Featured Artist
Ana Maria Ionescu

Drawing was my first language, emerging long before words. As a child, I instinctively transformed walls and even my own skin into surfaces for expression, guided by curiosity and emotion. This early connection to art was nurtured by my father, whose presence continues to resonate deeply in my creative process. After his passing, my artistic voice fell silent for a time, only to return later as an inner necessity.

My work unfolds within a space that negotiates between abstraction and traces of realism. I do not fully embrace pure abstraction; instead, I construct layered, atmospheric backgrounds that suggest depth, movement, and emotional states. Within these environments, recurring figurative elements particularly animals and birds, emerge not as illustrative motifs, but as symbolic presences associated with freedom, instinct, and inner navigation. Alongside these themes, I have long been fascinated by the history and civilisation of Ancient Egypt. Since childhood, I often dreamed of being part of that world, and this early, almost subconscious connection continues to surface within my visual language.

Elements inspired by Egyptian symbolism, iconography, and visual culture increasingly appear in my compositions, adding further layers of meaning and cultural resonance. My landscapes are not depictions of specific places, but rather psychological terrains, fluid, unstable, and open to interpretation. Through the interplay of texture, gesture, and color, my compositions evoke a sense of suspended time, where forms seem to emerge and dissolve simultaneously. This tension between appearance and disappearance has become central to my visual language.

My process is intuitive and accumulative. I work primarily with acrylic and oil on canvas, building each piece through successive layers, allowing gestures to remain visible and unresolved. This approach resists rigid structure, favouring instead a controlled spontaneity, where the final image is discovered rather than predetermined. My work remains open, evolving, and responsive, capable of moving across different visual territories. Positioned away from the pursuit of visibility or spectacle, my practice remains deeply introspective. I work within a personal, almost private space, where painting becomes a method of translating internal states into visual form. Each work can be understood as a fragment of an ongoing dialogue between the conscious and the subconscious. Still in a continuous process of exploration and self-definition, I approach my work with the intention of developing a coherent and authentic visual language, grounded in sincerity, intuition, and emotional depth.

A Moment Untouched: There are moments that exist outside of time, quiet, suspended, untouched by urgency or noise. This painting began as a study of texture and erosion, but slowly revealed something more intimate: a space where presence feels fragile, almost accidental. The solitary deer is not the subject, but a witness, standing gently within a landscape that seems to dissolve around it. The atmosphere is built through layers that are both revealed and concealed, suggesting memory rather than place. “A Moment Untouched” is about stillness that cannot be held onto, a fleeting pause where nothing is demanded, and nothing needs to change. It invites you not to look at it, but to remain within it.

Keeper of The Night: This painting explores the quiet intensity of awareness and inner clarity. The owl, a timeless symbol of wisdom and intuition, emerges from a dark, fluid background that evokes the movement of thoughts, emotions, and memory. Through layered textures and subtle contrasts, the work reflects a moment of stillness within motion, a state of presence where observation becomes understanding. The piece invites the viewer to pause, to look inward, and to find calm perception even in moments of uncertainty or darkness.

The Call Of Wings: Presents a powerful profile of an eagle, a timeless symbol of strength, freedom, and heightened awareness. Rendered with rich texture and layered brushwork, the detailed plumage contrasts against a deep, dark background, drawing focus to the bird’s intense gaze. Subtle botanical elements introduce a quiet dialogue between nature and instinct, evoking balance and resilience. The work invites reflection on inner power and clarity, making it a striking statement piece for contemporary spaces.

Pogo In The Mirror: This painting captures a quiet moment of transition and freedom, portrayed through two vibrant green parrots suspended between flight and rest. Their luminous plumage layered with shades of emerald, yellow, and deep blue contrasts against a muted, textured background, creating a sense of movement within stillness. The dark, diagonal branch anchors the composition, acting as both a point of balance and a visual threshold between departure and return. One bird hovers mid-air, wings fully extended, while the other prepares to lift off, suggesting dialogue, companionship, and shared momentum. With its restrained palette in the background and expressive, tactile brushwork on the figures, the work invites reflection on freedom, connection, and the fleeting nature of moments in motion.

Ancient Presence: This work explores presence as a form of power. The elephant, rendered in close-up against a black field, is not presented as a spectacle but as a state of being. Darkness functions as a space of origin rather than absence, allowing memory, resilience, and quiet authority to surface. The painting invites a slowed gaze, where strength is communicated through stillness and restraint, and meaning emerges through what is left unsaid.

The Ocean’s Garden: Was born from a simple desire: to paint a place that feels both real and impossible at the same time. A place where the sea transforms into a garden, and the sky feels close enough to touch. The flowers appear calm and gentle, almost weightless. Then came the waves, carrying their own rhythm and a quiet delicacy that reminded me of moments when time seems to slow down. This painting is my way of capturing stillness. It speaks about finding beauty in contrasts: strength and softness, movement and pause, blue depths and blooming forms. A reminder that even the wildest spaces can become “home” when we choose to look at them with tenderness.

The Lake Of Forgotten Dreams Painting – First chapter of the Tides of Me series: The Lake of Forgotten Dreams is an original contemporary painting exploring memory, inner landscapes, and emotional stillness. This work invites the viewer into a quiet, introspective space, a symbolic lake where forgotten dreams continue to exist beneath the surface. Painted as a space between reality and reverie, the composition evokes calm, contemplation, and a sense of timelessness. The soft, diffused light and birds in flight suggest freedom, transition, and the persistence of dreams that were never truly lost. This piece is part of the Tides of Me series, an ongoing body of work focused on emotional memory, inner transformation, and the subtle dialogue between presence and absence. Standing before this painting becomes an invitation to look inward to rediscover dreams that may not be forgotten, but simply waiting to be remembered.

Voyage Within – The second chapter in the Tides of Me series: This painting explores the inward journey, the quiet and unrest that coexist within our inner depths. The sea becomes a symbol of the soul: vast, fluid, and ever-changing. Inspired by my astrological connection to Pisces, this work represents a reconnection with fluidity, dreamlike states, and introspection.  Each hue carries a fragment of my thoughts and emotions. Voyage Within is an invitation to stillness and reflection, a journey not toward distant horizons, but into one’s own depth. It invites the viewer to pause, breathe, and listen to the quiet movement within.

When the Earth dreams – Tides Of Me (III): It remembers balance. This work unfolds as a quiet threshold between water, land, and memory. Pairs of animals appear as symbols of unity and continuity, reminders that life once moved in harmony, not in isolation. Each pair reflects an ancient order rooted in companionship, protection, and shared existence. The distant garden suggests a forgotten sanctuary, a place the Earth returns to in its dreams. Through layered textures and shifting tides, the painting speaks of cycles, erosion and renewal, separation and reunion, echoing the inner landscapes explored throughout the Tides of Me series.

Where Time Slows Down – Tides Of Me Series (IV): This painting explores the fragile space between intimacy and vastness. Two swans rest in a river of gold, suspended between textured earth and an expansive, luminous sky. The heavily textured terrain contrasts with the softness of the water, symbolising the tension between permanence and movement. The swans, poised yet vulnerable, anchor the composition, becoming both subject and metaphor. Warm ochres and diffused pastels create a meditative atmosphere, inviting the viewer into a moment of stillness that feels both personal and universal. This piece is about quiet resilience, connection, and the light that remains even in uncertain landscapes.

Whispers Beyond Time: Is a contemporary painting inspired by the symbolism and mysticism of Ancient Egypt, exploring the timeless relationship between memory, soul, light, and spiritual presence. The artwork evokes a suspended moment preserved within the sands of eternity, positioned between dreamlike imagination and historical resonance. Through a warm, sun-infused palette and evocative symbolic elements, the painting reflects the enduring echo of an ancient civilisation and its continuing influence beyond linear time. Created as an immersive and intuitive process, the work embodies the atmosphere of the desert, its light, heat, and vastness, inviting the viewer into a contemplative journey across time and consciousness.

Path To Eternity Painting: Inspired by the mystery of ancient Egypt, this painting explores a moment of transition at the edge of daylight. The solitary rider leaving the pyramid behind symbolises an inner journey, moving forward as the last, fragile light of the day slowly fades. Muted evening tones and subtle contrasts create a quiet, timeless atmosphere, inviting reflection on passage, memory, and continuity.

Luca Curci – What is art for you?
Ana Maria Ionescu – Art, for me, is a form of inner language, something that exists beyond words. It’s not about explaining, but about revealing. Through painting, I translate emotions and subconscious states into visual form. Each work becomes a space where something hidden can surface, even if it cannot be fully understood.

LC – What are you currently working on?
AMI – I am currently working on a series centred around symbols and hieroglyphs. I’m interested in their dual nature, as image and as language and in how they can carry meaning without being fully decoded. This body of work feels very necessary to me right now, almost like a need to speak through symbols rather than directly. In a way, the first pieces are also addressed to someone specific, even if that remains unseen.

LC – What’s your background? What is the experience that has influenced your work the most?
AMI – I am a self-taught artist. Drawing was my first language, long before words, and I instinctively used any surface to express myself. My father played an important role in nurturing this connection. Losing him was the most defining experience in my life and in my practice. It led to a period of silence, but also to a deeper return to art, this time not as a choice, but as a necessity. Since then, my work has become more introspective and rooted in something internal.

LC – What issues do you intend to deal with in the future?
AMI – I’m interested in exploring inner states, memory, and the subconscious, as well as the way symbols can function as a personal form of language. I don’t approach my work through direct themes, but rather through questions about meaning, perception, and identity. Moving forward, I want to deepen this relationship between image and language, allowing the work to remain open and evolving.

LC – Is there an unrealised or unrealisable project, even a crazy one, that you would like to work on?
AMI – At this moment, I don’t feel the need to imagine something distant or “crazy”. The series I’m currently working on already feels essential and unfinished. I’m more interested in following this direction fully seeing how far it can go, rather than escaping into something else.

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