Background
Mircea Cantor was born in 1977 in Romania and spent his childhood there.
In 1999, he decided to join the School of Fine Arts in Nantes.
In 1999, he decided to join the School of Fine Arts in Nantes.
Mircea Cantor was born in 1977 in Romania and spent his childhood there.
He received his primary education in Romania. He joined an art school at the age of 13. Then he studied at the University of Art and Design of Cluj-Napoca. In 1999, he decided to join the School of Fine Arts in Nantes.
After having experienced some difficulties, his talent was finally appreciated at its fair value. It was in 2002 that the artist was spotted by Yvon Lambert. The latter organized for him the exhibition in Paris and New York.
He currently works between Paris and Cluj, Romania. The point of departure for many of his works is his own childhood, influenced by growing up in a Communist country, and his memories of this.
His videos and installations are highly poetic and evocative. His close attention to formal and aesthetic concerns is combined with strong political meanings, which he translates into simple gestures with universal value. Cantor is co-editor of VERISON, an artists’ magazine produced in collaboration with Gabriela Vanga and Ciprian Muresan, whose aim is to connect art with other areas of creation.
Mircea Cantor is considered one of the greatest contemporary artists of our era. He has a unique way of seeing the world. He works closely with several foundations and is heavily involved in humanitarian causes. He exhibited at the Dvir Gallery in Tel Aviv in 2017.
He was awarded with the Ricard Prize in 2004. In 2011 he won Best Dance Short Film at the Tiburon International Film Festival with Tracking Happiness. In 2011, he received the Marcel Duchamp Prize.
Cantor positions himself as an observer of reality and diverse cultures, and in his work he focuses on social differences and borders between countries.
