126. Carmen [1962]

Lucia Dem Balacescu's artistic journey finds its sources in attending the courses of the "Buser" Institute in Switzerland. The artist then comes to Bucharest, where her masters are Ipolit Strambu, Dimitrie Serafim, Gheorghe Petras and Eustatiu Stoenescu. She will then graduate, according to the tradition of the time, from the curricula of the famous Parisian art academies and will return to the country, where she will consistently participate in Bucharest exhibitions. In 1916, she joined the newly formed group "Association of Women Painters and Sculptors", alongside Cecilia Cutescu-Storck, Olga Greceanu, and Nina Arbore. The work of Lucia Balacescu is distinguished by the narrative illusion proposed by her plastic language. She adopts a color palette of Fauvist inspiration and paints parks, gardens, the sea, markets, or the rural world in true pictorial frescoes. Her rich imagination and abstract spirit will encompass the entire local color of the times in her cityscape restitutions. Following the chronological vein of her creation, we discover numerous views from Bucharest parks. The artist captures the richness of gardens invaded by vegetation and randomly places, a few characters draped in the attire of the times. We however encounter this time with the protagonist of Iberian origin, with her lean naked body, frozen in a photographic posture. The artist thus becomes a cartographer of experiences and Hispanic chromaticism. She illustrates, through exuberant nuances and confident lines, a new dramaturgy of everyday life. In the history of Romanian visual arts, Lucia Balacescu shapes a distinct plastic style, easily recognizable, located at the border between avant-garde and naive art.

References

BADEA-PĂUN, Gabriel, "Romanian painters in France", Noi Media Print, Bucharest, 2012.

Dimensions

width 46.5 cm, height 55.5 cm

Description

pastel and gouache on cardboard, signed and dated bottom left, with black, "LDB, (1)962"

Research information

The artwork participated in the exhibition "Self-Portrait. Part II", Plan B Gallery, Berlin, January 26 - March 2, 2024.

Dating

1962

PROVENANCE

Felix Aderca collection.

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