The Romanian Pavilion exhibition at the 2024 Venice Biennale, featuring works by Șerban Savu curated by Ciprian Mureşan, has been named by Apollo Magazine as one of the Biennale's "Must-See Pavilions." The exhibition, entitled What Work Is, is centered around the history and relationship of work and leisure.
"Romania pavilion" 'What Work Is' (Giardini)
In the Romanian Pavilion, Șerban Savu, collaborating with designers Nana Esi and Sophie Keij (who comprise Atelier Brenda), present a wall of artworks that look at first like typical social realist paintings but with slightly softer colours. These are not scenes of labour but of rest: men stand around on a construction site; a security guard in a quiet gallery catches a quick nap. It is an oddly affecting display of the dislocation at work in everyday life. Some of these works have been translated into mosaics; you can see them being made in a pop-up workshop at the New Gallery of the Romanian Institute of Culture and Humanistic Research in Cannaregio."
- Edward Behrens, Apollo Magazine