I am so delighted to share my featured interview for ArtEXIT, a non-exhaustive mapping of visual artists who have “left” Romania in the last hundred years and have worked in other countries. The ArtEXIT project starts with artists such as Constantin Brâncuși, Victor Brauner, Marcel Iancu and reaches emerging artists.
When did you leave Romania and what did you do before you left?
I left Romania at the end of 2018, looking for a place to inspire me and help me grow as an artist, finding my place in Alcaidesa, a city surrounded by nature and tranquility, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea in Spain.
Before I left, I had just finished my studies at the National University of Arts in Bucharest, during which time I worked as an assistant gallery owner at the Possible Gallery. Before leaving the country, I had also worked as a painter in a furniture restoration and painting workshop and I started my first courses and experiences in the world of decorations and interior design.
What did you do in the country where you arrived, in the artistic area? What did you do to secure your “daily basket”?
When I arrived in Spain, first of all I benefited from the inspiration and time I found to paint as much as possible, so that I could continue my artistic career.
As soon as I completed the first collections inspired by the new experience, I showed them to the world for the first time, with the launch of my website. From this point, new launches of collections followed, as well as the participation in exhibitions, both virtual and physical.
Initially, to ensure my “daily basket”, in addition to the paintings I sold, I also had a part-time job, which gave me financial freedom but also the time I needed to I can paint every day.
And in 2021 I was selected to participate in The Other Art Fair with Saatchi Art, which brought me remarkable exposure and crowned all the work of the last 2 years.
What do you think would have been your artistic development if you stayed in Romania?
I think that every place I’ve stayed has somehow left its mark on my work. While living in Bucharest, I worked on a whole series of characters without a human face but composed of the elements of nature. It was probably my way of still showing my attachment to a world somehow extinct in the noisy world of the city. Then, here in Spain, I experienced a strong connection with the universe of birds, suddenly my works became freer in expression.
I don’t know exactly what it would have been like if I stayed in Romania, but what I know for sure is that Spain helped me to discover my style and grow as an artist.
Is there an emigrant crisis?
I do not find myself living the “emigrant crisis”. I feel very good in the country where I live now and I think it is very okay to have more places, and countries, that we can call “home”, that make us fulfilled. This place, “home”, does not have to be the country where you were born, but the place where you feel happiest.
Good parts vs. bad parts.
The good part, in Spain there are 320 days of sunshine a year, and the bad part: 45 days of rain! I’m kidding, but it’s true in a way.
A special thank you to Dragoș Lumpan for featuring me in this interview!
