S.A: Hi, Luminita, first of all, we would like know more about you. Tell us who is Luminita Gliga, tell us something about your life and your childhood in your country
L.G: Hi, Meseon. Luminita Gliga is a visual artist who wants to communicate with  others, who wants to “tell” stories using shapes, colours, who wants to find as much as possible about our world and this is a challenging for my performance.
I was born in 1975 in Brasov, Romania – a mountain area, today a resort. I had a normal childhood, with friends and games, then I studied at the Pedagogical High school in Brasov. After that, all changed in my life because I had to go to the National Art University, The Faculty of Arts in Bucharest. Since then art became the most important thing on my life.

S.A: What is art for you?
L.G: Art is a  communication form and painting for me is joy and hard working; commitment and responsibility, nutrition and spiritual material, and thanks to it, my life has changed. Through painting I want to get to know what is happening in the world.

S.A: Could you share some of your philosophy about art and artistic creation?
L.G: My connections with the art are natural and real. I feel lucky that I chose art or art had chosen me in order to express. Thus, painted image is a form of communicating with people. All the language barriers are broken and through art we all can communicate.
Basically, as a professional artist, I am interested in everything that have direct connections to contemporary life. My work explores a new world of shapes and colors in a personal composition. The essence of each painting is the connection between the subject matter and myself. My painting more concerns itself with the vague territory between abstraction and the known and seen world. Since I was a student at The Art University in Bucharest I got used to follow some steps from my paintings – a theoretical documentation, sketches and in the end starting the work.
Apocalypse, Ephesus, Nestatornik, Autobiography in images, Terravision are some of my experiments of non-figurative paintings using the acrylics.


S.A: Have you always been interested in arts? When did you discover that art would be an important part of your life?
L.G: My passion for art got stronger at the end of my high school. Although the first contact with the color was when I was little (in kindergarten, then in school, where my drawings were selected and displayed on the school hall, alongside those of other colleagues, this was not an exception), which announced my way in art.
When I was a little girl I visited , along with my father, writer Ioan Gliga many art exhibitions in Romania, enjoying what I have seen. I had a chance to know the world of writers, artists, philosophers and actors, but I was not tempted to follow. This until Constantin Grecu opened an exhibition at the Art Museum of Brasov. I was impressed by his works and his style.

S.A: How did you get started in the art world?
L.G: After we met I studied watercolor. Shortly I opened the first exhibition of watercolors, which was a great success. 30  landscapes and flowers were sold. One year after, I attended the second exhibition ... and then to an opening show, someone asked me if I have specialized studies. This ambitioned and made me want to go further. I did prepare for The National University of Art with Professor Mihai Corneliu (from the Art High School). After 4 years of study I graduated with Professor Sorin Ilfoveanu. Last year I became PhD in Visual Arts, (teacher coordinator Ph. Zamfir Dumitrescu).

S.A: Your artworks on meseon are paintings. Why do you choose painting as a means of expression?
L.G: It is a dilemma: because I don’t know if painting chose me or I choose it. All I know is that I love colours and shapes, I love solving compositional problems and a bidimensional painted image is always a challenge for me.


S.A: What concept would you like to show to your viewers? What would you like say with your artworks?
L.G: A painted image can express my feelings, my emotions and also may be a face of the real world, my own perception upon reality. I propose to my contemplators something else – a dialogue in colours and shapes.

S.A: How has society influenced your art? What are the social implications of your art?
L.G: I am a human being before the artist and I am a part of society. Always it was difficult to paint. Art remains a spirit’s food and  art consumers are a special category. If you do not get involved is almost impossible to be successful.
I do not have preferred themes or obsessed, I can paint  anything. But my subjects come from our world – I was interested in Ephesus ( the society of ancient world), in landscape and cityscapes, …

S.A: Discuss one of your pieces. What were you thinking when you created it?
L.G: I choose  October – (acrylic/canvas; 80/120cm) which is an abstract composition were I caught my mood, my feelings in an October day of 2008. In this painting I was at the limit of gestual and controlled shapes. The chromatic has the main role.


S.A: What was your most important exhibition? Could you share that experience?
L.G: Every event in which I am involved is important. I could say TERRAVISION at the Tower BRD-Societe Generale in Bucharest because it has a perfect organization in a special place, or I could say TERRAVISION at the Art Museum in Brasov where I exposed  almost 100 paintings and were I wanted to present the outside and the inside landscape, or I could say about TERRAVISION at the Simeza Gallery in Bucharest which I really liked how it was as an event. But if I look back in time I remember my first one-man show in Bucharest at the Atelier35 in year 2002 where I opened THE APOCALYPSE where I combined painting with drawing and installation - on foot from the entrance hall was a carpet of paper on which was written in the earth languages APOCALYPSE;  visitors had to step on the carpet, destroying it. It was an interesting image seeing them doing that! On the window was an A from Apocalipse made of grasshoppers portraits - as a symbol of destruction. I also had 4 riders of Revelation (after Durer’s representations). So, if I look my photos and my documentary materials I remember those moments…

S.A: What are the most important artist that are influence in your life and your works? Why?
L.G: There are so many artists, contemporary and historical who influence me. It is difficult for me to say only one. I could start with those who I met personally as artists and professors (Constantin Grecu, Mihai Corneliu, Marcel Bunea, Sorin Ilfoveanu, Zamfir Dumitrescu), then in the Art History I watch the abstract expressionists, cubists, gestualists, impressionists.
But my tastes are changing – It is possible for me to like a painting from one artist or all his career and photography is very useful and interesting for me.

S.A: Could you talk about procedures that you use in your artworks? Preparation, development and finishing
L.G: Specialized studies, involvement and contact with professionals are more than necessary for me. These learned me to organize the way of work. After I have the theme I make a documentary on theoretical and practical level. I like to see who used this theme before and how, I like to read about it, to discover the meanings, the symbols…. After that it comes the sketches stage
(for composition, chromatics, shapes…). And the final stage is choosing the image which will became a painting. And after that, it follows painting. I do not start to paint until I do not know what I am going to do.


S.A: What do you feel when you are finished a artwork?
L.G: Art and especially painting become a part of my life so finishing an artwork is the beginning of a new one.

S.A: Do you have some challenge or goal which you are pursuing?
L.G: All I need in this life is to be healthy and have the spiritual and material human conditions to express my ideas, my feelings through art in one-man shows, art festivals…

S.A: Could you tell us something about you are currently working on?
L.G: I am currently working on a series of paintings for an exhibition which will be opened in Bucharest, which is called Symbols – a journey in time, in this autumn, at the Parliament Palace in Bucharest, for which I chose the Vikings. I am also invited to take part in an important Art Fair in Zurich, Switzerland and in a group exhibition at a known art gallery from New York, USA.


S.A: Have you got some anecdote that you wish share with meseon community?
L.G: A painter goes on a field and sees a shepherd with sheep to pasture.
He goes to him and asks:
- Uncle, will you allowed me to paint your sheep?
The shepherd says:
- No at all, because I like the way they are!

S.A: For finish tell us, why do you create art?
A: I feel that I can be the art’s messenger. I believe that through my art I can present to everybody another world.

Thank you very much and I want to congratulate meseon for what is it!