Sorin Ilfoveanu
Encyclopedia
Sorin Ilfoveanu is a Romanian painter,designer and university teacher.
And, beyond all that, all of a sudden, an explosion of the tender sexual loving gesture. The desire to be solved by pure sexuality of undulating lines, which suddenly reminds us that we are made of dust and lust.” (…) Stefan Agopian
The Artist’ s Metaphysic interrogations
(…) The painting of Sorin Ilfoveanu are rich in representations which take into account human attraction for chaning appearances.
The woman in his works speaks about youth and mystery, about energy matrix and the dream induced by gestation. Her face and body seek her maternal feelings, and the artist thus follows the normale stage of the biorhythms or the elimination of the disharmonies occurring during pregnancy. The Intrauterine dream - seemingly inspired by Salvador Dalí’s dream - is an obsession and it is connected with the real experience during pregnancy. Invoking the bird instead of the foetus expresses a
positive perspective: it is the message of divine will. The various erotic connotation seen to reflect eternity, origins, women's maternal calling. Like all incurable dreamers, Sorin Ilfoveanu returns again and again to genesis, to the female symbol, to the mother as an expression of life. We can see in
these representations an attempt to derive the underivable, a psychology willing to examine human nature in all its complementary hypostases . On such occasions, the artist shows the importance of inner culture.
The artist’s drawings show his permanent interest in the profound self, without any prejudices, and set above time and space. Seen in all the diversity of her manifestations, woman in the artist’s paintings is primarily a simbol of love. One can see here an ambivalent sexual behaviour, seduction and denial at the same time. She appears as a fragile and strong person, idea-matter of fertility and sexuality, capable of contradictions or confrontations.The master’s innovation offers us a great expectation through his bold stylisation of the taboo features, through the irony and the freedom to edify his own dialogue with the archaic legacy. The freedom of lines in each of his drawings enables the common development of both the past and the future.
The simplicity of style is one of the master's characteristics. The passion and the minuteness of the representation of the open-eyed dream are connected to the knowledge and pleasure of drawing symbols. Thanks to a profound attraction for knowledge of humans and their complicated history, Sorin Ilfoveanu recreates in his own style some of the greatest cultural themes. He feels and brings to awareness the movement of the human being from the past to the future, revealing its spiritual mysteries through highly practiced artistic expressions. A wonderful grammar of forms, the art of master Sorin Ilfoveanu's paintings brings to life an endless universe.Victor Neumann
Formation
- 1953-1964 attends the classes of “I. Bratianu” highschool in Pitesti, where he was colleague, among others, with Daniel Turcea
- 1964-1970 attends the courses of the Bucharest National University of ArtsBucharest National University of ArtsThe Bucharest National University of Arts is a university in Bucharest preparing students in fine arts.The university has three faculties:* The Faculty of Fine Arts* The Faculty of Decorative Arts and Design* The Faculty of History and Theory of Art...
, in the class of master Corneliu BabaCorneliu BabaCorneliu Baba was a Romanian painter, primarily a portraitist, but also known as a genre painter and an illustrator of books.-Early life:Having first studied under his father, the academic painter Gheorghe Baba, Baba studied briefly at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Bucharest, but did not receive a...
, assistant Liviu Lazarescu, having as colleagues, among others, Mihai Cismaru, Stefan CaltiaStefan CâltiaŞtefan Câlţia is a contemporary Romanian painter.Born in Braşov, he attended the Arts and Music high school in Timişoara from 1959 to 1963, having Julius Podlipny as a teacher...
, Sorin Dumitrescu, and teachers: Eugen Schileru in art history, Gheorghe Ghitescu in anatomy and Simion Iuca in engraving. - since 1971 he is a member of the Fine Arts Artists Union of Romania.
University Activity
- 1992-1996 he is the head of the painting department at Bucharest National University of ArtsBucharest National University of ArtsThe Bucharest National University of Arts is a university in Bucharest preparing students in fine arts.The university has three faculties:* The Faculty of Fine Arts* The Faculty of Decorative Arts and Design* The Faculty of History and Theory of Art...
. - 1996-2000 he is the dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts from the Bucharest National University of ArtsBucharest National University of ArtsThe Bucharest National University of Arts is a university in Bucharest preparing students in fine arts.The university has three faculties:* The Faculty of Fine Arts* The Faculty of Decorative Arts and Design* The Faculty of History and Theory of Art...
. - 2004-2006 he is rector of the Bucharest National University of ArtsBucharest National University of ArtsThe Bucharest National University of Arts is a university in Bucharest preparing students in fine arts.The university has three faculties:* The Faculty of Fine Arts* The Faculty of Decorative Arts and Design* The Faculty of History and Theory of Art...
.
Personal exhibitions
- 2011 " Drawings 2008 - 2011", AnnArt Gallery, Bucharest
- 2011 Ilfoveanu Painting, Sala Dalles, Bucharest
- 2002 Codex Ilfoveanu, Apollo gallery, deINTERESE gallery and U.A.P., Bucharest / Romania
- 2002 Brukenthal Museum, Sibiu / Romania
- 2002 Art Museum, Cluj Napoca / Romania
- 2001 National Museum of Art, Bucharest / Romania
- 2001 M.M.G. gallery, Tokyo
- 1999 Maculata Conceptie/Maculata Conception, with Ştefan Agapian and Adrian Ilfoveanu, Romanian Museum of Literature, Bucharest / Romania
- 1994 Romanian Cultural Centre from Vienna / Austria
- 1993 Artexpo gallery, National Theatre, Bucharest / Romania
- 1988 French Institute, Bucharest / Romania
- 1987 Marais gallery, Paris / France
- 1985 National Museum of Art, Bucharest / Romania
- 1975 Art Museum, Cluj Napoca / Romania
- 1968 Art Museum, Pitesti / Romania
Group exhibitions
- 2009 Saga Ilfoveanu, (Sorin, Ana-Ruxandra, Adrian, Nicu Ilfoveanu), ArtSociety Gallery, Bucharest
- 2009 Mitologie Soggettive, Rocca Paulina, Perugia, Italia;
- 2010 ZOOMANIA.RO, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest;
- 2002 Littman & White Gallery, Portland, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- 2000 Jungersted & Brostrom Gallery, Copenhaga
- 1997 Tegnerfobundet Hall, Oslo / Norway
- 1997 Abu-Dhabi Cultural Foundation, Arab Emirates Unite
- 1997 Art Museum from Sharjah, Arab Emirates Unite
- 1998 Transfiguratii, Mucsarnok / Budapest
- 1995 Art museum from Gotteborg / Sweden
- 1988 Art Museum from Seoul, South Korean
- 1988 Volda Gallery, Norway
- 1989 Arnhem Gallery, Holland
- 1987 Orizont Gallery, Bucharest / Romania
- 1986 Cagnes-sur-Mer International Festival, France
- 1984 I.M.S. Gallery, Oslo / Norway
- 1982 Valparaiso Biennial, Chile
- 1978 Internatioal Art Biennial, Venice / Italy
- 1977 Voos-Bergen, Norway
- 1969 Astra Gallery Bucharest
Awards
- 2001 Big Prize offered by Artists Union of Romania.
- 2000 National Order – Serviciu Credincios in grad de Mare Ofiter/ Faithful Service Grand Officer
- 1999 Bucharest City-hall Prize, A.R.C.U.B.
- 1999 Prize of the Cuvantul magazine
- 1982 Prize for Painting offered by Artists Union of Romania.
- 1981 Caravaggio prize
- 1972 Prize for Young Artists offered by Artists Union of Romania.
- 1971 Scholarship for Young Artists offered by Artists Union of Romania.
About the art of Sorin Ilfoveanu
“ The loneliness of Sorin Ilfoveanu’s characters, their sadness came from other times. The timeless world, but endless just because of that. Their gestures stuck in a ceremony of death, when there is nothing tragic, just a moment of what we are.And, beyond all that, all of a sudden, an explosion of the tender sexual loving gesture. The desire to be solved by pure sexuality of undulating lines, which suddenly reminds us that we are made of dust and lust.” (…) Stefan Agopian
The Artist’ s Metaphysic interrogations
(…) The painting of Sorin Ilfoveanu are rich in representations which take into account human attraction for chaning appearances.
The woman in his works speaks about youth and mystery, about energy matrix and the dream induced by gestation. Her face and body seek her maternal feelings, and the artist thus follows the normale stage of the biorhythms or the elimination of the disharmonies occurring during pregnancy. The Intrauterine dream - seemingly inspired by Salvador Dalí’s dream - is an obsession and it is connected with the real experience during pregnancy. Invoking the bird instead of the foetus expresses a
positive perspective: it is the message of divine will. The various erotic connotation seen to reflect eternity, origins, women's maternal calling. Like all incurable dreamers, Sorin Ilfoveanu returns again and again to genesis, to the female symbol, to the mother as an expression of life. We can see in
these representations an attempt to derive the underivable, a psychology willing to examine human nature in all its complementary hypostases . On such occasions, the artist shows the importance of inner culture.
The artist’s drawings show his permanent interest in the profound self, without any prejudices, and set above time and space. Seen in all the diversity of her manifestations, woman in the artist’s paintings is primarily a simbol of love. One can see here an ambivalent sexual behaviour, seduction and denial at the same time. She appears as a fragile and strong person, idea-matter of fertility and sexuality, capable of contradictions or confrontations.The master’s innovation offers us a great expectation through his bold stylisation of the taboo features, through the irony and the freedom to edify his own dialogue with the archaic legacy. The freedom of lines in each of his drawings enables the common development of both the past and the future.
The simplicity of style is one of the master's characteristics. The passion and the minuteness of the representation of the open-eyed dream are connected to the knowledge and pleasure of drawing symbols. Thanks to a profound attraction for knowledge of humans and their complicated history, Sorin Ilfoveanu recreates in his own style some of the greatest cultural themes. He feels and brings to awareness the movement of the human being from the past to the future, revealing its spiritual mysteries through highly practiced artistic expressions. A wonderful grammar of forms, the art of master Sorin Ilfoveanu's paintings brings to life an endless universe.Victor Neumann
Victor Neumann
Victor Neumann is a Romanian historian, political analyst, and professor at the West University in Timişoara. He is a well-known specialist in the recent cultural and intellectual histories of Eastern and Central Europe...
External links
- http://www.iasi24info.ro/stire_2533_sorin-ilfoveanu-si-mihai-ritivoiu-castigatorii-premiilor-prometheus.html
- http://romania-on-line.net/whoswho/IlfoveanuSorin.htm
- Sorin Ilfoveanu artist website- http://www.ilfoveanu.ro/