Do you think three months would be enough time to publish an anthology? Believe it or not, publishing the Anthology of Moldavian Painting took just that long.
What an ambitious project! Still can't understand what urge made this happen, but I am glad it was created, under the supervision of Vlad Bulat, one of the best art historians and experts in this field.
Vladimir Bulat is an art historian, art critic and esseyist who lives in Bucharest, Romania. He debuted as an art writer in 2000 with his book Art and Ideology, from the "socialist realism" to "the new sensibility" 1940-2000. He is curently an associate editor for Cotrafort magazine of young writers from Moldova, published monthly in Chisinau by the Romanian Cultural Institute since 1994.
Had Bulat had more time, the Anthology might have been different. His publisher insisted on featuring only 15 artists with images of their best artwork and very little text.
But given the current informational vacuum on Moldovan art, every little bit helps!
So, the anthology was published in record time in Chisinau at Nova IMPRIM at the initiative of the entrepreneur Mariu Marin and with the support of Getik Romania and its associations, of Ghenadie Dumanov and Adrian Teodorescu and the design and preparation for the printing was done by Serghei Drebujan and Andrei Ichim.
In the end the list of artists was extended. Vladimir Bulat insisted on entering another three names: Roman Tolici, Alexander Tinei and Andrei Gamarț, representatives of the younger generation whose work, in the art historian’s view, has already started its ascension internationally. The anthology covers the period of time between 1940 and 2015. It features 18 artists. Here they are:
Moisei GAMBURD (1903-1954)
Mihai GRECU (1916-1998)
Ada ZEVIN (1918-2005)
Igor VIERU (1923-1988)
Aurel DAVID (1935-1984)
Valentina RUSU-CIOBANU (1920)
Andrei SÂRBU (1950-2000)
Elena BONTEA (1933)
Sergiu CUCIUC (1940)
Mihai ŢĂRUŞ (1948)
Dumităr PEICEV (1943)
Inessa ŢÎPIN (1946-2013)
Anatol RURAC (1957)
Alexander TINEI (1967)
Roman TOLICI (1974)
Mark VERLAN (1963)
Valentina BOBKOVA (1952)
Andrei GAMARŢ (1980)
This list could have been longer. Bulat regrets not having included Pentru Jireghea, for example. In his opinion, among the talented artists of the new generation in Moldova are also Diana Tudose, Vadim Palamarciuc, Alexandrina Hristov, Igor Svirnei and Lorena Isar. “Those artists have a lot to say”, confirms Bulat.
Nevertheless, at the same time, the selection could not have been better. It was too difficult to squeeze more names into such a limited space, but it gives you an idea of the piers on which Moldovan painting stands.
Bulat doesn’t expect this publication to radically change the situation for Moldovan art. “I am convinced that we live in an infirm, murky and anti-cultural time. And that a time will come to look a little different at art and its function in the destiny of mankind. Nowadays people are still living a deprivation trauma, but the cultural thirst will come later”, says the art historian.
The anthology is for anyone interested in the phenomenon of Moldovan art, including art historians, art critics and curators.