Miki Velciov (born 1968) lives and works in Timisoara, Romania. After a 10-year internship in Rome, in 2010 he started studying painting in the class of Prof. Cristian Sida at the Faculty of Art and Design, West University of Timisoara. In a short time, Velciov diversifies his interests by extending the pictorial layer to the abstraction of objects, photography, and video. Furthermore, his diploma work Uprooting (2013) represents a first approach to anamorphic installation, in which he blends painting and natural elements within a dynamic perception context, allowing for a privileged perspective on the overall image. The work concept demonstrated his concern for current themes, such as the phenomenon of migration as a form of uprooting man from his direct connection with his motherland, problematising the excessive exploitation of natural resources and pollution that destroys habitats, impoverishes the population, and chronicizes the phenomenon of migration.
Starting in 2014, Velciov begins the series of anamorphic installations with a privileged point of view, such as Big Brother (2014), Oculus (2015 and 2016), and Shock Wave (2016), revealing the omnipresence of surveillance systems as a form of excessive control typical of totalitarian societies. Simultaneously, in works such as 1 Cubic Meter of Life (2015), Inner View (2015), In Terra Pax (2016), and Inner Sound (2015), Velciov scrutinises the visible layers of reality by examining the primordial elements of nature, such as earth, water, air, and fire, thereby showcasing a clear concern for nature. Thus, in the interventions Turgidum (2018) or Triandra (2019), the fusion of these two directions extends the anamorphic installation to the landscape scale, linking the illusion of absolute control and the impossibility of the utopian perfection of totalitarian systems to the unbeatable perfection of the cyclicity of nature.
In the context of the global crisis, Velciov becomes increasingly aware of the essential difference between temporary or permanent interventions in nature, in which he implements constructive elements related to the scale of the landscape, and land art interventions proper, in which he reorganises the resources of the site in an artistic sense until their complete return to the landscape. Both interventions fall, however, into a broader category of site-specific art practiced by Velciov, both outdoor, in wild habitats (Green Forest, Cerna’s shore, the Black Sea shore, the Subuleasa canal, the agricultural field of Saravale, the pasture of Gărâna, etc.), and indoor, in disused spaces that are not part of the cultural circuit (the Battery Factory Tower, STPT workshops). Additionally, Velciov assigns the public a significant role in his anamorphic landscape interventions, placing them in a privileged position to perceive the integrality of the work. Similarly, in his participatory land art interventions, such as Labirint, Balans, Rauul de la Dealul Cerului, and Biodiversitate de la Apoș, the public becomes an integral part of the construction of the work and in the reception of the artist’s message regarding ecology and critical thinking in contemporary art.
2025 – Present, PhD in Visual Arts, School of Doctoral Studies, West University of Timisoara
2010-2015 BA / MA Painting Department, Fine Arts Faculty And Design, West University Timișoara
2025 – Nature after Nature, Comenduirea Garnizoanei, Timișoara
2025 – Chasing Light, Romanian Cultural Institute London
2025 – Romanian Creative Week, Paltul Culturii și Grădina Botanică, Iași
2024 – O seară Jecza – 4 perspective, Galeria Triade, Timișoara
2023 – Conector, Electroglobal, Cluj-Napoca
2023 – Expozitia Gărâna, Fundația Herczeg, Muzeul Banatului Timisoara
2023 – Nucleu 0014, Galeria Park, Timișoara
2023 – Expo Shilla ediția 2023, Spațiul MushuROi, Cluj Napoca
2023 – Ecologiile grijii și îngrijirii, Galeria Strata, București
2023 – Hiperestezia, Expoziție Avantpost / Bienala de Artă Contemporană Art Encounters, Timișoara
2022 – Quo Vadis Mundi, Limanskom Park, Novi Sad, Serbia
2022 – Shila Coexisting With(in) Nature, Faber, Timisoara
2022 – Gathered Pearls, Musee LAB, Angers, France
2022 – Expo Gărâna, Banat Museum Timișoara
2022 – Process Space Art Festival, The Mill, Balcic, Bulgaria
2021 – Expo Gărâna, Banat Museum Timișoara
2021 – UAP Year Show, National Museum of Art Timisoara
2021 – Oasis. Green Identity, Young Naturalists Resort Timisoara
2021 – Young Artists, Young Friends, 418 Gallery, Munchen
2021 – I feel something, don’t know what, Zacheta Project Rooom, Warsaw, Poland
2021 – I feel something, don’t know what, Art Encounters, Timisoara
2020 – Timișoara Contemporary, Galeria Primăriei Municipiului Timișoara
2020 – Expo Alumini / 30 ani de la înființarea Facultății de Arte și Design din cadrul Universității de Vest, Muzeul Temporar de Artă Contemporană Timișoara
2020 – Si Muove, expoziție online, Asociația Diplomatic Art Timișoara
2020 – Zoom In, expoziție online, Asociația Diplomatic Art Timișoara
2020 – Later Edit, Kunsthalle Bega Timișoara
2020 – Pandemic Art, expoziție online, platforma Tehnoarte Timișoara
2020 – Desene din pandemie, Galeria Helios Timișoara
2020 – Expoziția Gărâna, Fundația Herczeg, Galeria Calpe, Timișoara
2019 – Re la Revoluție la revoluții, ReMIND MAPPING / MultipleXity & Timișoara 2021 Capitală Culturală Europeană, Muzeul Corneliu Mikloși, Timișoara
2019 – Transborder. Ecouri Europene Consulart / Expoziție duplex România – Serbia, Asociația Diplomatic Art & Timișoara 2021 Capitală Culturală Europeană, Parcul Gheorghe Doja Timișoara
2019 – In Vitro Veritas / Expoziție Avantpost & Timișoara 2021 Capitală Culturală Europeană, spațiul alternativ Gara de Nord, Timișoara
2018 – Danube Art Festival: Timișoara – Novi Sad 2021 Capitală Culturală Europeană, Galeria Mamuzić Gift Collection Novi Sad, Serbia
2018 – 20, Galeria Helios, Timișoara
2017 – Universallowed, Expoziție Avantpost, Fabrica de Baterii, Timișoara
2016 – Hidden Agenda. In memoriam Sorin Oncu, Expoziție Avantpost, Muzeul Temporar de Artă Contemporană Timișoara & Rezidența Scena 9 / NAG București
2016 – Unseen. Celebrating DADA, Expoziție Avantpost, Galeria Helios, Timișoara
2015 – Becoming Connected, Expoziție Avantpost / Bienala de Artă Contemporană Art Encounters, Memorialul Revoluției, Timișoara
2015 – Desenul din atelier. Bienala de grafică, Facultatea de Arte și Design, Universitatea de Vest, Timișoara
2015 – Beyond the Silence, Expoziție Avantpost, Muzeul Banatului, Timișoara
2015 – Heimat an der kreuzung, Bulgarisches Kultur Institut Berlin, Germania
2015 – Rodina na krastopat, Wittgenstein Haus – Bulgarisches Kulturinstitut Viena, Austria
2014 – The Vanishing Point, Expoziție Avantpost, Halele Timco, Timișoara
2014 – Diplomatic Art, Centrul de afaceri, Timișoara
2014 – Diptyque, Galeria Calpe, Timișoara
2014 – Bulharski Culturny Institut, Bratislava, Slovacia
2013 – So Close, So Far, Galeria națională de cultură, Sofia, Bulgaria
2013 – Concav, convex, Concursul Juventus, Galeria Triade, Timișoara
2024 – Cu ochiul mintii mele, Institutul Francez din România, Cluj
2023 – Tetraktys, Galeria Mielul Alb, Sibiu
2023 – Lost Signal, Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român, București
2018 – Spectrum, Muzeul de Artă Timișoara
2016 – Epicentru, Muzeul de Artă, Arad
2025 – Rezidență artistică Galeria din Baltă, Muzeul Ivan Patzaichin
2025 – Rezidență artistică, Fundația Herczeg, Gărâna
2024 – Rezidență artistică, Fundația Herczeg, Gărâna
2024 – Rezidență artistică, Galeria Triade, Timișoara
2023 – Rezidență artistică, Fundația Herczeg, Gărâna
2023 – Rezidență artistică, Apoș, Sibiu
2023 – Rezidență artistică Shilla, Dalboșeț, jud. Caraș Severin
2022 – Rezidență artistică, Fundația Herczeg, Gărâna
2022 – Rezidență artistică, Méricourt, France
2022 – Process Space Art Festival, Balcic, Bulgaria
2022 – Art Movement KRUG, Dajdovnitza, Bulgaria
2022 – Shila, Dalboșeț, Caraș-Severin
2021 – Rezidență artistică, Fundația Herczeg, Gărâna
2021 – Duppini Art Group, Gabrovtzi, Bulgaria
2021 – Art en Ciel, Tad la Chance, Cuges les Pins, France
2020 – Rezidență artistică, Fundația Herczeg, Gărâna
2019 – Rezidență artistică, Méricourt, France
2019 – Rezidență artistică, Ad Ognuno a Sua P’Arte, Villatalla, Italy
2019 – Rezidență artistică, Fundația Herczeg, Gărâna
2019 – Rezidență artistică, Cetate Art Danube, Cetate
2018 – Rezidență artistică, Cetate Art Danube, Cetate
2018 – Rezidență artistică Land Art, ADATA AIR, Plovdiv 2019, Capitală Culturală Europeană, Bulgaria
2017 – Rezidență artistică, Bulgarisches Kultur Institut Berlin, Germania
2016 – Simpozion Land Art, What Are the Grasses Hiding, Rusenski Lom Natural Park. Nisovo, Bulgaria
2016 – Rezidență artistică, Arsenal. Process Space Art Festival, Russe, Bulgaria
2015 – Rezidență artistică, Entities at the Crossroads Artforum, Bahnhof Langmeil, Germania
2014 – Simpozion Land Art, Ghelari, Hunedoara
2013 – Rezidență artistică, Maudite soit la guerre, Méricourt, Franța
2013 – Simpozion, Aradul văzut de artiști, Arad
2013 – Rezidență artistică, Bălgarski Artforum u Bănată, Lipova
2020 – (un)parallel, Saravale, Timiș
2020 – Self Defence, Pădurea Verde, Timișoara
2019 – Fickle, Băile Herculane, Caraș Severin
2018 – Triphibian, Saravale, Timiș
2017 – Translucent, Saravale, Timiș
2022 – Shila, Dealul Cerului, Caraș Severin
2021 – Oasis. Green Identity, Young Naturalists Resort Timisoara
2020 – CAMPArt, Art Encounters Timișoara
2020 – Asociația Arheus, Dealul Cerului, Caraș Severin
2020 – Draft #10. Sketches for Landscape Interventions, Biblioteca Pavilion, Facultatea de Arte și Design, Universitatea de Vest Timișoara
2018 – Săptămâna Verde, Universitatea de Vest Timișoara
2019, Diploma of Excellence awarded by the City Hall of Timișoara and the Romanian Artists Union
2015: 1st Prize: Drawing in the Studio, 3rd Edition, Fine Arts Faculty and Design, West University Timișoara
Scholarships: 2011-2015 Bursă de studiu / merit / performanță / Fine Arts Faculty and Design, West University Timișoara
mikivelciov@ymail.com