Citius, Altius, Fortius.
Pavel Braila is a Moldavian contemporary artist working with films, video art, installations, photography, and performances. Since the mid-1990s he took part in numerous international art exhibitions and film festivals: his film Shoes for Europe (2002) was shown at documenta11 in Kassel, his film Definitively Unfinished received an award at the Oberhausen International Film Festival (2009). Notably, in 2004 Braila initiated the unique Alte Arte project — a TV Magazine on Contemporary Art in Moldova, which was produced by artists and broadcasted on Moldavian national TV. In 2003 he was included in the 100 Best Artists in the World list by Phaidon. Pavel graduated from Technical University of Moldova, Le Fresnoy, Studio National des Arts Contemporains (France), Jan van Eyck Academie (the Netherlands). He has held solo shows at leading art spaces, such as Yvon Lambert, Galerie im Taxispalais, MIT List Visual Arts Center, as well as participated in group shows at TATE, The Renaissance Society in Chicago, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Moderna Museet, Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, and many more. He lives and works between Chisinau and Berlin.
Pavel Braila is known for his dedication to memory and politics. With no exception, his new series *Citius, Altius, Fortius*, created specifically for TAEX, tells a story of the Republican Stadium in the heart of Chisinau, Moldova. A monumental and historically remarkable sports complex (built in 1952) is an architectural ghost: after being a ruin for over two decades, the building still represents a memory of Soviet Moldova. The new purpose of the land is also somewhat symbolic — the former stadium will become the largest American diplomatic campus in Europe. Braila’s series reflects on the multilayered background of the stadium: the original 1950s reliefs are accompanied by historical shots from the stadium’s history. While the monumental figures of athletes remain motionless, historical snapshots of sports history flash and fade in a rave-like rhythm. Representing this contrast, Pavel Braila points to an elaborate context related to the history and politics of Moldova, which is implicitly present in urban history and national sport.
