Artist Statement
My formation as a sculptor infused my artistic view with the
fascination of three dimensionality and with the constant impulse of
understanding forms in all angles.
Drawing is an obsession for me — line and form in all their aspects
have been a constant in my artwork. My body of work can be viewed
as a conglomerate of different directions, but I always go back to line
or linear compositions.
Even when I “paint”, what really matters to me is the underlying
structure. The paintings are in fact colored drawings.
I am fascinated with the human figure in all its aspects: physical,
spiritual, natural, social, and historical-temporal.
It is the continuity through time (as art history proves) that provides a
never-ending source of inspiration for me.
About Ileana Barbu
Ileana Barbu – a native of Romania- lives in Boulder, Colorado, since 1992. She received her MFA in 1988, from the Fine Arts Institute “N. Grigorescu” in Bucharest, Romania, where she was trained in classical drawing, sculpture and painting.
She has achieved recognition for her superb figure painting. Her classic style conveys the substantial reality of the Renaissance, the intensity of the Baroque and the beautiful lighting of the Impressionists. Grace and elegance are hallmarks of her images.
She had various painting and sculpture exhibits in the US and Europe. The most recent shows have been in Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins and Laguna Beach, California. Besides painting wonderful impressionistic figures, she has recently expanded her art into iconic paintings rooted in the traditional religious icons of Eastern Europe.
She has taught at the Art Lyceum in Bucharest, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, the Art Institute of Colorado, Loveland Academy, Colorado Academy of Art, and other private and public institutions in Colorado. She currently teaches drawing and painting at T.A.R.A., in Boulder.
