Romanian Art in the Period of “Diversionist Liberalisation”

The present text briefly maps the officially presence of Romanian art in international exhibitions of the 1960s. It focuses on major art events held in the West, in particular the large-scale exhibitions at which nations are represented: the Venice Biennale, the Milan Decorative Art Triennale, the São Paulo Biennale, the Paris Biennale, and the Lausanne Tapestry Biennale, on graphic art events, and on the case of Richard Demarco and his interest in Romanian art. What is noteworthy is the recurrence of the names of a number of artists among those taking part in exhibitions and likewise the recurrence of certain collocations in the studies that accompanied the exhibitions and the creation of a discursive typology. The concept of “official” becomes a split concept, placed in-between what is exhibited abroad and how it is presented in the written discourse.