For the month of April, the Library presents, “Diana Chelaru: Reimagining Femininity.” There will be an opening reception for the artist on Sunday, April 7th, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM. Ms. Chelaru desribes her work as follows,
“The works of art in “Reimagining Femininity” are the result of a unique blend of Abstract Expressionism and Jugendstil Ornamentation at the center of which I placed the female figure. The ornament becomes a direct mode of representation, conveying meaning through material form and color, transforming extreme stylization and artifice into a meaningful and deeply symbolic mode of visual expression. The heightened sensuality of the decorative ornamentation is almost obliterating the human figure.
In creating these paintings I used two techniques: the traditional acrylic painting techniques with brushes on the vertical canvas and the dripping of enamel paints on the horizontal canvas. By using the two techniques it was possible to create a simulation of depth on the flat canvases emphasize once again the decorative ornamentation.”