Solo Exhibition Mihai Potârniche (MD) – "The Magic of the Moment"

After the end of the summer season, the exhibition program of the International Association "Euro Foto Art" (AIEFA), carried out in partnership with Summit Agro România and the Țării Crișurilor Museum Oradea – Museum Complex, through the Oradea City Museum Service, continues with a new photography exhibition. Starting Thursday, September 17, 2026, the "Mezey Lajos" Gallery within the Oradea City Museum will host the exhibition "The Magic of the Moment", signed by the renowned photographic artist Mihai Potârniche from Chișinău, Republic of Moldova. The public will be able to admire a selection of black-and-white and color photographs, presented in very large formats.

The exhibition is organized under the auspices of the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), an organization recognized by UNESCO, on the occasion of the 75th birthday anniversary of the Bessarabian photographic artist. After being presented in Chișinău and Iași, the exhibition now arrives in Oradea. The works can also be viewed in the virtual gallery on the official AIEFA website. https://eurofotoart.ro/efa-galeria-mezey-lajos/expo-personala-mihai-potarniche-md-magia-clipei/ . "I am glad that, after presenting the first solo exhibition of photographic artist Mihai Potârniche from Chișinău in 2008, in the "Euro Foto Art" Gallery, entitled "Home... Portraits of the Earth", the public of Oradea now has the opportunity to discover a new exhibition by this renowned artist. We are bound by a friendship of several decades, as well as a rich collaboration. Over the years, we have organized exhibitions of photographic artists from Oradea in galleries and museums in the Republic of Moldova, while the works of photographers from Chișinău have been presented in several cities in Romania," emphasizes the president of AIEFA and curator of the exhibition.

Mihai Potârniche was born in January 1951, in Păhărniceni, Orhei district, Republic of Moldova. In 1970 he began his career as a photo reporter for the district newspaper "Munca pașnică" in Strășeni. He trained in the field of photographic art largely as a self-taught artist. In 1972 he became a member of the Union of Journalists of the Republic of Moldova, in 1995 of the Union of Photographic Artists of the Republic of Moldova, and in 2005 of the Union of Plastic Artists of the Republic of Moldova. Throughout his career, Mihai Potârniche has had 51 solo exhibitions in cultural centers and galleries in Romania, the Republic of Moldova, Portugal, Azerbaijan, Belgium, France, Ukraine, Hungary, and Poland. Among the cities where he has presented his work are Chișinău, Bucharest, Iași, Oradea, Bacău, Paris, Brussels, Lisbon, Strasbourg, Warsaw, Kyiv, and Odessa. His photographs have also been featured in hundreds of international exhibitions and have received numerous awards and distinctions.

The artist is the recipient of several important awards and distinctions, including the title of Master of Art of the Republic of Moldova, the National Award for lifetime achievement in the field of photographic art, the Order "Honor", as well as other distinctions granted by cultural and state institutions of the Republic of Moldova, the Ștefan Ciobanu Award of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, the Order of Honor, the National Award, for lifetime achievement in the field of photographic art. He is also the recipient of the Gheorghe Cinclei Award of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova, and has been awarded the Diplomatic Merit, 3rd class, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova. His works have been published in several photography albums released in the Republic of Moldova. As conceptual author and photographer, Mihai Potârniche has coordinated the editing of approximately 50 art albums and landmark editorial projects.

The opening of the exhibition "The Magic of the Moment" will take place on Thursday, September 17, 2026, starting at 17:00, in the presence of the author, at the EFA Exhibition Center – "Mezey Lajos" Gallery, located on the 2nd floor of the Oradea City Museum. The atmosphere of the event will be enhanced by musical moments performed by students of the Oradea Arts High School. The exhibition can be visited until November 17, 2026, from Tuesday to Sunday, between 10:00 and 18:00. Starting November 1, the visiting hours will be 09:00–17:00. Access to the gallery is free, based on a free entry ticket. As part of a cultural partnership between AIEFA and OTL SA Oradea, a selection of the most representative photographs from the exhibition will also be displayed on the screens of the city's public transport vehicles, thus giving the public the opportunity to discover the artist's creations in the urban space as well.