Exhibition Opening & Artist Talk | "Duae Lingua", curator Daniela Holban

The Brâncuși Gallery at the Romanian Cultural Institute is pleased to present “Duae Lingua”, a group exhibition exploring the complexities of migration and dual identity through the experiences of Eastern European women navigating the tensions between tradition and assimilation. Featuring works by Adina Andrus (Romania), Katya Grokhovsky (Ukraine), Elena Kalkova (Russia), Lilian Shtereva (Bulgaria), and Alex Wolkowicz (Germany/Poland), the exhibition invites reflection on the ever-evolving process of self-translation.

Curated by Romanian-born Daniela Holban, "Duae Lingua" takes its name from the feminine translation of the Latin phrase “Two Languages” (Duae Linguae). The exhibition deliberately alters the phrase, playfully referencing the popular language-learning app, DuoLingo, while underscoring how meaning can shift—or get lost—in translation. While the app promises rapid fluency through gamification, the exhibition challenges this notion, highlighting the profound and often lifelong process of cultural assimilation. More than mastering vocabulary and syntax, true fluency requires navigating new customs, idioms, and social codes—an experience deeply intertwined with migration.

Through themes of memory, language, and cultural belonging, the exhibition examines the liminal space between two worlds—the contradictions of selfhood and the challenges of translating one’s identity across cultures. Grounded in Holban’s personal reflections on immigrating to the United States as a teenager, Duae Lingua weaves intimate anecdotes with broader cultural narratives. It considers questions such as: Can one ever fully assimilate into another culture when their own heritage remains the foundation of their being? How do memory, ancestry, and experience shape the landscapes within us? Do dual identities blend into something new, or do they remain in perpetual negotiation between past and present?

Through a range of artistic media, Duae Lingua offers a meditation on the spaces between fluency and belonging, self and other, tradition and transformation.

March 7, 2025 - May 30, 2025
Exhibition Opening | 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Artist Talk | 6:30 - 7:30 PM
Exhibition Reception | 7:30 - 9:00 PM

BRÂNCUṢI GALLERY
Romanian Cultural Institute
200 East 38th Street, New York City, NY 10016
Gallery Hours: 9 AM - 5 PM, Monday-Friday

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Romanian Cultural Institute, 200 East 38th Street, New York, United States