The practice of Radu Comșa (*1975, Sibiu, Romania; lives and works in Cluj-Napoca, Romania) employs ever-expansive parameters of painting. His works feature diverse materials such as concrete, paper, fabric, wood, plastic, and metal which are based on the conclusion that painting – namely, compositions of colored shapes – is all around us. This is the case when we set up a table for dinner; we choose curtains and carpets for our homes; when we hang our laundry; and when we see how the buildings are painted on our city’s street lines. Another element deeply embedded in his practice is playfulness, which is also the guiding principle of his project for CCA Tel Aviv-Yafo.

For his solo exhibition at the Center, rather than merely presenting his artworks as stand-alone pieces, Comșa also set out to create objects – between artworks, apparatuses, and display devices – that respond to works by fellow artists. The artists – Joav BarEl, Avner Ben-Gal, Michael Gross, Florin Maxa, Claude Rutault, and Xanti Schawinsky – have been selected by the artist with the exhibition curator. Entitled “inter-versions,” this project spotlights painting as a language that could be understood as constituted on production rather than necessarily originating in the studio. In line with this perspective, several features of Comșa’s pieces in the exhibition were outsourced and produced by artisans working in either Romania or Israel.

The exhibition’s guiding structure is that of the diptych – a term deeply associated with the history of painting – and its multiple cultural versions such as the duet, the dialogue, the duo, and the pair. Whether through works that have two elements or are conceived as pairs, through the dialogue among the artist and the curator – a duo of sorts – or through juxtapositions between an artwork and its apparatus, the exhibition recontextualizes the myth of the solitary painter and his or her unitary creations. Instead, it presents a process that is open-ended, collaborative, and dialectical at heart.

“Radu Comșa: inter-versions” is curated by Nicola Trezzi in close dialogue with the artist. The exhibition is supported by the Geanina and Tudor Grecu Collection, IL.Collection, Fondation Pluriel pour L’Art Contemporain, Fondation du Judaïsme Français, Fondation du Judaïsme Français, and the Romanian Cultural Institute in Tel Aviv. Hospitality provided by Outset Contemporary Art Fund.