Romanian painter Roman Tolici unveils “New Hope” in Bucharest

Artist: Roman Tolici
Exhibition Title: “NEW HOPE”
Venue: MOBIUS GALLERY, Piața Amzei, No. 13, Bucharest
Opening Event: FRIDAY, March 28, 6:00 PM
Exhibition Period: March 28 – May 31, 2025
Organizer: Mobius Gallery

After its showcase in Brașov and Timișoara, Mobius Gallery announces the opening of NEW HOPE in BUCHAREST, the latest exhibition by Roman Tolici, one of Romania’s most acclaimed contemporary painters.

The exhibition will open on Friday, March 28, 2025, at 6:00 PM, at Mobius Gallery, Piața Amzei, No. 13.

NEW HOPE brings together a selection of recent works created over the past four years, reflecting on the profound transformations that have reshaped the contemporary world—on a macro level, through social and political shifts, and on a micro level, through individual experiences. Exploring the relationship between humanity and Earth’s history, NEW HOPE becomes a tangible space built upon both human vulnerability and resilience, in a time when physical and spiritual boundaries are constantly challenged.

“History offers countless examples where hope proved futile: empires collapsed, devastating disasters crushed people’s aspirations, and terrible injustices remained unpunished. And yet, hope stubbornly reappeared every time. This new series explores this abstract and fragile sentiment we call HOPE.” — Roman Tolici

Born in 1974 in the village of Ghetlova, Moldova (former USSR), Roman Tolici moved to Bucharest in 1990 with a scholarship to study at Nicolae Tonitza Art High School, awarded by the Romanian state. He continued his studies at the National University of Arts in Bucharest. In the late 1990s, Tolici experimented with literature, illustration, animation, comics, and photography, before establishing himself as a painter in the 2000s through solo and group exhibitions. His works have been exhibited in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, and the United States. Associated with a photographic realism infused with lyricism and a surreal sense of everyday existence, Roman Tolici is one of the defining artists of the 2000s generation.

A National Journey – Five Cities in Search of Hope

Supported by Banca Transilvania, the NEW HOPE exhibition is a traveling project designed to bring contemporary art closer to diverse communities. It debuted in Brașov, continued in Timișoara, and will now be presented in Bucharest, Sibiu, and Tulcea.

A Context of Accelerated Change

Typically, socio-political paradigm shifts unfold gradually over extended periods, allowing humanity time to adapt. However, history has witnessed moments where major transformations occurred abruptly due to unforeseen events, making their integration nearly impossible and leading to collective trauma. The past four years have been marked by such unpredictable events, generating rapid changes with a profound impact on everyday life. In this context, Roman Tolici’s works capture moments of uncertainty, adaptation, and the search for a new balance.

“The new hope invoked by Roman Tolici in his paintings can be a paradoxical concept—one that carries the boundless, dreamlike horizon of a ‘healed’ planet and an ‘adequate’ humanity, yet also the undeniable limits of a vision fractured by reality. His recent works increasingly incorporate imagery of devastated landscapes, the accelerated extinction of nature, and the era of Petro-Capitalism. […] Painting itself becomes hope, and the act of painting turns into an entire arsenal of survival strategies.” — Diana Marincu, art critic and curator

About Mobius Gallery

Founded in 2015, Mobius Gallery aims to produce museum-quality contemporary art exhibitions and facilitate cultural exchanges between East and West. Over the years, it has become one of Romania’s most significant contemporary art spaces, featuring an international program that showcases established, emerging, and debuting artists.