From Lisbon to Madrid
T e o d o r a T r o f i m o v
Art History graduate, University of Groningen
Master student in Museology and
Curatorship at the University of Bologna
February, 2026
Romanian contemporary artist Florian Doru Crihană is widely known for his painted cityscapes, depicting urban landmarks from his home country—such as Galați and Brăila—to major European destinations including Venice, Potsdam, and Strasbourg, as well as cities beyond the continent, among them New York. The start of the new year marks the unveiling of his 21st thematic series, this time dedicated to Madrid, the capital of Spain.
The Madrid project follows closely on the completion of Crihană’s Lisbon series, finalized toward the end of 2025 and comprising 40 works focused on the Portuguese capital. For the artist, the number is deliberate: forty pieces represent, in his view, the minimum required to fully capture a city’s essence. Each new series begins with an in-depth exploration of the historic core of the chosen city, with particular attention given to its cathedral, often treated as both architectural anchor and symbolic point of departure.
In Madrid, this approach is reflected in the opening work of the series, Cuesta de la Vega, which takes inspiration from the Almudena Cathedral. The cathedral itself is a striking example of eclectic historicism: its exterior is defined by refined Neoclassical lines, its interior by Neo-Gothic grandeur, while the crypt—marked by heavy columns and rounded arches—belongs to a Neo-Romanesque revival. As the conceptual starting point of the series, Cuesta de la Vega signals Crihană’s ongoing interest in cities shaped by layered histories and enduring architectural identities.
News / Short Updates
1st of February, 2026
The first Don Quixote catalog has been produced – an artist’s edition. It contains 45 color images, reproductions of paintings exhibited in Izmir, Turkey. The artist put it up for sale on his personal Facebook network..
News / Short Updates
31st of January, 2026
A new series of 45 works, “Don Quixote de La Mancha,” will be exhibited for one month at the Ahmet Adnan Saygun Cultural Center in Izmir. The official opening will take place on Wednesday, February 4, at 6:30 PM.
Curator: İbrahim Karaoğlu, Coordonator: Dr. Zeki Hozer
Florian Doru Crihana 