44 - CARTURESTI GALERRY - BUCURESTI - 2010

The laconic title of the exhibition, 44, carries a major symbolic weight: it refers directly to Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States.

Only a decade before his election, the idea that an African American could reach the highest office in America seemed unimaginable. When Obama became president in 2008, the event transcended politics, acting as a catalyst for change and opening a new horizon of reflection on democratic values and freedom.

In the artistic field, that moment unleashed a wave of creative energy, liberating both artists and audiences from prejudice and inspiring new forms of expression.

Valeriu Mladin’s exhibition, hosted by Galeria Cărturești in Bucharest, explored these multiple dimensions — political, historical, social, and symbolic — all condensed into a single number: 44. The works addressed sensitive and contradictory themes: from Lincoln’s legacy to the ethical dilemmas of Guantanamo, from the tragedy of September 11 to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Obama.

Through large-scale canvases, Mladin constructed a direct and provocative visual discourse, one that raised questions rather than provided answers, deliberately embracing controversy. A remarkable highlight of the exhibition was a series of portraits painted in an original technique using cocoa powder as pigment.