Necolau Ana Maria

I had my personal exhibition at the age of five. This was just the beginning of this game, as I participated in several drawing competitions and I had numerous personal exhibitions, as well as participations in some group exhibitions.

As I couldn’t stop drawing, my way was clear… So in the 5th grade I went to the Nicolae Tonitza High School. My training as an artist took place here from the age of 11 to the age of 18 when I finished high school.

I had the honour, from the moment when I entered the world of graphics to have Iuri Isar as a teacher. This wonderful man taught me to feel, study, think and love every dash drawn on the metal plate. Thanks to him I decided to continue at the faculty within the same section.

I finished Nicolae Grigorescu with a project which consisted in an engraving exhibition and a book created by me, from the concept to the manual paper on which I printed the engravings.

I liked what I did but at the same time I wanted a change. I knew and I felt that there was more, much more to explore in this world of arts. I chose to register for the Master’s degree admission exam in Florence. Some of the most important and interesting projects would be “Communication Box”, a video installation downtown Florence, the film “Thanks to Joseph,” the project within the Faculty of the Free Academy of fine Arts of Florence, where I was accepted and transposed in a fascinating world.  During the MA studies I rotated courses with different artists that helped me and my colleagues to participate in many educational projects – “Green that I want you green” where I created a street set event of people on asphalt to encourage the arrangement of that space, or the workshop in which I arranged the spaces in an abandoned station for an art festival.

Here I switched to digital. I took photo classes within the faculty, my final project being represented by photographs printed on canvas.

The classes, the projects, the dozens of exhibitions that I visited there guided me to contemporary art. I learned to understand it, to feel it and make it a source of inspiration for my projects. During that year I nourished my soul and intellect and I returned in the country with a new vision.

I wanted to study the digital art more profoundly so I followed the photo-video section within the Nicolae Grigorescu University of Art. From the photo section I took the next step. The video installation “The End” represented my final project at this MA programme.  The Master’s Degree in Italy had already motivated me to organise another photo exhibition and to be self-taught as a video installations artist.

Still having many gaps that I wanted to fill, I wanted to have a PhD in fine arts. During the doctorate studies I started painting, at the beginning shyly, in acrylic, then after a year I started painting very coloured works in oil. It was a great contrast with was predominant until then in my vision as a graphic artist. I am not considering this an evolution, but only a step in perceiving myself and the ways of being honest with what I feel and the expression of states. An artist must be honest.

My PhD thesis is entitled “Gesture. Mimics. Model. Picture.” In this book I studied thoroughly what art means in various fields, such as psychology, anatomy, theatre, film, history of arts. I liked the most the study in the chapter “Gesture and art in the world of theatre”, where I interviewed numerous actors.

An artist must study sincerely and work a lot. Behind a concept is an entire universe. You don’t have to talk to artists, you have to communicate with them. Your world must interact with their world, but not in a brutal way. We offer. Those who offer are sensitive.

One of my greatest achievements so far, except for my projects and exhibition in Italy, was last year’s exhibition in Vienna. It was a dream come true made possible with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute. We, artists, always dream, but the dream comes true only if we love and believe it.

As an artist I want to continue to experience. Now I am preparing a performance, which is a new challenge for me.