P·P·O·W is pleased to announce the co-representation of Berlin-based artist Hortensia Mi Kafchin with Galerie Judin. Within her multifaceted practice, Kafchin unites a highly classical painting style with a distinctive set of motifs inspired by science fiction and ancient mythology to explore the blended visual environment of our media age. Hybridity, a central tenet of Kafchin’s practice, is innately tied not only to her transition from male to female but also to her experiences growing up in a post-Chernobyl and post-Communist Romania where an influx of Western culture intertwined with deeply rooted Eastern Orthodoxy and Medieval traditions. Kafchin’s addition to P·P·O·W’s program marks a continuation of the gallery’s dedication to figuration and to showcasing works by politically underrepresented groups. Through her skillfully rendered paintings, Kafchin vividly captures the contemporary trans experience in utopian scenes that also comment on the technological, environmental, and socio-political realities of our time. Whether undergoing surgery, donning masks, or sailing across the ocean, Kafchin’s avatars take liberation into their own hands, transforming their bodies and surroundings, and ultimately revealing the power of the imagination as a divine and uniting force.
Hortensia Mi Kafchin (b. 1986) was born in Galati, Romania and lives works in Berlin, Germany. Kafchin received a degree from the University of Art and Design in Cluj in 2010. Her work can be found in collections including the Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, New York, NY; and the Ludwig Museum, Köln, Germany. Kafchin has presented solo exhibitions at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest, Romania; Galerie Judin, Berlin, Germany; Nicodim Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Art Encounters Foundation, Timișoara, Romania; Lyles & King, New York, NY; and Museum of Art, Cluj, Romania, among others. Kafchin has also taken part in group exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; New Museum, New York, NY; Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna, Austria; The Centre for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland; Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France; and Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton, Paris, France, among others. Kafchin presented her first exhibition with P·P·O·W, Years of Bad Hair, in May 2023 and will present her third solo exhibition with Galerie Judin, Cheerful Melancholia, February 24 – April 13, 2024.