Alex Bodea

Alex Bodea

"Alex Bodea - Artist Portrait", photography by Alex Puricescu / (c) Alex Puricescu 2025

Biography

Alex Bodea, (she/her) visual artist, (b. 1981, Cluj Napoca) of Romanian ethnical background, has lived in Romania and several countries of choice, such as Germany (more than 10 years) and France (2 years), with a itinerant research approach, and explored many other several European countries, such as Norwegien, Sweden, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic and Serbian Republic. She works at the crossroads of visual art and storytelling, driven by the desire to be an observer to the human experience, documenting and interpreting various multicultural landscapes encountered along her journeys as a nomad-artist and queer person. Master in Arts of University of Arts and Design, Cluj, Romania, and short-term study at School of Architecture and Fine Arts Saint Luc, Liege, Belgium. Born in 1981 in Cluj, Romania, daughter of Gligor Bodea, known as a mountain rescuer with notable activity in this field and bee-keeper, and of Corina Bodea, mountaineer.

"Luscha - Canine family member", photography by Alex Bodea / (c) Alex Bodea 2018

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Artistic disciplines:

• Painting
• Drawing
• Installation
• Queer art (e.g. mixed media, queer gaze)

Other interests: Writing

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Process

Field research & direct experience. Socially engaged art developed at the intersection of visual art, journalism, and storytelling. Her practice is built around a drive to tell stories that connect with her experience as an Eastern European woman living a rather nomadic life throughout Europe. She extracts her themes directly from her nomad life though Europe, creating work on the way, within the encountered spatial and temporal restrictions, concerned with the poetics of the everyday, employing minimal gestures and observational precision to create spaces of quiet resilience when facing unfamiliar or shifting environments.

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Notable themes

Recurring themes in Alex Bodea's practice include the experience of exile and migration, multicultural identities, language, personal and collective history, queer culture, the questioning of femininity and masculinity as cultural constructs, recurring inequalities across different geographical contexts, mental and physical health, marginal characters, non-patriarchal models, and the concept of unconventional beauty.

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Works in collections and public recognition

• exhibited nationally and internationally, at biennales, museums, art galleries.
• preselected for Evans Foundation Prize, (Arts / The Fact Finder interventions).
• works in public institutions collections, art museums collections and private collections.

A selection of works were purchased by Banca Transilvania Art Collection in its program of acquisitions of artists from Cluj. A selection of works are in the Romanian National Museum of Contemporary Art Collection, Art Encounters Foundation Collection, Museum for European Cultures Berlin, Museum of Communications Berlin, Queer History and Queer Culture Museum (RO) and others. Works in private collections in Romania, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Greece, United Kingdom.

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Selected exhibitions

1.Selected solo exhibitions

• 2025 - solo exhibition That Place Called Abundance, SOLO Project Space (Robert Băjenaru), Bucharest, Romania,
• 2024 - solo exhibition Alex Bodea, Galeria Lutnița, Chișinau, Moldova
• 2018 - solo exhibition (Un)seen people The Fact Finder, Berlin, Germany
• 2011 - solo exhibition Protection Image Laika Gallery, Cluj, Romania
• 2011 - solo exhibition Draw as if it will have consequences Cluj, Casa Matei Gallery, Romania

2.Selected group exhibitions

• 2025 - group exhibition Sphinx, Beast and Girl: Unicorn, Himera and the mixed body, NOCA, Oradea, Romania, with Apparatus 22, Ștefan Bertalan, Ana Botezatu, Michele Bressan, Rudolf Bone, Christian Jankowski, Marta Jakobovits, Ciprian Mureșan, Miron Schmückle, Ion Țuculescu, Ecaterina Vrana
• 2025 - group exhibition, Hocus Focus, Conector OFF-space, Cluj Napoca, Romania, exhibited with Cornel Brudașcu, Mircea Cantor, Adrian Ghenie, Ciprian Mureșan, Anca Munteanu Râmnic, Navid Nuur, Miklos Onucșan a.o., proposed by Mihai Pop, Plan B Gallery
• 2025 - group exhibition, Unleashing the sins of sculpture, exhibited with Apparatus 22, The Bureau of Melodramatic Research, Giulia Crețulescu, Lorena Cocioni, Arantxa Etcheverria, Hortensia Mi Kafkin, Ioana Nemeș a.o., Scânteia Plus Art Center, Bucharest, Romania
• 2025 - duo show with Ciprian Mureșan, Ilustrated, printed, copied, learnt, Memorialul Ipotești, Plan B Gallery and Galeria Lutnița, Romania
• 2024/25 - group exhibition, Untitled, Galeria Lutnița, Chișinău, Moldovan Republic
• 2024 - group exhibition Land of Fire, Kunsthalle Bega, Timișoara, Romania
• 2023 - group show, Dating 101, Cazul 101, Private viewing, Bucharest, Romania
• 2022 - duo show with Ana Botezatu, 40 days in desert, Cazul 101, Atelierele Malmaison, Bucharest, Romania
• 2020 - group exhibition What if you were in my shoes, Museum of Arts, Cluj, Romania
• 2020 - group exhibition Hysteria/History, Paintbrush Factory Cluj and History Museum, Cluj, Romania

3.Art biennales, museum retrospectives, comprehensive retrospective exhibitions, art fairs

• 2026 - Art Fair: Liste Art Basel
• 2026 - Art Fair: RAD
• 2025 - Art Fair: Art Brussels
• 2025 - group exhibition, Convulsion Ltd, Romanian queer art retrospective Triumf Amiria, Queer Museum, Kilobase, Apparatus 22, Romania
• 2025 - art bienniale (collateral event) Onboard Bienniale 2025, Antwerp, Belgium
• 2024 - Art Fair: RAD
• 2023 - group exhibition Puls 22: new museum acquisitions, National Museum of Contemporary art, Bucharest, Romania
• 2021/22 - group exhibition You feel ~ and drift ~ and sing. From one scene to another, 20 years of Romanian queer art retrospective, Combinatul Fondului Plastic in collaboration with National Museum of Contemporary Art, Triumf Amiria, Kilobase, Bucharest, Romania
• 2021 - art bienniale 7th Edition of the Black-and-White Biennial | Virus diary, Satu Mare, Romania
• 2017 - art bienniale Life: a user’s manual Art Encounters Biennale, Timișoara, Romania
• 2014 - art bienniale Drawing Biennale Rimini, (Drawing Storage) Rimini, Italy

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Artistic Residencies, Art Researches, Collaborations, Art Projects

• 2025 - Artistic Research Residency: Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art MODEM Center, Debrecen, Hungary
• 2025 - Artistic Research Residency: CCA Andratx, art residency, Andratx, Mallorca, Spain
• 2024 - Artistic Research Residency: Art Siena Institute, art residency, Siena, Italy
• 2023 - Artistic Research Residency: Couvant, art residency L'ANCRE – Association “Pôle des métiers d'art du Pays Ségali”, Sauveterre de Rouerge, France
• 2023 - selected in Altes Spital Solothurn residency, Solothurn, Switzerland
• 2023 - selected in Swatch Art Peace Hotel residency, Shanghai
• 2020 - Artistic Research Residency: Hysteria/Hystoria, Paintbrush Foundation in collab. with History Museum Cluj, Romania
• 2018 - Artistic Research Residency: La Box Residency, ENSA Bourges, France
• 2018 - Artistic Research Residency: Fact Finding: investigation in the urban space, Focus Atelier, Cluj, Romania
• 2021 - Research Stipendium: Research grant in literature and comics awarded by Berlin Senate Department for Culture, Germany
• 2021 - Artistic Educational Residency: CLEA Lens Lievin Residency, Lens Lievin, France
• 2020 - Artistic Research Residency: Chelva art residency, hosted by sound artist duo Bosch & Simons
• 2020 - Preselected for Evans Foundation Prize, (Arts / The Fact Finder interventions).
• 2017 - Artistic Research Residency: The body politic, summer school Drawing Room, London, Great Britain
• 2015 - Artistic Research Residency: De Liceiras 18 Residency, Porto, Portugal
• 2014 - Artistic Development Residency: Botín Foundation workshop led by Tacita Dean, Santander, Spain
• 2012 - Artistic Research Residency: Curators' Network workshop, Sibiu, Romania
• 2009 - Artistic Research Residency: Samuel Brukenthal’s Guests Residency, Avrig, Romania

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Selected works

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  Coreography in ceasesless rehearsal (Installation View), 2025, red white chalk and gofun on paper and wall installation, variable size - (c) Alex Bodea 2025

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  Bathers of River Diana, 2025, red and black chalk and shell white gofun on arches paper, 180 x 140 cm - (c) Alex Bodea 2025

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  Triumph, 2025, ink and tempera on paper, 49.5 x 27 cm - (c) Alex Bodea 2025

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  The Plague in times of King Caragea, 2020, ink and tempera on paper, 19 x 53 cm - (c) Alex Bodea 2025

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  Man and boy with iPhone, 2023, ink and tempera on paper, 16.5 x 24 cm - (c) Alex Bodea 2025

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Exhibition views

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  ExhibitionKunsthalleBega-TheLandofFire - (c) Alex Bodea 2025

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  ExhibitionLaika-ProtectionImage - (c) Alex Bodea 2025

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  ExhibitionSolo-Cazul101-40DaysinDesert - (c) Alex Bodea 2025

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  ExhibitionTheInstitute-QueerMuseum - (c) Alex Bodea 2025

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  ExhibitionSolo-Dating101 - (c) Alex Bodea 2025

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Publications

1.Published books

• 2021, Graphic novel - The fact finder, (English edition) Publisher „The Fact Finder Verlag”, Berlin, Germany
• 2020, Graphic novel - The fact finder, (Italian edition) Publisher „BeccoGiallo”, Padova, Italy
• 2020, Artist book - The man with a hole in his tie, limited edition, with the support of ENSA Bourges
• 2015-2016, Artist book - Visual notes on Berlin, unique edition
• 2015-2016, Graphic novel - Six breakfasts, one lunch, limited edition

2.Published drawing reportages/graphic narratives in journals & magazines, interviews

• 2020, Excerpt from the book The Fact Finder, published in MEGAZIN / KITCHN ZIN International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana
• 2020, Excerpt from the book The fact finder-published in IDEA magazine, #56, Romania
• 2020, Excerpt from the book The fact finder- published in ARTA magazine, Romania
• 2020, Excerpt from the book: Visual notes on Berlin, published in EXBERLINER, special COVID solidarity edition, Germany
• 2019, Graphic story: I did not see Rome with you, published in THE GUARDIAN, Great Britain
• 2019, Graphic story: Grandma cracks nuts, published in STRIPBURGER, Slovenia
• 2019, Graphic story: Grandma cracks nuts, published in CUTRA, Romania
• 2019, Graphic story: Members only, published in DER TAGESSPIEGEL, Germany
• 2018, Article: Insert, published in IDEA magazine, Romania
• 2018, Graphic story: The visitors, published in SURVIVE comics anthology in the frame of Berlin Art week, Germany
• 2017, Graphic story: Türkiyemspor Berlin e.V, a comics reportage, published in CORNER magazine, Romania
• 2016, Excerpt from the book Visual notes on Schöneberg, published in EXBERLINER magazine, Germany

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Curating activity (Artist as curator)

• 2019, Exhibition Polygone de tir, ENSA undergraduates, at The Fact Finder, Berlin, Germany
• 2019, Exhibition Graphic Worlds - In the making, at The Fact Finder, Berlin, Germany
• 2018, Exhibition Making of, Ciprian Mureșan, at The Fact Finder, Berlin, Germany
• 2018, Exhibition Harun Farocki: Bilderschatz. Towards a cinematographic thesaurus, at The Fact Finder, Berlin, Germany
• 2018, Exhibition Adina Pintilie: Touch me not, Adina Pintilie, at The Fact Finder, Berlin, Germany
• 2018, Exhibition Tentacles 4/4.1. Bridgescratching, Kg Augenstern (Wolfgang Meyer, Christine Prehn), at The Fact Finder, Berlin, Germany
• 2018, Exhibition Have you seen my newest one? George Roșu, Theodor Schmidt, at The Fact Finder, Berlin, Germany
• 2017, Exhibition The Fact Finder opening with Anne Metzen, Matthias Beckmann, Karine Bonneval, Alina Andrei, Sibylle Hofter, Alex Bodea, at The Fact Finder, Berlin, Germany
• 2016, Exhibition Drawing reportage, now and here Feliks Topolski, Oliver East, Matthias Beckmann, Martin Kohout, Pia Linz, a.o, at Lateral Art Space, Cluj, Romania

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Catalogues

• 2026 - Museum Acquisitions 2022, National Museum of Contemporary Art Collection, Bucharest, Romania
• 2022 - Contemporary Art Programme 2022, Banca Transilvania Art Collection (Centrul Cultural Clujean), Romania
• 2013 - Imago Mundi Collection, Benneton Foundation, Snapshot Romania - Contemporary Artists from Romania catalogue first published by FABRICA, Italy

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Press

• Arta Magazine, essay on the exhibition Unleashing the sin of sculpture
• Arta Magazine, essay on invisibility, artistic bodybuilding
• Arta Magazine, essay on exclusion and exoticization, on view at Kunsthalle Bega show
• Arta Magazine, essay on Triumf Amiria exhibition
• Essay on Triumf Amiria exhibition, Art Viewer
• Alex Bodea on residency at Ensa Bourges, online presentation
• Alex Bodea performance at Internationale Berlin Literaturfestival
• Essay on Triumf Amiria exhibition, Kajet Journal
• News, Romania Insider
• Essay on Alex Bodea, Visit my tent
• Alex Bodea, presentation on Other Network
• Alex Bodea, presentation on Lines Fiction
• Alex Bodea, essay on Hassium
• Essay on Triumf Amiria exhibition, A shaded view on fashion

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Gallery Representation

• Galeria Lutnița, under coordination of Andrei Sclifos
• SOLO Project Space, under coordination of Robert Băjenaru

For further commercial and non-commercial inquiries, feel free to contact NPK

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Social Media Links

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alex_bodea_the_fact_finder
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fastpoems
• Website: http://alexbodea.work

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Hashtags

(artistic practices, currents, techniques, themes - applicable hashtags for this artist)

absurdity, animal rights, art education, artist-run space, artist as curator, artist publication, artist studio, assemblage, automatism
border, built environment
calligraphy, cast, choreography, collaboration, collecting, collective memory, collective practices, contested histories, curatorial practices
dada, decolonisation of self, diaspora, diptych, documentary, drawing, drawing reportage, double understanding
East-West relations, ecological collapse, enchantments, environment, external and uncontrollable factors
fascination with the everyday, feminism, figurative
games, gender issues, gestural
historization, humor
identity critique, improvisation, ink, installation, international network, intersectional identity, intersectionality
manosphere, marginalised masculinities, melodrama, migration, monotype, multiplicity
occupied venue, othering (pervasiveness of)
painting, participatory practices, patriarchy, permacrisis, pigment, poetry, political reflection
queer art, queer identity, queering
self-colonisation, situated knowledges, social criticism, structural feminism
tempera, triptych
watercolour, wide shot, women
zine

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Compatible and inspirational artists:

(artist-mentioned reference list)
The artist interest is in artists who address contemporary queer issues by queering historical sources, thus inventing a new queer artistic language.

• Salman Toor ("for glorifying queer bodies, paying tribute to queer communities, and addressing issues of migration and belonging, while having a rococo aesthetics" -artist note)
• Louis Fratino ("for the use of modernist language to represent queer bodies" -artist note)
• Nicole Eisenman ("for her brilliant queer storytelling and very complex, encyclopedic vocabulary" -artist note)

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