Sculpted Spaces

Mihai Șovăială is an artist who lives and works in Bucharest and Zurich. Since 2013, his work has focused on urban development structures and their peripheries, questioning the impact of architecture on the context and history of the city. His works are displayed as installations in exhibition contexts or in book format, often published independently. Mihai completed his Meisterschüler studies in 2020 at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst in Leipzig, Germany, under the guidance of Joachim Brohm, after graduating from the Photo-Video department at the National University of Arts in Bucharest, Romania, in 2016. His works have been exhibited both locally and internationally in museums and galleries such as: Museum of Recent Art, Bucharest; National Art Museum, Kishinev; Kunstmuseum Magdeburg; a&o Kunsthalle, Leipzig; Circulation(s) Festival, Paris; Fotogalerie Wien, Vienna; BTV Gallery, Innsbruck; Biennial of Contemporary Photography, Iași; Plan-B, Cluj; galeria 2/3, Bucharest; Switch Lab, Bucharest.

Construction sites envision the potential for future buildings or the removal of structures deemed unworthy. To construct, one must first deconstruct. Whether through demolition or altering the natural environment, progress is impossible without this initial step. Materials, objects, and temporary installations created by workers to aid their daily activities all reveal a state of transition. The photographs are taken on weekends when work is paused, making these visits to construction sites akin to visiting artist ateliers. During these visits, I select and photograph the work in progress. The images challenge perceptions of scale and highlight the sculptural qualities of everyday construction sites.