Constantin Severin
Rumänien (România)
Kunstart: Malerei
Technik: Ölmalerei
Stil: Expressionismus
Statement:
Archetypal Expressionism
Archetypal Expressionism lies between the two major paradigms of contemporary art, the figurative and the abstract. It represents the spiritual quest for common cultural roots beyond the tragic accidents of history. It is a fascinating approach to rediscovering that Tahiti of our collective memory through the shapes and the exotic figures of our inner lives. It is art suspended between the real and the imaginary, and it needs rigor and mystery, arithmetic and lyricism, simplicity and paradox.
My work concept as a visual artist, archetypal expressionism, though could be considered a new one, it describes an immemorial artistic reality. Archetypal expressionism is indeed a new concept and yet it echoes an ancient tradition in making art, also specific to cultures of a remote past.
Strong colors, deformities and a special sensitivity to imagine the world are not exclusively the prerogatives of modern expressionists.
The archetype is a universal symbol, just as untranslatable as music. The archetypal fields are real, a mystery of the universe. The archetypal cosmos is atemporal; it only contains a virtual germ of time.
The best Romanian artists of all times, Constantin Brancusi, George Apostu, Ion Tuculescu, Paul Neagu, Doru Covrig and Ovidiu Maitec belong to the archetypal expressionism, in my opinion, but also artists like Paul Klee and Xul Solar. I intend with my own concept to tell to the art community that from remote times we have THE THIRD PARADIGM(better to say, the first!) , the archetypal art, because most of the contemporary art experts asserted there are only two major paradigms, the figurative and the abstract. The archetypes have a secret power, because they have been used during thousands of years by a large amount of populations and they are now a part of our hidden inner life.That's why they have a special emotional impact on every human being.
Every major work of art begins with an archetype and ends in music, the most ineffable manifestation of time.
Vita / Lebenslauf:
Constantin Severin was born on February 8th, 1952, in Baia de Arama, Mehedinti, Romania.
He is a visual artist (painting, installations, photography, post-literature), member of the International Art Group ”3rd Paradigm(“http://3rdparadigm.net”), together with the artists Adrian Bayreuther , Alberto D’Assumpcao, Olga Dmytrenko , Harriette Lawler, Izabella Pavlushko and of European Artists Association, Germany. His art is represented by Opera Gallery, Budapest, Elite Gallery, Bucharest and Mariana Cabanov Gallery, Turin.
He is also a writer, member of the Romanian Writers’ Union.
Between 1977-1991 he worked as an engineer in a pulp and paper factory, in Suceava. From 1991 to 2004 he worked as a journalist for different Romanian publications, but also for BBC and Free Europe radio. Currently Constantin Severin works at the County’s Library of Bucovina ”I.G. Sbiera”, Art department, Suceava and is one of the editors of the international cultural information and education revue, Levure littéraire, founded in France by the well-known French/Romanian writer, Rodica Draghincescu.
He has published over 800 articles, essays and interviews on culture, art theory and criticism, as well as on other issues of Romanian and international interest. He is the theorist and promoter of archetypal expressionism and of post -literature. The first concept concerns contemporary art, the latter the philosophy of culture. He is also the creator of bifrons painting. As a journalist he was invited to the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, in September 1999, by Leni Fischer, Honorary President. Juror for prestigious international art contests. His concepts and artworks have been published by major international art and literary magazines, like Artdaily, It’s Liquid, Levure litteraire, Empireuma, Contemporanul, Vatra, Arkitera, Glare Magazine, Vatra Veche, Cuadernos del Ateneo, Dance and Media Japan, etc.
Activity as a visual artist
Solo exhibitions:
-”Text and Time”, September 2004, Bucovina Museum, Suceava, Romania, (promoted by the EuroNews cultural Agenda);
-”The Signs of the Time”, November 2004, NahVision Art Gallery, Stuttgart, Germany (also promoted by the EuroNews Agenda).
-”Time’s Metaphors”, February 2006, Velea (TransArt) Art Gallery,Bacau, Romania.
-”Matrioshka Identities”, February 2007, Art Gallery of the ”Stephen the Great” University, Suceava, Romania.
-”The Alchemical City”, January 2009, Lascar Vorel Art Gallery, Piatra Neamt, Romania (promoted by EuroNews TV channel, Rendez-vous cultural magazine).
-”My Archetypal Suceava City”, April 2009, Dalype Gallery, Oslo, Norway.
-”Archetypal Expressionism”, online show, April 2009, Design Gallery, University of Massachussets, Boston, USA, curated by the artist Lily Yang.
-”Text and Time. The Archetypal Expressionism”, November-December 2009, Museum of Visual Art, Galati, Romania.
-”Totem. In memoriam Ion Ţuculescu”, June 2010, Museum of Art, Drobeta Turnu Severin, Romania, curated by Maria Bălăceanu, director of the museum.
-”Selfportrait with Guardian Angel”, June 2011, Romanian Literature Museum, Iaşi, Romania.
-Retrospective solo show 2002-2012, February 2012, Bucovina Museum, Suceava, Romania.
-”Gauguin’s Children”, May 2012, Elite Art Gallery, Bucharest, Romania.
- ”Janus”, May 2013, National Bank of Romanian, Atrium Hall, together with a solo show of photography, ”Austrian Dream”, invited by the Forum for Social-Economic Innovation Danube-Black Sea.
Group exhibitions, international art projects:
-International Cultural Centre, Helsinki, Finland, April 2005.
-National Museum of History, Chisinau, Republic of Moldavia, June 2006.
-Stanzwerk Bochum, Germany, June-July 2007, art symposium organized by European Artists Association.
-Mount Beacon Fine Art Gallery, New York, January-February 2009, together with other 50 international artists, group show organized by Mirca Art Group, curator Carla Goldberg, NY.
-International Art Center ”George Apostu”, Bacau, Romania, group show ”The Wineyard and the Wine”, February 2009, organized by the museum/art gallery of art brut Galerie de 4 coins, France, curated by the founder of the museum, the French artist Luis Marcel.
-Marseille Project Gallery, Marseille, France, ”Spring Projection” project, March 2009, together with other 34 international artists.
-TransCultural Exchange, Boston, Little Gallery New York, The International Exquisite Corps Project by Mary Corey March, April 2009, together with other 18 international artists from 12 countries.
-Design Gallery, University of Massachussets, Boston Cyberarts Festival, April 2009, DSL Cyber MOCA in Second Life, ”TransForm”international project, curated by Lily&Honglei.
-Opera Gallery, Budapest, May 2009, group exhibition by artists from the 27 member states of EU.
-Funil Art Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal, February 2010, 3rd Paradigm group show.
-Jose de Lorenzo Gallery, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, July 2010, 3rd Paradigm group show.
-Vieira Portuense Gallery, Oporto, Portugal, October 2010, 3rd Paradigm group show.
-Rearte Gallery, Vienna, Austria, October 2011, Privatsphären (Private Spheres), group show together with the other members of 3rd Paradigm art group and the international artists Frank Ettenberg and Gerti Hopf.The show was presented by Elisabeth Ledersberger-Lehoczky, vicepresident of Austrian Art Association and president of the Sculpture department and was featured by the art magazine IT’S LIQUID.
-International Plastic Arts Saloon of Alto Alentejo, Cultural Center of Sousel, Portugal (from 10/08/2011 until 11/20/2011).
- International art fair, ART WIESLOCH, Wiesloch, Germany, September 2012, with the members of 3rd Paradigm Group.
- Kaplanka Museum, Protivin, Czech Republic, September 2012, with the members of 3rd Paradigm Group.
”Constantin Severin & the Archetypal Expressionism”, talk-show, PLUS TV, Suceava, Romania, October 2009.
Art Awards:
-UNESCO Ambassador of eurointegration through art, in 2008.
-Excellence Award offered by the City Hall of Drobeta Turnu Severin City and of County Council of Mededinţi, Romania, December 2009.
-OPERA OMNIA Art Award offered by Suceava County Council, January 2012.
-”Black Sea Danubian Social&Economic Innovator” Trophy for Art, offered by Eurolink-House of Europe Foundation, Bucharest, May 2012, in partnership with the European Commission and the Romanian Academy, for ”creating and promoting a new concept in European arts, Archetypal Expressionism.”
- Honorary citizen of his birthtown, Baia de Aramă, Mehedinţi, Romania, in May 2011.
- Featured artist by ”It’s Liquid” international art, architecture &design magazine, November, 2012.
Artbooks, catalogues:
-Works published by ”Freedom & art”, Art book Project-Mirca Art Group-Skogas, Sweden (An Art Happening), 2008;
-Art book printed by the Museum of Art from Drobeta Turnu Severin, Romania and art catalogue made by the Museum of Visual Art, Galati, Romania.
-Included on ”The illustrated dictionnary of beaux arts in Moldova-1800 to 2010”, published by the art critic Valentin Ciucă, Art XXI publishing house, Iaşi, 2011.
-Included through a selection made by 5 international art curators on the art book ”International Contemporary Artists”, ICA Publishing, New York, 2011, by Eve Lemonidou (art critic, art collector and curator) and Olga Antoniadou (art historian and curator).
-Included by the American visual artist and curator, Harriette Lawler, on the artbook Privatsphären (Private Spheres), in 2011 and also on ”Estuary: A Confluence of Art & Poetry”, published by Moon and Mountain, 2012 (Art Editor: Harriette Lawler; Poetry Editor: Agnes Marton).
- Bilingual art album Romanian/English, published by Tipo Moldova, Iasi, 2013.
Artworks in public (The Museum of Art and History Suceava, Romania, The Museum of Art Piatra Neamt, Romania and The Museum of Art Drobeta Turnu Severin, Romania) and private collections from Romania, Germany, USA, Finland, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Ukraine, Italy, Great Britain, etc.
Activity as a writer
Works:
-’’The Sunday of Things Real” (poetry), Junimea Publishing House, Iasi, Romania, 1984;
-”Wall and Neutrino” (poetry, bilingual edition-Romanian/English, translated by Liviu Martinescu), Vlasie Publishing House, Pitesti, Romania, 1994; the poem was included as such in the anthology of ”Contemporary Romanian Poetry” by Marin Mincu, Pontica Publishing House, 2000, also in the anthology ”Dialogue Through Poetry” by Ram Devineni, Rattapallax Press, New York, 2003, and some fragments in the antology ‘’Gefährliche Serpentinen. Rumänische Lyrik der Gegenwart, mit einem Nachwort ‘’ by Dieter Schlesack, Edition Drukhaus, Berlin 1998; the poem won The Bucovina Cultural Foundation Award;
-”Wall and Neutrino. The Poet in New York”, Minerva Publishing House, London, 1997; English version by Liviu Martinescu;
-”Improvisations on armonic key” (poetry), Axa Publishing House, Botosani, Romania, 1998;
-”The Axolotl” (poetry), Masina de Scris Publishing House, Bucharest, 1998; the first renga (renku) book in the Romanian literature, bilingual edition-Romanian/English, translation by Liviu Martinescu; some of his renga poems translated into Spanish by Joaquin Garrigos have been published by ‘’Cuadernos del Ateneo’’, 2005, in a special issue dedicated to the Romanian literature; book awarded by the Bucovina Cultural Foundation, 1999;
-”The Alchemical City” (selected poems), Dacia Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2002; awarded by the Bucovina Cultural Foundation, 2003;
-”The Sacred Empire. Monasteries and churches in Northern Moldavia”(essays), Paralela 45 Publishing House, Pitesti, Romania, 2003.
-”Esto’s Lover” (novel), Curtea Veche Publishing House, Bucharest, Romania, 2010. The novel won the Romanian Writers Union-Bacau Association Award, 2011.
-”Improvisations on armonic key” (poetry, Opera Omnia), Tipo Moldova publishing house, Iasi, 2011.
- ”The Big Game” (essays, Opera Omnia), Tipo Moldova publishing house, Iasi, 2012.
His poems have been published by major Romanian, Spanish, American, British, Japanese and Belgian literary magazines.
Awards:
-The haiku poetry award offered by Daily Yomiuri newspaper, Japan,1996.
-The award for cultural journalism given by the Romanian Ministry of Culture, 1998.
-The award for cultural journalism given by the City Hall and the County Council of Suceava, 2001.
-Naji Naaman Honorary Award for the whole activity, Lebanon, 2010. Honorary member of Maison Naaman pour la Culture.
-His poems have been selected by the Spanish editor, writer and visual artist Fernando Sabido Sánchez for his unique online anthology of poetry, ANTOLOGÍA POESÍA UNIVERSAL and by the literary experts from The East Tennessee State University, USA for the famous Best Poems Encyclopedia.
-Premio Internazionale “Messina Città d’Arte” 2011, Messina, Italy, for the English version of the poem ”The Alchemical City”.
-Included on the General Dictionnary of the Romanian Literature, Vol. VI, 2007, edited by the Romanian Academy and published by Univers Enciclopedic Publishing House.
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