Stephanie Gross

Keen observer Bogdan Achimescu (right), artist-in-residence at U.Va. this semester, shows art students his work called "Shelter,² a long scroll on which he recorded observations of people while traveling.

Artist-in-residence explores exile and inter-relatedness

By Jane Ford

Mobility and searching are continuing themes in the work of Bogdan Achimescu, artist-in-residence at the McIntire Department of Art. Achimescu is spending the spring semester teaching drawing and advanced print-making. In addition to artistic technique, he will explore with the students issues that face artists today such as finding "alternative galleries" to exhibit their work. Achimescu's latest, "New Drawings and Prints," will be on display through March 31 at Fayerweather Gallery.

A native of Romania who is now a citizen of Poland, Achimescu says that no matter where he is, he always feels "I am not from here." Fascinated by images of human beings, he explores the universal idea of home and family. He is not interested in portraiture but in exploring the origins of our individuality and people's inter-relatedness.

Achimescu is also concerned with the issue of portability of art and the dilemma of how to make work that is "monumental when you only have your lap and pencil." "Shelter," a 120-foot scroll he created between 1991 and 1995, is a journal of his observations of people. He carried the scroll in his pocket for almost a year as he traveled back and forth between Poland and Romania, sketching while riding on trams and sitting in cafés.

Achimescu's works have been exhibited internationally. The Fayerweather show focuses on works he created since arriving in Charlottesville in January.