Vlad Brăteanu

Spring is around the corner, it’s time for cleaning. Remove the dust, soft wash, hand scrub and polish well. Make it shine! Like new!
Out in the night migrant workers prepare the shine of the next day, doing the cleaning work for minimum wages. The tasks are clear and the timing should be efficient.
There are plenty of spots in the low light that need to have their shine restored.
Klinken putzen is a series of interventions where the door knobs of art institutions are getting their well-deserved attention. No need to be pulled or pushed for the doors to open. They can still rest while continuing to gatekeep the precious white walls and receive the spring cleaning that was not being asked for.
By going from door to door and cleaning the handlebars of art institutions, the caring gesture questions the status of “dark matter” artists that don’t get the chance to be “inside” those walls and the invisible yet vital jobs of so many cultural workers to maintain the running of these institutions.

The exhibition is accompanied by a poster and a conversation with Nicoleta Moise, artist and journalist, and Vlad Brăteanu, starting from the works of Romanian artist Ionuț Cioană / Mircea Nicolae (1980-2020).