Emotion, derangement, apocalyptic and collective fears. Andra Ursuta was born in 1979 in Salonta, Romania. She studied at Columbia University in the USA and today lives in New York. In Ursutaʼs work there are indications of eastern-European roots just as much as popcultural narratives from her new home. Family stories, cultural-historical references and film-like myths interlock. The closeness of death, melancholy and a transgressive darkness are characteristic. In exhibitions, Ursuta presents womenʼs bodies that have been mummified and covered with wax. Horror and vulnerability appear. In addition, there are inflatable fabric fists, martial jewelry objects, eroding walls, torture instruments, a cage intended for baseball training. Much of it seems morbid and bleak. An anthropomorphic obelisk was created in imitation of Constantin Brâncușiʼs La colonne sans fin (1918–1938). Ursuta doesnʼt see the “endless column” as an abstract formation, but rather as a monumental thorn. It is a reminder of the horrific acts committed by Romanian ruler Vlad III. Dracula, who used the pike as an instrument of execution in his fight against the Ottomans. The borders between history and stories, between fact and fiction, are noticeably blurred. The objects in the evn collection are also props from a fear-mongering production. A heavy black marble slab lies on top of four table legs. The slab displays geometric structures that rise like architectonic models of past or future cities. Originally these were gravestones to be placed in the earth, surrounded by straw and grass. The title indicates a feast for the undead – for Ursuta, the slabs are tables for an “occasional zombie-banquet”.

Thomas D. Trummer, 2015 (translation: Virginia Dellenbaugh)