Apparatus 22 on ring-mistresses, facsimiles and what could really fit in a small human heart
Friday, 23 October 2026 · 17:00
Art Encounters · 46C Take Ionescu Blvd., Timișoara
Moderator: Mihai Toth
Free admission
The third Meet the Artists event, part of the programme leading up to the 2027 Art Encounters Biennial, features the artistic collective Apparatus 22. Moderated by Mihai Toth, the conversation offers an opportunity to discover the collective’s artistic practice and ongoing research.
About the talk
The talk will introduce several aspects of the practice of Apparatus 22 art collective through a set of topics ranging from their in-depth work with utopian thoughts and their otherworldly Suprainfinit universe (2015- ongoing) to works setting the stage for criticality and conversations within large groups of audience, from contraptions able to deal with pressing troubles of the heart to ways for mutating crushing realities.
About Apparatus 22
RO / BE / Suprainfinit utopian realm
Apparatus 22 is a collective of daydreamers, citizens of many realms, researchers, poetic activists and (failed) futurologists founded in January 2011 by current members Erika Olea, Maria Farcas, Dragos Olea together with Ioana Nemes (1979 – 2011) in Bucharest, Romania. Beginning with 2015 they are working between Bucharest, Brussels and SUPRAINFINIT utopian universe.
They see themselves as a collective of daydreamers, citizens of many realms, researchers, poetic activists and (failed) futurologists interested in exploring the intricate relationships between economy, politics, gender studies, social movements in order to understand contemporary society.
The work of Apparatus 22 was presented in numerous exhibitions and diverse formats atLa Biennale di Venezia 2013, Kunsthalle Wien (AT), Muzeul de Artă Contemporană (MNAC), București (RO), Museion, Bolzano (IT), Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart (DE), Survival Kit festival, LCCA Riga (LV), Autostrada Bienniale Prizren (XK), CIVA, Brussels (BE), Ujazdowski Castle – CCA, Varșovia (PL) and most recently in Contemporary Art Museum Roskilde (DK), Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn (DE), Malmö Konstmuseum (SE), Kunsthalle Mannheim (DE), Kunsthal Gent (BE), The Contemporary Art Museum (MNAC), Bucharest (RO), CAM Gulbenkian, Lisabon (PT), SMAK Gent (BE), Artwill, Bucharest (RO) etc
About the 2027 Art Encounters Biennial
Curated by Philippe Van Cauteren, the seventh edition of the Art Encounters Biennial will take place from 21 May to 4 July 2027, marking the beginning of a long-term partnership between the Art Encounters Foundation and S.M.A.K. Ghent.
Meet the Artists is part of the research and preparation process for the 2027 edition, bringing audiences into contact with participating artists and their practices ahead of the Biennial.
Project funded by the Municipality of Timișoara through the Timișoara Center for Projects, as part of the Repere în cultură 2026–2027 programme.
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Image credit: Apparatus 22, ALL (to all the artists that worked in the XXIst century), installation at Artwill. Photo: Robert Marooni.
