Anca Poterasu Gallery

We are delighted to announce the first book signing in France of Matei Bejenaru’s Prut and Models art books, presented as a collateral event of Les Rencontres de la Photographie.

The book signing will take place at the École nationale supérieure de la photographie (30 Avenue Victor Hugo, Arles) on 7 July, from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm.

Prut is a photographic project documenting life in Romanian villages on both banks of the Prut River. Beyond separating Romania from the Republic of Moldova, the river has also marked, since 2007, the eastern external border of the European Union. Through a restrained and neutral photographic language, Bejenaru brings into the realm of contemporary art a nuanced image of rural Romania—one that stands in contrast to the familiar clichés of photojournalism.

Models presents in book form Bejenaru’s photographic project of the same name, inspired by the botanical teaching models preserved in the collection of the Faculty of Biology at the “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași. Most of these plant models were produced by the German manufacturer Brendel in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and acquired by the university during the interwar period. Originally intended for scientific education, they are now part of museum and academic collections across Europe. Through large-scale photographs, the project explores the relationship between representation and reality while revealing the expressive qualities and intricate beauty of botanical forms.

✨We warmly invite you to join, meet the artist, and celebrate the presentation of Prut and Models in Arles.

Les Rencontres d'Arles

Aurora Király Museum Tinguely , Basel

Installation views of Aurora Kiraly 's work in the group exhibition "Labouring Bodies”.

Curated by Sandra Beate Reimann , the exhibition challenges conventional narratives of productivity by exposing the invisible foundations of our economic systems, from historical wage exploitation to unpaid domestic and reproductive care. By tracing a line from early 20th-century avant-garde critiques to contemporary feminist resistance, "Labouring Bodies” examines how the female body has been systematically mechanized, and hierarchized by technology.

From the biological reality of childbirth to the automation of care, the project serves as an urgent mapping of how bodies resist structural apparatuses. Positioned within this dense dialogue alongside figures like Mary Kelly, Helen Chadwick, and Ani Liu, Aurora Király’s practice explores these precise points of friction, questioning the modern boundaries of systemic labor and the gendered body.

The exhibition remains open through the summer, until November 8th on Paul Sacher-Anlage 1.

FeministArt ContemporaryPhotography ArtBasel InstallationVie

is heading to Les Rencontres d'Arles , opening July 6th, as part of the group exhibition "Flowers — A New Ecology", curated by .nowak.paris and Michel Poivert , alongside Suzanne Lafont , Alice Pallot , Anais Tondeur and Jiang Zhi , whose works you can explore in the slides that follow.
On the occasion of the festival, Matei will also be signing copies of his artist book 'Models'.

Transcending the historical identity of the Brendel models as scientific teaching instruments, Matei Bejenaru's work reinterprets their inherent precision through a lyrical lens. What was once a medium for rational classification is transformed into a profound study of movement and grace. The photographs highlight a "vegetal choreography", where the natural geometry of the plant is elevated to a performative art form, almost mimicking human gestures and inviting the viewer to see the biological world as both a system to be understood, and a silent ballet to be observed. The enmeshed relationship between the represented image and representations of reality opens up a perspective on the reciprocity between biological ecosystems and human interventions, seducing the public while simultaneously activating a critical stance.

"Flowers — A New Ecology"
Les Rencontres d'Arles - Jardin d'été
6 July to 4 October 2026
Open daily, 7:00 AM – 8:30 PM

In order:
Matei Bejenaru
Models_01: Theobroma cacao L.
2019

Jiang Zhi
Love Letters No. 22
2014

Alice Pallot
Oasis Foam soaked with Water
series Oasis
2019

Suzanne Lafont
Nouvelles espèces de compagnie [New Companion Species]
2017

Anaïs Tondeur
Parietaria officinalis, Villa Literno, Terra dei Fuochi, Fiori di Fuoco series, phytography
2024

© https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en/expositions/2026/flower-power