ABOUT
My work explores the connection between the spiritual or supernatural and palpable reality. The figure is my playground, a space I use to convey a certain state, but also where I play with various colors and shapes. There has always been something fascinating to me in the human figure, but I'm not interested in portraying the individuals in front of me, rather to find something universal in all people—something unique and at the same time common to all of us. The result always amazes me, and it's totally different than what I had in mind. I feel like I paint all people in one portrait. In a way, art communicates that we are all one in the end; there's no difference and no separation between us.
My artistic process is also an inner journey of discovery and self-knowledge. I think in a way I've always painted myself through nature or other people in order to connect to myself and something infinite and immutable. There's always a longing deep inside of us for something beyond ourselves, and my art is an attempt to reconnect to my essence.
I live in Brasov, a medieval Romanian city surrounded by mountains. The forest starts right in my backyard. Nature has always provided that sacred space and support for me at all times; therefore, nature is central in my art, though it doesn't always appear in my paintings.
Since I have known myself, I have been interested in painting and drawing. I remember that in kindergarten, I represented my county in an art competition and won a prize: a big cake which was shared with all my little colleagues. My father left this world early, and this turned me into a sensitive child with a rich inner world, always drawing as a way of coping with an exterior world which seemed harsh. Art was my solace and my escape from a cold world, where people's spirits were crushed by the communist regime. I lived my first years of life in Moara Grecilor, a small village near Vaslui, so I had the chance to live in nature since the beginning of my life. I spent most of my childhood drawing fairies in my grandparents' garden, which was like an enchanted place with many colorful flowers, raspberry bushes, and a big old walnut tree. Later on, I started studying painting and drawing at the local art school, which was called Popular Art School during communism. I was painting oil portraits from an early age, my main interest being the human figure even then. In 1998, I left Romania and lived in Oxford for a while. In 2001, I left for Australia, where I met the great Australian portraitist Robert Hannaford, who encouraged me to start painting professionally. The next year I enrolled at Adelaide Central School of Art where I met Chris Orchard, who taught me drawing and introduced me to the secrets of his fascinating art. In 2008, after I got Australian citizenship, I came back to Romania, and for a few years, I explored the greatest European museums. I settled down in Brasov, Romania, because of the nature and beauty of the city, and my art journey has continued ever since.
EDUCATION:
2010-2012 M.A. Fine Arts, National University of Fine Arts George Enescu Iași, Romania
2005-2007 Adelaide Central School of Art, Australia, Painting
1991-1996 B.A. Sociology, National University A. I. Cuza Iași, Romania
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
2024 "Life", The Art Tower Brasov
2022 “Portraits”, Europe Art Gallery Brasov
2021 “Red and Blue”, Urban Civilization Museum Brasov
2020 “Hope”, Architects Order Brasov
2016 "Gesichter", German Cultural Center Brasov
2013 "Mirror", Galeria de Artă Europe, Brasov
2009 "Images of Time, Reduta Cutural Center Brasov
2008 "Nostalgia", Okian Art Gallery Brasov
2007 "Women", South Australian Living Artists Festival, Adelaide, Australia
2007 “Abstract Figures”, Premier Art Gallery, Adelaide, Australia
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2022 "Magda Vacariu, Profesorul si studenții”, Brasov Art Museum
2017 Cathedral Gallery, Fribourg, Elveția
2016 Muzeul de Istorie Brașov
2012 82 Mercer Exhibition Center, New York, Statele Unite
2012 Chelsea Town Hall, Londra, Anglia
2007 Paddington Contemporary Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2007 Royal South Australian Society of the Arts Gallery, Adelaide, Australia
2006 Artistic License Gallery, Adelaide, Australia
2006 Royal South Australian Society of the Arts Art Gallery, Adelaide, Australia
2006 Premier Art Gallery, Adelaide Australia, „Five Australian Artists”
2022-Brasov Art Museum, interactive art workshops
2022-Galeria Europe, interactive art workshops
2006/2007-Premier Gallery, Adelaide, Australia, „Five Romanian Artists in Australia”
2009- currently Magdalen Vacariu Art School Brașov, art classes and art projects with adult students
MEDIA-Publications, Interviews
Art Publication Brasov City Hall
2022
Romania Actualitati
Adelaide's Matters, Australia
AWARDS:
Royal South Australian Society of the Arts Portrait Award, Australia
AFFILIATIONS:
Uniunea Artistilor Plastici Romania
South Australian Living Artists