Contemporary Art
Interview with artist Irina Iosip - "I always seek to experiment with new media, to produce things with meaning, and leave behind palpable traces ..."
July 28, 2021 | Cosmina Marcela OLTEAN ArtPageThe artistic activity of Irina Iosip is both practical and theoretical. She is an artist from Bucharest, Romania with numerous participations on group exhibitions, and solo shows, both nationally and internationally. Irina Iosip also published numerous articles. However, he is not used to talk easily about her own achievements. Artist Irina Iosip attended the Master's program (Theories and Practices in Visual Arts) of the National University of Arts "George Enescu" in Iasi (2017-2019).
Among her personal exhibitions I mention “TIME and SPACE”, “U” Art Gallery, Bucharest (2019), “Material - Intangible”, Art Gallery “N. Tonitza ”, Iași (2017),“ Spiritual Connections ”,“ U ”Art Gallery, Bucharest (2017),“ 4Poets ”-“ Mihail Sadoveanu ”Metropolitan Library, Bucharest (2014),“ Energies ”, (2011) -“ softPASTELs ”(2012),“ Plastic Synergies ”(2010),“ Colored Fragments ”- Palace of the National Military Circle, Bucharest (2009). The list of participation in group exhibitions is even longer.
The artist about her art practice
Irina Iosip - “I always seek to experiment with new media, to produce things with meaning, and to leave behind palpable traces. I have been passionate about satirical easel and press graphics for many years and, even if I do not currently make drawings in this genre, I have never left the field, considering that it is still an important pawn in the necessary adjustments in society. I still organize salons and humorous drawing exhibitions. I mention that in 2010 I founded and organized The International "Salt & Pepper" Satirical Art Salon, this being the first humorous salon in Romania with judging and exhibition exclusively online, which has reached, for now, the third edition... Who would have thought, before the "pandemic" of Covid-19 that, at some point, the only space for the dissemination of cultural events will be the cybernetic?”, highlights the artist.
„I had the honor to participate in many visual art salons and exhibitions in Romania, abroad and in some situations, my contribution was rewarded with official recognition. Probably some events in the fine arts in which I participated are easier to recognize for the quality of participation and bearing in the art world, such as: "Moldovan Salons" / Bacau, Chisinau, Biennial of Fine Arts "Lascăr Vorel" / Piatra Neamț, Small Plastic Salon Brăila, “Bucharest Small Salon”, “Iași Small Graphics Biennial” / Iași, ARTE / Iași, “Constantin Găvenea” Graphics Biennial / Tulcea, “WEST MEETS EAST- A Cultural Book Exchange” International Salon / Bucharest , Focșani and Alexandria, International Biennial of Miniature Art / Częstochowa - Poland, The International Biennial - “The Art of Miniature” / Ruse - Bulgaria, “The International Biennial of Pastel - Nowy Sacz” / Nowy Sacz - Poland.”
Tell us about your art practice in general, about what you pursue in art.
Irina Iosip - „In my art practice I am interested in everything that incites the intellect and the spirit, which has to do with the human being in general, and with the society. Sometimes I choose simple topics that somehow enticed me to study or render them imagistically. I have time and energy. I am looking for beauty that is timeless, of those that vibrate resonating with the DNA of the surrounding nature. Often, after a period of conceptual search, I return to nature, to recalibrate to the creative energies, to the essence of life perceived with all the human senses and faculties with which we have been endowed.
Inside the artistic act, I am especially attracted by the expressiveness of color. Working with dry pastel is one of the preferred techniques, which is very delicate, because it does not allow erasures or overlaps of layers without diminishing the essential quality of this material, that of changing its shade depending on the nature and intensity of light (natural or artificial ), its angle of reflection, of the season, of the hour of the day. This is due to the peculiarity of pastel crystals which, pure or mixed, reflect light differently in different conditions. The material and structure of the support (surface, degree of absorption of the pastel, color and acidity of the paper) are also very important in highlighting the qualities of this material and in the stability of the quality and expressiveness of the work”, concludes the artist.
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| "Alive water" II, 40x40cm pastel |
The artist about her art practice
Irina Iosip - “I always seek to experiment with new media, to produce things with meaning, and to leave behind palpable traces. I have been passionate about satirical easel and press graphics for many years and, even if I do not currently make drawings in this genre, I have never left the field, considering that it is still an important pawn in the necessary adjustments in society. I still organize salons and humorous drawing exhibitions. I mention that in 2010 I founded and organized The International "Salt & Pepper" Satirical Art Salon, this being the first humorous salon in Romania with judging and exhibition exclusively online, which has reached, for now, the third edition... Who would have thought, before the "pandemic" of Covid-19 that, at some point, the only space for the dissemination of cultural events will be the cybernetic?”, highlights the artist.
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| "Space and time", 10x10cm, mixed media |
„I had the honor to participate in many visual art salons and exhibitions in Romania, abroad and in some situations, my contribution was rewarded with official recognition. Probably some events in the fine arts in which I participated are easier to recognize for the quality of participation and bearing in the art world, such as: "Moldovan Salons" / Bacau, Chisinau, Biennial of Fine Arts "Lascăr Vorel" / Piatra Neamț, Small Plastic Salon Brăila, “Bucharest Small Salon”, “Iași Small Graphics Biennial” / Iași, ARTE / Iași, “Constantin Găvenea” Graphics Biennial / Tulcea, “WEST MEETS EAST- A Cultural Book Exchange” International Salon / Bucharest , Focșani and Alexandria, International Biennial of Miniature Art / Częstochowa - Poland, The International Biennial - “The Art of Miniature” / Ruse - Bulgaria, “The International Biennial of Pastel - Nowy Sacz” / Nowy Sacz - Poland.”
Tell us about your art practice in general, about what you pursue in art.
Irina Iosip - „In my art practice I am interested in everything that incites the intellect and the spirit, which has to do with the human being in general, and with the society. Sometimes I choose simple topics that somehow enticed me to study or render them imagistically. I have time and energy. I am looking for beauty that is timeless, of those that vibrate resonating with the DNA of the surrounding nature. Often, after a period of conceptual search, I return to nature, to recalibrate to the creative energies, to the essence of life perceived with all the human senses and faculties with which we have been endowed.
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| "Awakening", 40x40cm, mixed media |
Inside the artistic act, I am especially attracted by the expressiveness of color. Working with dry pastel is one of the preferred techniques, which is very delicate, because it does not allow erasures or overlaps of layers without diminishing the essential quality of this material, that of changing its shade depending on the nature and intensity of light (natural or artificial ), its angle of reflection, of the season, of the hour of the day. This is due to the peculiarity of pastel crystals which, pure or mixed, reflect light differently in different conditions. The material and structure of the support (surface, degree of absorption of the pastel, color and acidity of the paper) are also very important in highlighting the qualities of this material and in the stability of the quality and expressiveness of the work”, concludes the artist.
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| "Silent calling", mixed media |
