Romania

During the summer of 2014 I attended a state sponsored artist residency in Sibiu, Romania. I carved woodcuts on an Italian-made poplar faced solid core plywood I purchased at the late home supply chain BauMax. Other necessary supplies were found at another big box home supply – Dedeman. I carved at a picnic table in the compound courtyard and printed with a spoon brayer. Weekend excursions around Romania brought us to Bucharest and it’s wonderful museums and astounding night life, to Alba Julia, Brasov, Hunedoara and sites in between. For some reason I thought Brancusi sprang from the Parisian art scene wholly original. Not so. Constantin Brancusi’s work is tied very closely to the architectural and peasant aesthetic of rural Romania. The artists of Romania – Bela Szabo, Karl Hubner, Hans Mattis-Teutsch, Mac Constantinescu, Ion Irimescu, Dimitrie Paciurea, Ovidiu Maitec, Florin Codre, Milita Petrascu, Ion Vlasiu, Eugen Szervatiusz, Vida Hess, Borgo Prund, Constantin Popovici, Irina Codreanu, Gheza Vida Constantin Aramescu & Antoine Augustin Preault are all under appreciated giants of the larger art world.