ABOUT
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
I don't paint nature as I see it; I express how it feels. My goal is to transform my emotional connection to nature into a physical experience that helps viewers connect with nature and discover oneness of all things.
I do not force the paint or pigments to behave in a strictly controlled manner, but I rather collaborate with them and allow them to work in time, with the canvas and gravity. I let the paint flow and the fluid layers intermingle on their own. Thus, I do not impose a form onto a canvas, but I am more of a partner engaging in a dialogue with matter. In rendering the interconnection between humans and nature, this partial surrender of control explores the physical and natural laws, allowing the canvas to partially self-organize, just as it happens in nature.
My work explores the intricate interplay between us humans, and our inner world, and the beauty and fragility of the surrounding environment.
BIOGRAPHY
I live in Brasov, a medieval Romanian city surrounded by mountains, with the forest starting right in my backyard. Since I have known myself, I have been interested in painting and drawing. I was a sensitive child with a rich inner world, always drawing as a way of coping with a world where people spirits were crushed by the communist regime. In the early childhood I lived with my grandparents in Moara Grecilor, a small village in Vaslui county, so I had the chance to live in nature since the beginning of my life. I spent most of my childhood drawing fairies in the garden, which was like an enchanted place with many colorful flowers, raspberry bushes, and a big old walnut tree. Later on, I started studying painting and drawing at the local art school. In 1998 I moved to England and in 2001 I moved to Australia, where I met the great Australian portraitist Robert Hannaford, who guided me and encouraged me to start painting professionally. I enrolled to study at Adelaide Central School of Art where I had the privilege of being taught by artist Chris Orchard, who also introduced me to the secrets of his fascinating art. In 2008, after I got the Australian citizenship, I came back to Romania, and for a few years, I explored the greatest European museums. I settled down in Brasov, Romania, because of the abundance of the nature in the area, and my art journey has continued ever since.
EDUCATION:
2010-2012 M.A. Fine Arts, National University of Fine Arts George Enescu Iași, Romania
2005-2007 Adelaide Central School of Art, Australia, Painting
1991-1996 B.A. Sociology, National University A. I. Cuza Iași, Romania
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
2027 "Colours" Inspiratio Art Gallery, Brasov
2027 "Nature of Change", Europe Art Gallery, Brasov
2024 "Life", The Art Tower Brasov
2022 “Portraits”, Europe Art Gallery Brasov
2021 “Red and Blue”, Urban Civilization Museum Brasov
2020 “Hope”, Architects Order Brasov
2016 "Gesichter", German Cultural Center Brasov
2013 "Mirror", Galeria de Artă Europe, Brasov
2009 "Images of Time, Reduta Cutural Center Brasov
2008 "Nostalgia", Okian Art Gallery Brasov
2007 "Women", South Australian Living Artists Festival, Adelaide, Australia
2007 “Abstract Figures”, Premier Art Gallery, Adelaide, Australia
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2023 “One Art”, Apollonia Cultural Center, Brasov
2022 "Magda Vacariu, Profesorul si studenții”, Brasov Art Museum
2022 "The Journey", Apollonia Cultural Center, Brasov
2017 Cathedral Gallery, Fribourg, Elveția
2016 Muzeul de Istorie Brașov
2012 82 Mercer Exhibition Center, New York, Statele Unite
2012 Chelsea Town Hall, Londra, Anglia
2007 Paddington Contemporary Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2007 Royal South Australian Society of the Arts Gallery, Adelaide, Australia
2006 Artistic License Gallery, Adelaide, Australia
2006 Royal South Australian Society of the Arts Art Gallery, Adelaide, Australia
2006 Premier Art Gallery, Adelaide Australia, „Five Australian Artists”
2022-Brasov Art Museum, interactive art workshops and live painting
2022-Galeria Europe, interactive art workshops and live painting
2006/2007-Premier Gallery, Adelaide, Australia, „Five Romanian Artists” project
2009- currently Magdalen Vacariu Art School Brașov, art classes and art projects with adult students
MEDIA-Publications, Interviews
Art Publication Brasov City Hall
2022
Romania Actualitati
Adelaide's Matters, Australia
AWARDS:
Royal South Australian Society of the Arts Portrait Award, Australia
AFFILIATIONS:
Uniunea Artistilor Plastici Romania
South Australian Living Artists
magdavacariu[at]yahoo.com
https://www.instagram.com/mariamvacariu/