Cătălina Nistor (b. 1981) is a Craiova-born artist who has been working in Cluj since 2015. Her artistic practice brings taboo subjects and clichés of thought to people’s attention by the use of a self-ironising approach. The mediums of expression she works with are diverse, ranging from painting and drawing to objects and limited-edition publications, and over the years she has been experimenting with various reproduction techniques. In the last four years she has initiated two collaborative publications, one of which is an ongoing project. In 2020 she was awarded a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Fellowship, and in recent years she has participated in exhibitions such as Tales from a Jar, Matca Artspace@Funnel Contemporary Art, Serbia; Bird Lives, Imre Baász - testimonies and the idea of printing, Magma Contemporary Art Exhibition Space, Sf. Gheorghe; and Winter Games, Camera K'Arte, Targu Mures. Two watercolors from the series Sleep were included in the exhibition Where the Spirit Meets the Bone, Lateral ArtSpace @Rubik, Cluj, in 2021.

During the pandemic, Cătălina Nistor explored the passive state of being, specifically in the context of waiting for the unknown. In those years, she began a series of watercolor and ink drawings that depict daily activities, highlighting how waiting has become an integrated and unacknowledged part of life. These drawings reflect the quiet introspection and contemplation that characterized that period. The integration of waiting into everyday activities is subtly represented, conveying a sense of the 'new normal' that emerged during those trying times. The series stands as an intriguing commentary on how people adapt their routines and perspectives in response to unprecedented circumstances.

(Gia Țidorescu)