On the occasion of her solo exhibition, Experiments and Conclusions, Lia Perjovschi reflects on her artistic approach and working methods in her presentation, A Loud Life in Silence, drawing from historical photographs, private snapshots, and found visual materials and quotes. This presentation, stemming from a conversation between Perjovschi and art historian Kristine Stiles, traces the evolution of Perjovschi’s multifaceted work amid Romania’s sociopolitical transformation before and after the 1989 revolution. The visual connections the artist creates between fragments of conversations, written notes on personal experiences, and photographs of her works indicate her enduring practices of collecting, organizing and contextualizing. These methods emerged as her response to the overwhelming influx of information and consumer goods in post-socialist times and continue to define her artistic work today.

In 1985, Perjovschi founded the Contemporary Art Archive and Centre for Art Analysis, which, by the 1990s, had become a crucial hub for the international art community, attracting curators, journalists, and students from around the world. It was during this period that Kristine Stiles first visited Romania to examine the post-socialist landscape, leading to her initial meeting with Perjovschi. Their collaboration has since produced several publications and exhibitions of Perjovschi’s work. The title A Loud Life in Silence is derived from a 1996 monograph on Perjovschi monograph by Stiles.

Lia Perjovschi (*1961 in Sibiu / Romania) studied fine arts at the State Academy of Arts in Bucharest from 1987 to 1993. Her artistic practice encompasses cross-media series as well as curatorial approaches, workshops, and lectures. Her work has been featured in over 700 exhibitions worldwide, including at Tallinn Art Hall (2021); Muzeum Susch, Zernez / Switzerland (2020); BOZAR, Brussels; Art Encounters Biennial, Timișoara / Romania (both 2019); Kunsthaus Hamburg (2016); São Paulo Biennale (both 2014); Sydney Biennale (2009); Nasher Museum of Art, Durham, North Carolina / USA (2007); and Generali Foundation, Vienna (2005). She is the founder and coordinator of the Contemporary Art Archive and Centre for Art Analysis (CAA / CAA, since 1985) and the Knowledge Museum (KM, since 1999), an interdisciplinary research project that explores alternative forms of classifying and presenting information.

Kristine Stiles (*1947 in Denver, Colorado / USA) is a Distinguished Professor of Art, Art History and Visual Studies at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina / USA, and holds an honorary doctorate from Dartington College of Arts / University of Plymouth, England. Her research areas include artists’ writings, global contemporary and experimental art, and trauma studies. She has authored over 100 articles, and her books include Concerning Consequences: Studies in Art, Destruction, and Trauma (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2016), Marina Abramović (New York: Phaidon Press, 2007), and Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, first published in 1996 and reissued in 2012).