Sculptor Dumitru Verdianu’s solo exhibition in Chișinău
A solo exhibition by sculptor Dumitru Verdianu, a native of Chișinău who has been based in Vienna, Austria, for over 30 years, has opened at the National Museum of Art of Moldova.
Visitors can admire works that have also been displayed in prestigious museums across Europe.
Full of nostalgia and expressiveness, the sculptures "Mother and Farther," the renowned work "The Return of the Prodigal Son," and other creations on display convey Verdianu’s emotions, which are translated into stone, bronze, or marble.
- It's my soul, my destiny, and of course, in my sculptures I portray everything I've experienced throughout my life, from my happy childhood when I was grazing these ducklings. Now you can see them all. These ducklings impress Europe. Yes, you know, that's how it is. They were exhibited at the Presidential Palace in Austria.
Dumitru Verdianu is the sculptor who immortalized mămăligă (polenta) in a work suggestively titled "The Family." He has created several versions of the piece, which can be found in prestigious European museums.
"We were all gathered around the mămăligă—the whole family, all seven children—and I simply added some stone pillars on which I wrote each family member's initials."
"He is one of Brâncuși's most brilliant spiritual descendants. Everything we see emanates sensitivity. It's also abstract thinking of the highest order," says poet Emilian Galaicu-Păun.
The sculptor has created several works for his hometown, Ungheni.
"Such an honorary citizen of our city represents us not only nationally, but also internationally and globally. In his works, we recognize the Romanian people," mentions the mayor of Ungheni, Vitalie Vrabie.
"He is one of the artists who has best captured our tradition and how the soul perceives it," notes Monica Babuc, director of the "M. Eminescu" Romanian Cultural Institute.
"His art is impressive; it has an extraordinary power—that's a characteristic of his. He is a force of nature, and the art he creates is too. I like it very much," says Costin Ioniță, a sculptor from Romania.
"He has exhibitions all over the world—over 200 of them. Everything he has created is rooted in tradition, but it is also part of the contemporary artistic language," emphasizes Vlad Vornic, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Culture.
Dumitru Verdianu was born on October 14, 1954, in Ungheni. He studied in Chișinău, Saint Petersburg, and Vienna, where he now works but often returns to his homeland with a deep sense of longing.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
