Art Projects & Exhibitions
These are some of my public projects so far.
They mark the steps of my progress from art student to professional artist.
Each project explored a theme that interested me, helping define my individuality, step by step.
My progress has been conditioned by the realities of working in tight quarters, in the restricted time afforded my day job, combined with the less than favourable climate for the arts in a country transitioning from comunism to European membership. As such, I am proud to not have given up my passion and I am looking forward to a more mature phase, in a more dynamic context.
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Colourtherapy
June 2016
This show included a selection of pieces in different media, brought together by strong chromatic expression. I set up the display in such a way that the small scale space of the gallery would be overwhelmed, transformed and extended with the wealth of colored windows suggested by the works. I theorized that such a space, brought to life by vivacious color, would function as a 5 minute therapy for the visitor. Many of the guests expressed the feeling that the exhibition made them feel uplifted and energized, so the experience proved successful.
Pieces of Iasi
March 2013
Pieces of Iasi is my first solo show that focuses on drawing. The project reflects the my attachment for the traditional atmosphere of Iasi, my hometown, which is reconstructed from fragments of architecture and isolated corners of the old town center. The works are based on sketches done on site, so the line is spontaneous and dinamic. The graphic expression mediates between naration and sign, while later digital interventions test the relation between line and colour fields.
The aim of the project is to document and transmit the beauty and characteristics of the old spirit of Iasi and to inspire the conservation of the values that still survive.
Calm
December 2010
The works selected for this show where an experiment through which I wanted to see if lighter, more serene themes like calm love, growth, decorative flowers can engender interesting work. Also, I wanted to challenge myself to be more open to what the public might find relatable. If anything, this is a transitional body of work, with mixed merits, in my opinion. Ultimately, I was proven that, while a professional can always respond reasonably well to a comission, the stronger work is always the one that fully expresses the inner world and motivations of the artist.
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smallworld
October 2007
This was my second solo show. The exhibition setting was a bit unusual- a commercial mall that decided to try a temporary space dedicated to art. There was an inevitable dialogue between artwork and the commercial environment, but due to the separated area, the artwork did not become just another commodity, the ensamble could still be perceived and experienced as art.
The title of the show referenced both the small scale of the majority of the paintings (35x35cm to 50x50cm) and the humble scope of the motifs that inspired them. They were an honest recording of the somewhat limiting horizon of my life as a fresh graduate and young professional, trying to find balance between paid teaching and design work and the necessity to keep on painting. The body of work also shows my strategy to try and find a direction that really represents me as an artist, by working my way through different techniques, motifs and suggestions from art school.
7 years
March 2004
This was my first serious personal exhibition. It dates back to 2004, during my MA studies. The show was motivated by the need to look back on some personal struggles, the losses and the gains of the previous seven years. I used oil painting and a few pieces of installation to record truthfully the moments and places that had a transforming effect. I made the selection using the emotional charge of the memories as a criterion. Though my experiences were specific, the struggle to grow up and try to fit into the world was, I thought, quite universal. Thus, I exploited the unusual, rounded, shape of the gallery to create a certain symbolic route for seeing the individual works. I hung the images in the chronological order of the encounters, so that they formed a narrative. the spectators needed to follow this path. This way they experienced the emotions in the same order as I had done, in the same time possibly revisiting their own formative years. From this point of view, the concept was that the whole set-up made one site specific piece of installation. At the openning I walked the people present along the path and explained more about each work. However, it was interesting to notice how effective the visual communication worked on the usual days, when visitors had no guide. I had not affixed a lot of literature explaining my meaning, I wanted the spectators to be able to engage with the works unhindered by instructions or prejudice. I was elated to see that the combined language of visual allusion and raw emotion infused int the project actually paid off.