Archetypal Expressionism, the target of an intellectual fraud

Archetypal Expressionism, the target of an intellectual fraud in Germany

Motto: “I write all this to leave a testimony about the hostile miracle.” (Adolfo Bioy Casares)

With the short phrase “All bad things for the good” the Romanians are encouraged in a difficult moment, perhaps the equivalent of Adolfo Bioy Casares’ “hostile miracle”. A hostile miracle is what is happening now to my vision of art, the fruit of decades of research and meditation, especially after analysing the works of Constantin Brâncuși, Ion Țuculescu (from the so-called totemic period), Paul Klee and the writings of C. G. Jung. Two weeks ago I found out with surprise and outrage that 23 years after I invented and launched a new concept/current in the art world, archetypal expressionism, in 2023 the German-Swedish artist Peter Backhaus, the curator Davood Khazaie and the Pashmin Art gallery in Hamburg illegitimately attribute the authorship of this idea to the German-Swedish artist they promote. In an article published on the artist’s blog entitled “Peter Backhaus and His Archetypal Expressionism”, his curator states in black and white that Peter Backhaus is the theorist and inventor of archetypal expressionism:

Peter Backhaus and his Archetypal Expressionism By Dr. Davood Khazaie (Literary Art Critic and International Curator)

I reported this incredible intellectual fraud primarily to its authors, artist Peter Backhaus and the Pashmin Art gallery, but received no response, although two weeks have passed, unfortunately an obvious sign that they are consciously and programmatically appropriating it, trying to mislead art lovers despite all the evidence.

In the last 24 years, the Internet is full of events created by me under the sign of this concept that can build a bridge between Western and Oriental culture (closer to the old archetypes), here are just a few texts that I have published on my blog, “The Alchemical City”:

The Archetypal Expressionism

European Award for a New Concept in European Arts, Archetypal Expressionism

Debate: Archetypal Expressionism &MoMA

The Story of the Archetypal Expressionism

The story of archetypal expressionism, with a well-articulated statement/manifest, began in 2000, in my hometown Suceava, while I was writing an art review about the painting of the French-Romanian artist Georges Cotos. That’s when I came up with the idea of this new concept, and the following year, 2001, I used it again in an art review of the retrospective exhibition of the great sculptor Ovidiu Maitec at the National Art Museum of Romania. Excerpts from both art reviews I included in the composition of the first work in the series of 123 paintings dedicated to archetypal expressionism, “Text and Time 1” (photo).

A week before the opening of my debut exhibition, “Text and Time”, held in September 2004 at the National Museum of Bucovina, I had the courage to send the manifesto of Archetypal Expressionism and images of some of the paintings in the exhibition to the global TV station EuroNews in Lyon, which promotes an agenda of important art events across Europe. The next day, German art expert Wolfgang Spindler, probably impressed by the new artistic vision, told me that my exhibition presented by art critic Valentin Ciucă and the great painter Ilie Boca would be promoted for three days by EuroNews.

Since then more than 50 artists from all over the world have joined the new artistic movement, some of them already important names in contemporary art, such as Doru Covrig and Rudy von Kronstadt from Romania, Erkut Tokman (Turkey), Alberto D’Assumpcao (Portugal), Bruce Rimell (UK), Michal Trpk (Czech Republic), Nathalie Detsch Southworth and Yulia Kirschner from Switzerland, Fefe Talavera from Brazil and others, and many art historians, critics and curators from Romania and abroad have written memorable words about archetypal expressionism and my art, such as Helen Gorrill, Valentin Ciucă, Adina Rențea, Marius Tița, Raluca Băloiu, Corneliu Ostahie, Iulia Mesea, Olga Borte, Luca Curci, Ana Arsinca, Maria Ana Tupan, Marina Roman, Monica Guerra, Tiberiu Cosovan, and others.

Two unforgettable highlights of this artistic adventure were the “Danube-Black Sea” trophy awarded by the “Eurolink – House of Europe” Foundation for the concept I theorized and promoted, archetypal expressionism (the selection committee included the following personalities: Ambassador Liviu Bota, former Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, President of the Black Sea University Foundation, Cristian Hera, Vice-President of the Romanian Academy and Sever Avram, Executive President of the “Eurolink – House of Europe” Foundation in Bucharest”), and in 2022 the curator Adina Rențea, together with the art critic Marius Tița, and an art review wrote on the catalogue by the well-known British art historian&artist Helen Gorrill, opened at the Municipality Museum of Bucharest my personal exhibition of paintings with the suggestive title “Two decades under the sign of Archetypal Expressionism-2002-2022”.

Fondator al expresionismului arhetipal, artistul sucevean Constantin Severin prezintă lucrări reprezentative în expoziția „Două decenii sub semnul expresionismului arhetipal”. La vernisaj va fi lansat și volumul de poeme „Viețile Pictorilor”. Evenimentul va fi organizat la Muzeul Municipiului București

I did not at all wish that this current of international impact in contemporary art, important both for me and for Romanian culture, would become better known as a result of a scandal, I always dreamed that it would spread and be embraced with joy organically. Art is joy, love and knowledge.

Constantin Severin

https://constantinseverin.ro/

Suceava, May, 2024