Ioana Baltan
Ioana Baltan (b. 1993) is an energetic full-time visual artist whose oeuvre revolves around mental disabilities, poverty, and homelessness.
She completed a Master in Contemporary Techniques in Painting cum laude at the National University of Arts in Bucharest (Romania) in 2017 and a scholarship at Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan. After experiencing the artistic vibrancy of the Beaconsfield Contemporary Art in London where she worked, she decides to leave her family and her Romanian home country and elect the English capital as her home in 2018.
With a genuine desire to achieve a deeper understanding of artistic craftsmanship, over the last five years, Ioana has been mastering large-scale paintings where she delves into a figurative expression of ideas related to mental health, dreams, and myths.
In fact, Ioana would engage with homeless people to gauge the hardships they face daily and then painterly translate them. Also, after experiencing a traumatic psychotic event within her own family, she decided to deepen her knowledge on the topic and seek permission to visit Obregia Mental Illness Institute in Bucharest to experience and represent first-hand what she saw happening.
Currently, the artist is enriching her understanding of the human psyche, creating works inspired by dreams, hypnotic trance, and stories regarding our human origins, in which she mixes elements from her own life as an expat young woman.
A zestful and committed artist, her technique combines oil painting with new pigments (neon, gold, and shimmer tones), collages, and spray paint on linen or canvas support.
Aesthetically, her art combines classic elements with strong brush strokes, gradients, lines, transparencies, and patterns.
Could you tell us a little more about your background and how you began creating art?
I was born in 1993 in Targoviste, a small town in the South of Romania and I was raised in the countryside.
I began to paint at a young age and I ended up studying fine arts at the National University of Arts, Bucharest – BA(2015) and MA(2017) and at the Academy of Fine Arts Brera, Milan- MA Scholarship(2016).
My practice has always been leaning toward figurative art even though I have experimented with abstract painting as well as multiple contemporary techniques in my artistic development.
What does your art aim to say to its viewers?
The work I do brings to the public my interpretations of myths, legends and mental health issues. My current projects aim to highlight how mental health conditions have evolved in our collective subconscious. Inspired by legends and stories, my work shows a contemporary narrative of psychological states such as fear, frustration, depression, and mental instability.
Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What is your daily routine when working?
I am a full time artist and I invest most of my time in developing my artistic growth by doing different types of researches that ultimately reflect in projects and artworks that I create.
I mainly use photographic documentation and after I have done sufficient analysis for the next theme and have decided on the materials I am going to use, I start drawing few composition sketches.
I consider the chromatic range very important so I generally decide on it before starting the work.
The process begins with sketching, then I start adding colours and mixed materials to my canvas. When I build layers of colour or texture, I keep my mind open and follow my instinct, combining spontaneity with precision. When it comes to the final aspect of my painting I look for a balance between detailed surfaces, colour complexity, texture and atmosphere.
What is the essential element in your art?
The key elements in my art are the human figure and the mystery around life. Aesthetically, I use a combination of powerful brush strokes with strong colours, gradients and patterns in order to accentuate my characters.
In your opinion, what role does the artist have in society?
An essential role of the artist today is to bring to the viewers a metaphoric type of communication regarding different contemporary topics and truths. I strived from an early stage of my artistic development to raise awareness about mental health conditions through my art projects.
