ABOUT
Adrian Damian is a Romanian scenographer who creates innovative stage designs for performing arts and multimedia installations, focused on using technology as a new way of artistic expression.
After graduating Acting at the Faculty of Theater and Film Cluj-Napoca, Adrian Damian continued his studies with a MA at UNATC Bucharest, finishing scenography in 2010. Currently he is a PhD student at Art University Târgu Mureș.
“Adrian Damian’s scenographic language is essence, rich in terms of meanings, beautiful for the eye to watch and inciting to decipher. His scenographies are plastic configurations articulated on the level of ideas, through superior concept motivation, which generate intellectual emotion. A synthesis between shape and content, they are smart, active settings which develop gradually, synchronised with the situation on stage. They are fertile scenographies that follow the dramatic action and the transformations of the characters, they are settings that wait and evolve…”
The Young Theatre Artist. Recent Romanian Histories
He signed so far over sixty stage designs in important theaters, collaborating with famous directors such as Radu Afrim, Alexandru Dabija, Răzvan Mazilu, Charles Chemin, Radu Alexandru Nica, Bobi Pricop, Peter Schnider, Roberto Bacci, Alexander Hausvater, Vlad Massaci etc.
A special place in his career is the collaboration with director Mihai Măniuţiu with whom he conducted over 30 performances such as Life is a Dream and Winter nominated by UNITER for BEST SCENOGRAPHY, Mr. Swedenborg wants to dream and Pirandello Café awarded BEST PERFORMANCE – Oradea Theater Festival or Rambuku awarded by UNITER as BEST PERFORMANCE of the year 2017.
One of his major project was the collaboration with famous director Robert Wilson, as an associated set designer for Rhinoceros, by Eugène Ionesco, produced by Marin Sorescu National Theater Craiova in 2014,
He was awarded with The UNITER Award for Best Scenographer(2016), Hungarian Theatre Critics' Association Award - Best Scenography(2016), Kisvarda Hungarian Theaters Festival Award - Best Scenography(2016), Romanian Artist Association – Best Scenographer(2015), Man of the year in Theater, Cotidianul Awards(2017) and many others.
Besides his work as a scenographer, Adrian Damian deepened his artistic research through an academic activity, being a researcher at the Laboratory of Virtual Decor and Augmented Reality at the International Center for Research and Education in Innovative Creative Technologies - CINETic , UNATC Bucharest(2017-2020) and doctoral student at the University of Art in Târgu Mureș where he was also an associate professor for a year.
He held multiple conferences and workshops like Artistic practices derived from new technologies in the International Conference of Art and Technology in Contemporary Culture, organiser CINETic, Bucharest (2018) or From kóthornos to new media ? 21st Century Theater, Șuțu Palace (2017) or Stage Design Works, Robert Wilson International Summer Program, Watermill, New York (2017);
Since 2017, his activity has been closely linked to that of the Odeon Theater Bucharest where he held several positions including Scenographer, Artistic Consultant and Deputy General Manager.
His entire activity, whether it is theater, opera, musical or multimedia installations is distinguished by the organic way in which he integrates technology to reveal unsuspected values of the stage space and to discover new means of artistic expression.