Backstory for the Scroll titled “All Our Fears”:

As an immigrant from Eastern Europe (former Communist block) I was in shock to find out that some people in the West (the free world-from our point of view) were oblivious to the situation behind the Iron Curtain.  

I wanted to create the contrast between East-West/ ”Orient-Occident” freedom versus oppression.

Medium: Mixed media drawing . 10’ long canvas scroll attached to the wall by 2 rods at each end.

Dimensions: 10’ x 16" x 0"

Price: $3,600

Backstory for “Seasons” Sculpture:

I wanted to capture the dynamics of nature’s cycle: from seed to flower, to fruit and to seed again.

The idea of organic continuity inspired me to create this connection between the circular composition and the spiral structure on the surface.

The Circle and the Spiral are universal shapes in nature.

They are present everywhere around us, at microscopic and macroscopic level.

When I first saw the enlarged mage of a diatom (microscopic organism) I didn’t have the idea of Seasons in mind. But the way the diatom was sectioned in modules, led naturally to its sister-shape: a flower–like sculpture.

The impression of blossom fits very well with the fulfilling sentiment of summer, and the round composition is the logical conclusion of this journey—from microscopic organism to sculptural ceramics.

Artist Bio

Ileana Barbu – a native of Romania- lives in Boulder, Colorado, since 1992. 

She received her MFA from the Fine Arts Institute “N. Grigorescu” in Bucharest, Romania, where she was trained in classical drawing, sculpture and painting.

She is a local artist and art instructor, with many years of teaching experience, both in private and public art schools / colleges.

She has taught since 1996 at the Art Institute of Colorado, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, Loveland Academy, Colorado Academy of Art, Naropa Institute and New Vista High school.

She had various painting and sculpture exhibits in the US and Europe (International Biennale in Florence, Italy, and Schenklengsfeld, Germany).  

The most recent shows have been in Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, and Laguna Beach, California.  

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. My paintings are in fact, colored drawings.

I am fascinated with the human figure, in all its aspects: physical, spiritual, and natural, social, historical-temporal.

It is the continuity through time (as art-history proves) that provides a never-ending source of inspiration for me.  I take old legends and myths, and transform them into my “personal mythology”.

The theme of metamorphosis ignites my creativity, and the result is a visual fusion of human figure and elements from nature.

Inventory List