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My drawings and etchings reflect, to a large extent, my deep interest in Romanian and the Central/East European folklore and culture, in mythology, in peasants’ costumes and beliefs. Various influences from medieval art and ancient manuscripts (reaching me both along Western channels, through the so-called illuminated manuscripts, and through Orthodox
manuscripts in the Romanian Countries) are also clearly noticeable. The interaction between these two cultural worlds has shaped a personal, subjective bestiary. In this way, I try to observe the ways in which popular beliefs and customs still resonate with contemporary art. At the same time, I am interested in displaying another facet of Transylvania and of Romania,
complementary with Dracula’s myth, these are the guiding and promoted strands.
Many of my characters, feminine creatures in traditional dress (I am particularly interested in folk costumes) or creatures from the peasant bestiary, travel to town or to fortified Saxon churches in Transylvania, which are always medieval.
I must say that I hesitate to reproduce or to limit myself to simply giving a shape to mythological characters by
entirely replicating their features from the original source, even though ethnological sources represent a standard for me. On the contrary, I embrace a certain amount of freedom.
Sometimes this freedom refers to the setting in which they live or in which they are represented: many a time they are depicted in an urban environment or around the fortified churches in Transylvanian Saxon villages, and not in their native ones, because these characters are travellers, like myself. With a bag on their back, they set off to discover Romania and Central Europe. However, at times references to Western Europe sneak their way into this space, by way of reference to the great masters of western art – the characters of Hieronymus Bosch travel to a medieval Transylvania, as fantastic of the domains featured in his works. Therefore; I want to create my own story, a story that conjures up and integrates
folk beliefs and bestiaries. As we have already seen, folk culture often meets an urban culture, mostly of Gothic provenance. Although these two cultures are at opposite poles, both folklore or folk legends and Gothic architecture share a fantastic dimension.
Starting from a recognizable bestiary, I try to create a personal one, in which, however, just like in universal narratives, characters have a dual structure: a bestiary-like appearance and a humanized behaviour. I am also interested in a certain narrativity that can be developed with the help of details and, notably, of the ancillary characters, who conceal other stories than the main thread of the drawing. My preference for etching, as working technique in printmaking, helps me in my endeavour to take the story as far as possible, precisely because it is a technique which allows the creation of an abundance of details in a world of lines (the line is the protagonist and the main element of the artistic language in my creation).
manuscripts in the Romanian Countries) are also clearly noticeable. The interaction between these two cultural worlds has shaped a personal, subjective bestiary. In this way, I try to observe the ways in which popular beliefs and customs still resonate with contemporary art. At the same time, I am interested in displaying another facet of Transylvania and of Romania,
complementary with Dracula’s myth, these are the guiding and promoted strands.
Many of my characters, feminine creatures in traditional dress (I am particularly interested in folk costumes) or creatures from the peasant bestiary, travel to town or to fortified Saxon churches in Transylvania, which are always medieval.
I must say that I hesitate to reproduce or to limit myself to simply giving a shape to mythological characters by
entirely replicating their features from the original source, even though ethnological sources represent a standard for me. On the contrary, I embrace a certain amount of freedom.
Sometimes this freedom refers to the setting in which they live or in which they are represented: many a time they are depicted in an urban environment or around the fortified churches in Transylvanian Saxon villages, and not in their native ones, because these characters are travellers, like myself. With a bag on their back, they set off to discover Romania and Central Europe. However, at times references to Western Europe sneak their way into this space, by way of reference to the great masters of western art – the characters of Hieronymus Bosch travel to a medieval Transylvania, as fantastic of the domains featured in his works. Therefore; I want to create my own story, a story that conjures up and integrates
folk beliefs and bestiaries. As we have already seen, folk culture often meets an urban culture, mostly of Gothic provenance. Although these two cultures are at opposite poles, both folklore or folk legends and Gothic architecture share a fantastic dimension.
Starting from a recognizable bestiary, I try to create a personal one, in which, however, just like in universal narratives, characters have a dual structure: a bestiary-like appearance and a humanized behaviour. I am also interested in a certain narrativity that can be developed with the help of details and, notably, of the ancillary characters, who conceal other stories than the main thread of the drawing. My preference for etching, as working technique in printmaking, helps me in my endeavour to take the story as far as possible, precisely because it is a technique which allows the creation of an abundance of details in a world of lines (the line is the protagonist and the main element of the artistic language in my creation).
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Artworks by Rada Nita Josan
CV
Education:
2008 - 2011: Bachelor Degree at University of Art and Design, Cluj-Napoca, Department of Graphic Arts
2011 - 2013: Master Degree at University of Art and Design, Cluj-Napoca, Department of Graphic Arts
2013 – 2017: PhD in Visual Arts at University of Art and Design, Cluj-Napoca, with a thesis on
“The Contemporary Intaglio in Slavic Countries. Hypostases of the Fantastic”
Scholarships and internships:
February 2010 - June 2010: scholarship at Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, Poland (ASP Wroclaw)
October 2012 - June 2013: internship at prof. Przemysław Tyszkiewicz’s workshop at ASP Wroclaw, Poland
October 2014 - March 2015: internship at prof. Przemysław Tyszkiewicz’s and Jacek Szewczyk’s workshops at ASP Wroclaw, Poland
October 2015 - January 2016: scholarship at St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo, Faculty of Fine Arts, Bulgaria
May 2017 - July 2017: internship at Roman Fecik Gallery, Bratislava, Slovakia
Residencies:
- March 2019 – June 2022: drawing and printmaking project entitled “Imaginary Tales of
Transylvanian Fortresses”, Visual Kontakt Gallery, Oradea, Romania
Solo exhibitions:
28 May- 14 June 2015“Tuş în traistă” (Ink in the Bag), Romanian Peasant Museum, Bucharest, Romania,
28 September-17 October 2015“Bestiar”(Bestiary), Galeriile de Artă Steaua, Cluj-Napoca, Romania,
13 -28 th April 2017 Folk Ink, Romanian Institute of Culture, Venice, Italy,
5 September – 10 October 2019 “Subjektivní Bestiář”, Eagle Gallery, Šumperk, Czech Republic,
Group exhibitions:
2012 - The 2nd edition of the International Graphic Art Biennial – Graphics Review, Sfântu
Gheorghe, Romania; The First International Small Graphic Biennial – Arad, Romania;
2013 - Printmaking plain-air at Museum of Papermaking in DusznikiZdroj, Poland; The 24th
International Biennial Exhibition of Modern Exlibris - Malbork, Poland; The 17th International
Print Biennial – Varna, Bulgaria; Global Print Douro, Portugal; 8th International Triennial of
Small Graphic Forms - Vilnius, Lithuania;
2008 - 2011: Bachelor Degree at University of Art and Design, Cluj-Napoca, Department of Graphic Arts
2011 - 2013: Master Degree at University of Art and Design, Cluj-Napoca, Department of Graphic Arts
2013 – 2017: PhD in Visual Arts at University of Art and Design, Cluj-Napoca, with a thesis on
“The Contemporary Intaglio in Slavic Countries. Hypostases of the Fantastic”
Scholarships and internships:
February 2010 - June 2010: scholarship at Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, Poland (ASP Wroclaw)
October 2012 - June 2013: internship at prof. Przemysław Tyszkiewicz’s workshop at ASP Wroclaw, Poland
October 2014 - March 2015: internship at prof. Przemysław Tyszkiewicz’s and Jacek Szewczyk’s workshops at ASP Wroclaw, Poland
October 2015 - January 2016: scholarship at St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo, Faculty of Fine Arts, Bulgaria
May 2017 - July 2017: internship at Roman Fecik Gallery, Bratislava, Slovakia
Residencies:
- March 2019 – June 2022: drawing and printmaking project entitled “Imaginary Tales of
Transylvanian Fortresses”, Visual Kontakt Gallery, Oradea, Romania
Solo exhibitions:
28 May- 14 June 2015“Tuş în traistă” (Ink in the Bag), Romanian Peasant Museum, Bucharest, Romania,
28 September-17 October 2015“Bestiar”(Bestiary), Galeriile de Artă Steaua, Cluj-Napoca, Romania,
13 -28 th April 2017 Folk Ink, Romanian Institute of Culture, Venice, Italy,
5 September – 10 October 2019 “Subjektivní Bestiář”, Eagle Gallery, Šumperk, Czech Republic,
Group exhibitions:
2012 - The 2nd edition of the International Graphic Art Biennial – Graphics Review, Sfântu
Gheorghe, Romania; The First International Small Graphic Biennial – Arad, Romania;
2013 - Printmaking plain-air at Museum of Papermaking in DusznikiZdroj, Poland; The 24th
International Biennial Exhibition of Modern Exlibris - Malbork, Poland; The 17th International
Print Biennial – Varna, Bulgaria; Global Print Douro, Portugal; 8th International Triennial of
Small Graphic Forms - Vilnius, Lithuania;
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