Weekend Interview – The Art of M. M. Ciciovan: Energy and Vibration

This weekend Literary Revelations is thrilled to bring you an interview conducted by Virginia Mateias with M. M. Ciciovan. Our hope is that you enjoy the interview and M.M. Ciciovan’s beutiful art.

Mona Ciciovan is a successful Canadian painter. She signs her canvases with M. M. Ciciovan, because, she says, women continue to be undervalued in the world of arts. Nothing seems impossible to her in painting: to reproduce the memory of the earth, the flight of a bird of paradise, or urban architecture. « Somewhere in between abstraction and the figuration, realism and imagination, M. M. Ciciovan’s paintings give a metaphorical and poetic meaning to the urban landscape. The color and light do not only evoke the shape, but primarily arise the energy and vibration of the image. »  Those are the words of professor and mentor, the late Antoine Pentsch, who new best to describe the essence of M.M. Ciciovan’s art. 

V.M: How would you describe art?

M.M. Ciciovan: Art is something that exists beyond reality, it comes from the creator’s imagination and speaks to the viewer’s imagination. As Kandinsky said: « To create a work is to create a world! » Art is above all emotions and experiences. I believe that art must appeal to the senses first and then to the intellect.

V.M:  When did your artistic adventure begin?

M.M. Ciciovan: I remember, as a child, the joy I felt playing in the mud, modelling figurines that came to life in my imagination. Drawing was my good friend. Ever since then I have spent hours drawing or modelling, instinctively understanding Creation as the expression of an inner solitude and experience. Later, in Canada, I studied fine arts at two universities in Montreal. Those were very intense years when, with an extraordinary thirst, I studied and experimented with various techniques: drawing, painting, engraving, modelling, and sculpting.

V.M: Which of your personality traits have been most helpful in your career?

M.M. Ciciovan: I believe the character trait that has helped me was and is my determination or stubbornness to go my own way, no matter the obstacles. The artist must stay true to his artistic vision, to find that particularity or uniqueness of his own.

V.M: Sometimes, painting can be a repetitive work…

M.M. Ciciovan: Painting can only be repetitive if the artist indulges in a so-called recipe or mannerism. For me each painting is a new universe to discover, a new adventure.

V.M: You are one of the most successful Canadian painters. Tell us about the achievement that brought you the most artistic satisfaction.

M.M. Ciciovan:  Artistic satisfaction can be of a different nature. The acquisition of a work, an exhibition in a prestigious place, the recognition of the artistic value by your peers, etc. I can mention as an example that in 2021 I was invited to exhibit in two museums and a cultural center in Romania, my country of origin, and that some of my paintings can be found in their collections  and the collections of other prestigious institutions. Currently, the exhibition “Le rythme de la ville l’architecture dans l’imaginaire” has been running for several months at the Romanian Start Up Café, in Montreal, Canada.

I feel a great joy when a person finds himself/herself in my painting, when the emotion is visible. It often happens that this is a young person who is buying a work of art for the first time. This moves me deeply!

V.M:  What important art business lesson did you learn in the past that took your career to the next level?

M.M. Ciciovan: For many years I felt that once the painting is exhibited, the artist must fade out behind the painting, that one’s role is over. Which is incorrect… Having understood this, I stepped out of my comfort zone, out of my studio, and discovered skills I didn’t even know I had.

V.M: What famous artist in history would you like to spend a day with and what would you do together?

M.M. Ciciovan: here are so many artists with whom I would love to spend not just a day but a lifetime. Of all of them, I most certainly would choose Brancusi, my spiritual father. I would watch him grind his sculptures to perfection, listen to his wisdom and inspirational quotes from Milarepa, and we would surely enjoy cooking something together.

V.M: Where can we find your paintings?

M.M. Ciciovan: You can find my paintings through my website at www.mmciciovan.com, as well as on the online boutique www.espacemara.com. But the most beautiful way remains in person, by visiting my latest exhibition “Le rythme de la ville, l’architecture dans l’imaginaire” at the Romanian Start-Up Café or directly at my studio by reserving a private viewing (mm.ciciovan@hotmail.ca).

All images used in this post including the featured art are by M. M. Ciciovan.