Down here on the farm

Kitsch is an acknowledged art form in itself and here I gave in the temptation of using it. The photo project was inspired by a sad set of cheap plastic animals (with blue eyes!), that became the subjects of this shoot. Here are the masterpieces created "down here on the farm" (which is improvised in my parents' living room, naturally):

full deco, trees, fence and some grass

blue-eyed, four-legged

donkey got drunk

note the proportions. killer giant rabbit

slaughtered, yet still alive

a mare, naturally, considering the blue eyes and the haircut

Sculpture detail

This is a detail of my favorite sculpture from Budapest, near Keleti train station, where I had to waste a lot of time during the MA and PhD studies there. Even better than the classicist perfect modelling, I feel in admiration with the color and irregularities of bronze patina. Time is the best artist there is!

Temples and amfitheatre models - Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa and Sarmizegetusa Regia

Entrance to the Roman amphitheater in Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, the capital of the province Dacia. Detail of the gypsum model.

Detail of the gypsum model of the amphitheater.

The "round sanctuary" from Sarmizegetusa Regia, the capital of the Dacian kingdom. Detail of the model.

Column bases from another Dacian sanctuary. Detail of a model.

As all old-fashion, respectable museum institutions across Europe, the National History Museum of Transylvania owns and displays a series of models of archaeological sites. The most aesthetic ones (though, apparently, not very up-to-date) are those of the two Sarmizegetusas, i.e. the Roman amphitheater in the capital of the province of Dacia (Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa...) and the religious area of the ancient Dacian capital known as Sarmizegetusa Regia. I was delighted of these macro photographs of the details, especially under the morning sun.

Top silly painting titles (RO)

• Metamorfoză I, II, III....etc.
• Flori
• Apus de soare
• Nori, ceaţă şi o ploaie măruntă, aproape invizibilă, pe platourile de la Fjerlandsette
• Natură statică cu pepene galben. Armonie în verde şi portocaliu
• Natură statică cu pepene roşu. Armonie în negru şi roz
• Stare I, II, III....etc.
• Metamorfoză
• Vis

Larry as a dancer

As you can imagine, my friend Larry cares nothing for contemporary dance. Yet, here he is, putting on just such a show, with his partner - the toilet paper. The photo session was organized (ad hoc) in Bratislava, he is French, and I am Romanian, so there is one perfectly international art project.

Group exhibition Lithuania

"The Other Sides of the World" international group exhibition organized in Lithuania, at the art galley

 

for more data, see

http://www.antanasmoncys.com/lt/Naujienos.html?article=41;

Involved artists:

Ole Bjorn Gundermann – Danija, Ana Maria Gruia - Rumunija, Lojze Kalinsek - Slovėnija, Faust Campama Peleja - Andora, Lluisa Casas Grimaldos - Andora, Martje Verhoeven- Olandija, Cristiana Itiopolos - Graikija, Octavo Esinencu - Moldavija, Laura Gomez Volero - Andora, Olga Cabanes Chao - Andora, Isabel Pons Escarre - Andora, Dolors Pascuet Mas- Andora, Elga Grinvalde - Latvija, Gelu Lupas - Rumunija, Edmond Krebik- Rumunija, Mindaugas Aučyna - Lietuva, Martinas Jankus - Lietuva, Edita Matulionytė - Lietuva, Eugen Raportoru - Rumunija.

Homemade fair 13 december 2008

Another art fair hits the city! Cluj-Napoca, be ready for another exhibition at Casa Tranzit, organized with the support of the French Cultural Center in Cluj-Napoca. There will be also cookies, French music, and the atmosphere of the 1930s. And, not to mention, everything will be 100% handmade.

Gruia&Gruia exhibition, december 2008

I invite you to Gruia&Gruia, my first exhibition together with my father. It can be seen (and bought) at Galeriile La Fortuna, Piata Muzeului nr. 6, Cluj, all throughout this December. The place is a nice and cozy cafe where you will have a good time, and there are good chances we will meet there.
My father exhibits a series of flowers and landscapes (oil on canvas) on the upper floor, while I have the basement of the cafe, with works from two different series. The most numerous contains works about Cluj, made in a mix technique (collage, linocut, acrylic on canvas) while the other is part of a an older cycle of acrylics.

Covers for contemporary art magazines

Some photos are just right for magazine covers: they are just fine, though a little something is missing in their composition. Here are some example I made during cold winter days in various locations in Transylvania. In the right light, even the simplest objects (a frozen car tire, the handle of an old closet, water melting on my car, or a cute girl running in dim light) made for photo shooting subjects.

Winter bazaar at La mesteceni Country Club

We were invited to take part at this great event organized by a country club near Sebes, Romania. Fighting the weather we went to try our luck, with some paintings and some Dacian hats. We landed in a room crowded with Christmas decorations, music CDs, shoes, clothes, icons, and the above photographed: Dracula with blood dripping from his vampire canines grinning from a porcelain cup with gold trimming, a female nude statuette by the feet of the Crucifix (somehow not religious at all), and ceramic desk mask (?) with butterflies!

And a special treat for Romanian speakers. It is worth reading, I guarantee.

Tonight's work

 
Alright, I gave into abstract compositions. I was in fact trying to use randomly dyed working paper from previous linocuts. Then, through collage, I integrated them into new compositions and assorted them with new acrylic painting, suggesting silhouettes in the background. The technique looks promising, it just needs a bit more work and practice. Maybe it should look better on canvas, not cardboard.