Andra Ursuta
Studio Building
Studio Interior
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Studio Location
Artwork
Tomb, 2010, foam, resin, tv set, video loop listing the names of everyone the artist has ever met as rolling film credits
Breath Hold (Discipline And Vanish), 2010, urethane and poly rope, variable dimensions
Hunger Extinguisher, 2009, wood, glass, resin, metal, latex, enamel, gold leaf, 20x24x5"
Pepper Spray, 2009, wood, urethane, leather, salt, 26x15x10" each
Family Portrait, 2008, resin, latex, string, 6x4x4"
Andra
Ursuta
Artist's Statement
My work explores national character and tests its definition as an interaction between homegrown traits (both real and imagined) and foreign perceptions and prescriptions. It attempts to describe relationships between national identity and national identification in the context of global culture. The conditions of globalization – immigration and other forms of displacement – engender a multiplicity of definitions of foreignness, making it exotic and incriminating at the same time. Through constant interaction, cultures negotiate and exchange strategies of representation, fueling reciprocal and unequal fantasies of foreignness exemplified by the anecdotal Romanian practice of referring to all Western countries as “Germany”.
Bio/Resume
Born in 1979 in Salonta, a small town on Romania’s border with Hungary. Began visual training with the particular brand of post-impressionism that was the standard of Romanian art institutions in the 90s, eventually developing a strong interest in folk art, the cruder styles of representation favored by rural culture, and the improvised esthetic of societies in transition.
Left Romania for the United States as an exchange student in 1997; after earning a degree in visual arts and art history from Columbia University she spent a few years performing with gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello and designing costumes.
Currently lives and works in New York.
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