FITS

Auction of memorabilia and art – The road to Paris

By: Dan Raul Pintea

Dan-Raul Pintea (born in 1981, Sibiu) is a visual artist, graphic designer, and founder of Dragoste Space, an independent art space in Sibiu, Romania.

Since 2007, after graduating from the Graphics Department of the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca, he has fully dedicated his life to art.

He began his journey in Paris, searching for publishers for his comics, later exhibiting them in Romania at events like The White Night of the Galleries. He eventually signed a collaboration with a Romanian gallery and joined them in participating at the Preview Berlin Art Fair.

With an interdisciplinary practice blending art, magic, and performance, Pintea explores the intersection of love, survival, and the hidden economies of art.

This journey led to the creation of the Dragoste brand — “dragoste” meaning “love” in Romanian — which signifies more than a recurring theme in his work. It is a fundamental force that connects people, the materials that form his artworks, and the passage of time that shapes both the art and the artist.

In Pintea’s works, love becomes tangible: visible in textures, in recycled materials, and in the acts of preservation, regeneration, and reconstruction.

From handmade paper to printed t-shirts and complex installations, Dragoste transcends romanticism, touching on existential themes like memory, interaction, and the traces we leave behind.

His works are conceived as a unified discourse, reflecting his personal creative path — supported at times by t-shirt design, and at other times by the innovative use of recycled materials, including handmade paper crafted from product packaging.

His art is defined by a multidisciplinary practice, where themes such as connection, materiality, and time unfold through recycling.

Over the past two decades, he has created nearly 200 works, of which 70–80 still exist today, ready to be shared with the world from his small space in the heart of Sibiu, Romania.

That space is called Dragoste Space — an exhibition venue born out of his love for art, which he continues to promote through events like Art Safari, Art MOBU, and the Visual Arts Pavilion at FITS.

His recent projects, such as Dragoste la Birou (Love at the Office) and Artiști Anonimi (Anonymous Artists), challenge the norms of the art world, questioning both the visibility and the value of artistic labor.

His functional approach to art reflects his concern with the intersection of art, daily life, and the invisible labor behind creative processes. Through these initiatives, he explores how artistic expression can integrate into everyday spaces, and how anonymity shapes both identity and reception in the arts.

With more than two decades devoted to art, Dan-Raul now seeks broader recognition at the Art World Fairs in Paris — while remaining true to his belief in sustainable, independent art that leaves a lasting and personal impact.

And this is precisely why the artist has chosen to sell everything he has left in a memorabilia auction — as both an act of letting go and of giving.

It is an invitation to step into a universe built on love, magic, and artistic rebellion.

We bring you, at the heart of the festival, not just an artist — but an entire universe: Dragoste Space.

Built on love, shaped by time.

I’m selling everything to get to Paris. Even my sneakers.

These aren’t just any sneakers. They’re witnesses to a true story: I was wearing them when a car hit me while I was installing my exhibition at FITS last year. Instead of arriving at the opening, I ended up in the hospital.

This year, with my leg healed but my heart still exposed, I’ve been invited to exhibit at the Art World Fairs in Paris. But I need €1350 to get there.

So I’m putting everything on the table. Even a piece of my soul.

Every day, from 11.40 to 16.00, between June 21–29, Dragoste Space will host a different auction, where you can buy unique pieces — objects, artworks, stories — and contribute directly to my artistic journey.

🎁 Auctions start at 5 lei.

💌 You can also support me through donations or by buying “Thank you” notes.

THANK YOU

…to my wife, who installed the works in the gallery.

…to my mother, who paid for the treatment.

…to my father, who drove me to the gallery every day.

…to Dan, who invited me to exhibit.

…to the festival, which made it all possible.

…and to you, if you choose to leave your mark on this story.

Romania

Program and Access

20 June, 11:40