Sunday, January 9, 2011

The United Buddy Bear Exhibition 2011 and The Bear Representing Romania


In this post I would like to talk about my latest creation for the United Buddy Bears exhibition 2011.


The bear that I created will represent Romania in the exhibition, and in putting it together I leveraged themes from the Romanian folklore. My intent was to bring these themes to life in a modern work of art.

Some key symbolic elements in the painting are:
  1. The yellow background of the Bear figurine represents the wheat fields of Romania, traditionally considered as one of Europe’s largest grain suppliers.
  2. The spirals that cover the Bear’s body are a universal symbol of life and in painting them I drew upon the motifs represented in the Cucuteni ceramics
  3. The hunters with bows and arrows, the hunting dog and the stag are inspired by a royal arm chair that is found inside the Voronet monastery.
  4. The wild nymphs are fantastic beings whose dance is another theme in the Romanian folklore (Jocul Ielelor).