Growing up in Moldova and recently moving to Paris, how have these environments influenced your approach to art? Has your relocation changed your perspective or artistic style in any way?
My relocation brought a profound transformation, changing my life in a radical way. This experience has helped me better understand the nuances and complexity of human emotions. Moldova is reflected in my paintings through structures, dimensions, naive characters, and warm colors, which seem to express a desire to “escape” the canvas, or rather my desire to change my routine, which indeed happened. Whether by chance or as a result of this new chapter in Paris, I began to explore and express this vision in shades of blue. I am now working on a series of blue paintings that reflect my inner state – a period of calm, reflection, purity, and elegance, inspired by everything I discover in Paris. Nothing captures emotions, the intensity of experiences, and the magnitude of changes better than these works, which feature rich technique, large dimensions, and the deep expressiveness of emotions.
Your work oscillates between figurative and abstract elements. How do you decide which approach to take for a particular piece, and how do you see these two styles complementing each other?
For me, the choice between figurative and abstract is not always a conscious decision, but rather a natural reaction to the idea or emotion I want to express. Figurative art allows me to maintain a point of reference in reality, to translate a recognizable, almost tangible story, while abstraction helps me transcend the limits of form and delve deep into the essence of a feeling or idea. The complementarity of these two styles thus becomes a dialogue between the visible and the invisible, a dynamic in which one reinforces the meaning of the other.
Could you talk about your fascination with vibrant and contrasting colours? How do you choose your palette, and what role does colour play in conveying the emotional and existential themes you explore?
Colors… sometimes, they speak more than words ever could. It’s difficult to describe my deep relationship with them in words. Recently, while working on the painting Free Fall, I witnessed a true metamorphosis of colors as they dried. I saw how violet began to dominate the blue, and then the blue, in turn, transformed the titanium white into a subtle hue, a shade of blue that would have been impossible to achieve on the palette, yet came to life directly on the canvas, through time and technique. Colors thus become an organic and independent language.
Using hands, bodies, and subdued facial expressions in your work suggests a deep focus on human connection and vulnerability. Why are these particular elements so central to your visual language?
For me, gestures and expressions are fragments of a story, echoes of unspoken feelings, because people tend not to speak directly about what they truly feel. They reveal those hidden layers of the self, beyond the mask, where sincerity and fragility meet. In the painting You Will Bloom Without Me, I created a combination of a lily and the position of the hands, which conveys a vulnerability that no sentence could fully express. Or, in the painting You Are Your Own Home, the care and connection expressed by the two arms embracing the house, the place we each have, is a silent, almost sacred language that speaks of our shared humanity, of that thirst for connection and understanding, so simple yet profoundly deep.
Your current series of blue paintings delves into surreal and expressionistic realms. Can you share what inspired this series and what the color blue represents to you in the context of these works?
The series is called Blue Soul and represents a tribute to people who struggle with anxiety, capturing the essence of human suffering with deep empathy. Each blue figure is marked by pain and loneliness, and the paintings reflect a profound concern for the marginalized and those in suffering, as if each work is trying to tell a story about fragile and vulnerable humanity. Without intending to, or rather without it being planned, I would like to believe that my paintings provoke change in those who view them. That is why I consider this series to also be an artistic activism, a response to the social and economic issues of our time, of which I am also a part.
Your work often explores themes of tension and connection between the self and others. How do you approach these themes, and what message or reflection would you hope viewers take from engaging with your work?
The only thing that can help me explore these complicated themes for us, humans, is freedom. Let yourselves be free, let your soul pour directly into drawing or painting, let the experience itself be what matters, because it is more important to feel like yourself, to reach your own unique ‘self’ through drawing or painting. And then, the soul will become brighter and calmer due to the certainty. This is the message I hope to convey, and it is probably about happiness and suffering, which is not just an individual experience, but a shared one that connects us all. My art can open a window into these inner experiences, inviting the viewer to recognize not only the pain and vulnerability of others, but also their own.
Lastly, what are the biggest challenges and rewards of working in such a dynamic, expressive style? How do you stay motivated, especially when faced with technical or creative obstacles?
You know, when we find a comfort zone, we stop growing within ourselves. This is a big challenge for me because the artist in me constantly seeks reasons to create, while Sergiu-the person also needs routine things sometimes, like a hug, a conversation with friends, or a smile. These two personalities sometimes lead to a fierce emotional struggle.
And I could say that this is the greatest challenge for me: the choice, and this applies to any area of our lives, with art being no exception. Perhaps the key to success is curiosity and openness to new experiences. The more we learn, the more we want to move forward! The more time we spend doing what we love, the more time we have. That’s why it’s so important not to be afraid, but simply to do, to set goals, and move toward them step by step, even without making radical decisions in the moment life arranges everything over time.
