Turin), Sant'Andrea de Scaphis (Rome), Galerie Neu (Berlin), Gladstone Gallery (New York), Museo Tamayo (Mexico City), Centre d’Édition Contemporaine (Geneva), Blum & Poe (Tokyo), Fürstenberg Zeitgenössisch (Donaueschingen), Galeria Plan B (Berlin), MD72 / Galerie Neu (Berlin), Haus der Kunst (Munich), Zachęta– National Gallery of Art (Warsaw), Deutsche Bank Kunsthalle (Berlin), Villa Medici (Rome), Gladstone Gallery (Brussels), The Grand Duke Jean Museum of Modern Art (Luxembourg), Blum & Poe (Los Angeles), Transmission Gallery (Glasgow), Kunsthalle Lingen, Overbeck-Gesellschaft (Lübeck), Galleria Zero (Milan), Hayward Gallery Project Space (London), Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam), Centre international d'art et du paysage de l'ile de Vassiviere, Ikon Gallery (Birmingham), Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Johnen Galerie (Berlin), Johnen + Schöttle (Cologne), 52nd Venice Biennale (Venice), Annet Gelink Gallery (Amsterdam), Timothy Taylor Gallery (London) and Plan B (Cluj).