Mircea Cantor

Mircea Cantor was born in 1977 in Oradea, Romania. He lives and works between Paris and Cluj, Romania. His childhood, marked by the growth in a communist country, and his memories, are the starting point for many of his works. Cantor is positioned as an observer of different realities and cultures and in his works focuses on social differences and borders between countries. His videos and installations are highly poetic and evocative. Attention to formal and aesthetic research overlap strong political meanings, translated into simple but universal values.

Cantor makes work that centers around themes of cultural history, memory, and displacement, echoing his upbringing in Romania during its tumultuous transition from state socialism to liberal democracy. Best known for his evocative, metaphorical videos and mixed-media installations, in his works, he examines competing ideologies, war, displacement, the self and the other, and multivalence.

Keenly aware of the multitude of meanings that a word or an object can contain, he deliberately mixes materials and uses language playfully, producing poignant, challenging works that defy neat categorization.

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Artworks

Mircea Cantor

I decided not to save the world

2011-2014
Single channel video
Installation view at Villa Medici, Rome, 2021

Mircea Cantor

I decided not to save the world

2011
Video
6'', in loop

Mircea Cantor

Chaplet

2007-2021
Black ink for engraving, artist's fingerprints, 35mm celluloid
350 cm
Detail
Installation view at Villa Medici, Rome, 2021

Mircea Cantor

DNA kiss

2008-2021
12 women, each with a different zodiac sign, lipstick
Installation view at Villa Medici, Rome, 2021

Mircea Cantor

Aquila Non Capit Muscas

2018
Single channel HD video
Installation view at Stuk, Leuven, 2020

Mircea Cantor

Adjective To Your Presence

2018
Plexiglass
Variable dimensions
Installation view at Musée des Beaux Arts, Nantes, 2019

Mircea Cantor

Take the world into the world

2018
Bronze
ø 27 cm

Mircea Cantor

Anthroposynaptic

2018
Embroidery on traditional Romanian aprons
75 x 550 cm
Installation view at Hangar Art Center, Brussels, 2019

Mircea Cantor

Add Verticality to Your Seat (to Socrates)

2018
Oak wood
238 x 39,5 x 39,5 cm

Mircea Cantor

Vertical Aleppo

2017
Aleppo soap, aerated concrete, iron
Column 370 x ø 49 cm
Rubble base 200 x 323 x 83 cm
Installation view at Fondazione Giuliani, Rome, 2017

Mircea Cantor

Diagonal Aleppo

2017
Aleppo soap, iron, rubble, bricks, trampoline
Column 350 cm x ø 20 cm
Trampoline 244 x ø 200 cm
Installation view at Fondazione Giuliani, Rome, 2017

Mircea Cantor

Horizontal Aleppo

2017
Aleppo soap, iron, foam base
Column 350 x ø 31 cm
Foam base 61 x 251 x 4 cm
Installation view at Fondazione Giuliani, Rome, 2017

Mircea Cantor

Haiku Under Tension

2017
Trampoline, rubble
252 x 240 x 240 cm
Installation view at Fondazione Giuliani, Rome, 2017

Mircea Cantor

Fontana delle Mani

2017
Video installation: wood, LED 40″ monitor, media player, iron, water, water pump
130 x 130 x 80 cm
Thermal camera video and color HD video transferred on file; duration: 7′ 03″
Installation view at Fondazione Giuliani, Rome, 2017

Mircea Cantor

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi (The Last Supper after Leonardo da Vinci)

2016
Wall drawing made out of dynamite blasting caps, paper, artist’s hands
Variable dimensions
Installation view at Dvir Gallery, Tel Aviv, 2016

Mircea Cantor

Bellum Et Maternitas

2016
Japanese ink on paper
30 x 42 cm

Mircea Cantor

Bellum Et Maternitas

2016
Japanese ink on paper
30 x 42 cm

Mircea Cantor

The World Belongs to Those Who Set It On Fire

2016
Candle smoke on paper
196 x 284 cm
Installation view at Fondazione Giuliani, Rome

Mircea Cantor

Give More Sky To The Flags

2016
Corten steel
200 x 350 x 200 cm
Installation view at Fondation Francés, Senlis

Mircea Cantor

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi (La Porte de l’Enfer)

2016
Gunpowder blast on plexiglass, smoke, wood
134 x 200 cm
Performance view in front of the Porte de l’Enfer by Auguste Rodin, Museum Rodin, Paris, 2016

Mircea Cantor

Tableau X

2015
China ink on The Economist magazine issue, wood, glass
123 x 81 cm

Mircea Cantor

Heaven and Hell Simultaneously

2016
Emergency blankets
91,2 sq. m

Mircea Cantor

All the zeros from a never ending haiku

2015
Cut Romanian 10 Bani coins
Detail

Mircea Cantor

Anthroposynaptic

2015
Embroidery on traditional Romanian male and female shirts
Approx. 50 elements
Wall 400 x 900 cm
Detail

Mircea Cantor

Ti do la mia giovinezza

2014
Neon
167 x 33 cm

Mircea Cantor

Future Gifts

2014
Black Marquina marble, white Carrara marble, concrete
Each 49 x 40 x 40 cm
Installation view at Magazzino, Rome

Mircea Cantor

Regalo

2014
HD video
3'', in loop

Mircea Cantor

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

2012
HD film
4' 6''

Mircea Cantor

Wind Orchestra

2012
Video 13''

Mircea Cantor

Anima

2012
Wood, rope
10 x 7,7 x 7,5 m
Installation view at MACRO, Rome, 2012

Mircea Cantor

Epic Fountain

2012
Gold-plated safety pins
314 x ø 21 cm

Mircea Cantor

Fishing Flies

2011
Airplanes made of soda cans, fishing hooks, fishing wire, fishing net, bamboo, steel
170 x 270 x 270 cm
Positioned on the wall at 161 cm height

Mircea Cantor

More Cheeks Than Slaps

2011
White neon, wood, mirror
15 x 250 cm neon
49 x 250 cm mirror

Mircea Cantor

Stranieri

2011
Bread, knives, salt, wood
80 x ø 247 cm

Mircea Cantor

Dimensions variable

2009
Metal, wood, leather, textile, horse manure
Dimensions variable

Mircea Cantor

Europe Supported by Africa and Asia

2009
Silver gelatin print
210 x 150 cm

Mircea Cantor

Tracking Happiness

2009
Super 16mm transferred to HDCAM, 11'
Sound: Adrian Gagiu

Mircea Cantor

Vertical attempt

2009
Color video 1"

Mircea Cantor

Which light kills you

2010
Wood, terracotta
Variable dimensions

Mircea Cantor

Arch of Triumph

2008
Oak, 24 carat gold
640 x 416 x 130 cm

Mircea Cantor

Nido

2008
Ping-pong table, eggs
Variable dimensions

Mircea Cantor

The Need For Uncertainty

2008
Brass cages, peacocks, soil
Variable dimensions

Mircea Cantor

Chaplet

2007
Ink fingerprints on wall
Variable dimensions

Mircea Cantor

Chaplet

2007
Ink fingerprints on wall
Variable dimensions

Mircea Cantor

Rosace

2007
Cans, plexiglass, aluminium
ø 400 cm

Mircea Cantor

Itching Pocket

2007
Armani pants, nettle, soil, cord
ca. 170 x 85 x 15 cm

Mircea Cantor

Cielo Variabile

2007
Candle smoke
Variable dimensions

Mircea Cantor

Talking Mirror

2007
White cowboy hat, used car motor oil, wood, plexiglass
135 x 61 x 61 cm

Mircea Cantor

Deeparture

2005
16mm film transferred on BETA digital, color
2' 46'', in loop

Mircea Cantor

Untitled (unpredicteble future)

2004
Lightbox
60 x 80 cm

Exhibitions

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Highlights