Marius Bercea (b.1979, Cluf-Napoca, Romania) lives and works in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Considered one of the leading artists of the Romanian Cluj school of painting, Marius Bercea weaves together reality and imagination in artworks depicting his surroundings and memories. The works in Bercea’s Thoughts Safari series recall a trip from his hometown of Cluj, Romania to Los Angeles, exploring the historical and cultural similarities he discovered along the way. With bold flashes of colour and a thick, impasto texture, the works cinematically merge the heat of California and the coolness of Transylvania into hybrid spaces, portraying Bercea’s personal experience of discovery, rediscovery, and myth-making.