...Page is loading...

Lost password?
Need an account? Sign up!
It's free of costs.

Sign up as artist Sign up as guest Sign up as dealer
Back to login
Back to login

Vlad Olariu Main Profile Image

Vlad Olariu

Cluj, Romania

Mixed media, Sculpture • Born in Roman, Romania​​ • Studied at University of Art and Design, Cluj, Romania

Published  06/03/2015   |   Updated  18/10/2016

"Lost in Time"

Vlad Olariu is "dealing mainly with the mediums of sculpture and installation, my works are constructed around the ideas of monumentality and heroism. It alternates between heroism and anti-heroism, monument and anti-monument, masterpiece and anti-masterpiece by questioning its political, historical, social or individual meanings.

Throughout its history, a particular feature of sculpture was that it celebrated permanence. Even...

Read more

Vlad Olariu is "dealing mainly with the mediums of sculpture and installation, my works are constructed around the ideas of monumentality and heroism. It alternates between heroism and anti-heroism, monument and anti-monument, masterpiece and anti-masterpiece by questioning its political, historical, social or individual meanings.

Throughout its history, a particular feature of sculpture was that it celebrated permanence. Even since ancient times, sculpture went hand in hand with the tradition of funerary monuments, and the cult of ancestors, and thereafter it celebrated prominent figures: pharaohs, commanders, kings, but lately also the faceless heroes (soldiers) of the two World Wars. Its celebratory purpose meant that it also had to be sturdy and even, ideally, perennial. Thus the mediums of choice were the seemingly indestructible materials such as marble, stone, bronze, etc... They aspire towards two different goals: forever reminding us of the past, while at the same time ever challenging the future. And this brings me to my own challenge, of living and working in a time where sculpture is (literally) removed from its pedestal. There is no longer any real interest, or time, for that matter to perpetuate glorious and everlasting monuments. We may be experiencing the decline of heroes, of strong symbolical figures that mold the world.

So in this world of half-gestures, the objects I create are mostly made out of ignoble materials: contemporary prefabs used in the industry of real estates, the cheap and easy to process EPS foam, polyurethane, bitumen, cement, cellular concrete, drywall, plywood, etc.
And as if, adding insult to injury, the perennial look is given by means that imitate the historical medium of stone, marble, metal.... This suggests an anti-heroic art that can become even parodistic.

My works are about being lost in time, adrift in history. They are old, foggy episodes of human memory that don't move us anymore. The heroes of some are the villains of others: heroism and anti-heroism mix together. "

Artist statement quoted from www.vladolariu.blogspot.de

Vlad Olariu
Valhalla | ESP-foam, resin, cement | 200 x 100 x 10cm | 2013

Valhalla | ESP-foam, resin, cement | 200 x 100 x 10cm | 2013

The Night (after Arno Breker’s Torchbearer) | ESP-foam, resin, cement | 150 x 100 x 10 cm | 2013

The Night (after Arno Breker’s Torchbearer) | ESP-foam, resin, cement | 150 x 100 x 10 cm | 2013

Constantinople | ESP foam, resin, cement, paint | 250 x 200 x 10 cm | 2013

Constantinople | ESP foam, resin, cement, paint | 250 x 200 x 10 cm | 2013

Giant and cold wind | Styrofoam, paint, plywood, fan, pvc pipes, flag | 160 x 50 x 110cm | 2012

Giant and cold wind | Styrofoam, paint, plywood, fan, pvc pipes, flag | 160 x 50 x 110cm | 2012

Fireflies of the Levant Thracian Mask | EPS foam, cement | 48 x 47 x 18cm | 2013

Fireflies of the Levant Thracian Mask | EPS foam, cement | 48 x 47 x 18cm | 2013

King of Stalingrad | Resin, styrofoam, cement, paint, wood | 110 x 125 x 65cm | 2013

King of Stalingrad | Resin, styrofoam, cement, paint, wood | 110 x 125 x 65cm | 2013

What is it about your studio space that inspires you?

It has big windows and a high ceiling. It’s in a quiet East Berlin area, 20 minutes by public transport from Alex Platz. The historical background is still present and that makes the area surreal. Built in 80s and located within the former Operative Technical Sector building in the restricted area of the Berlin-Alt-Hohenschönhausen. My studio was originally operated by the Ministry of State Security (Stasi), at one point responsible for the development, production and maintenance of all espionage equipment, including wiretapping devices, cameras, camouflage and monitoring instruments. It’s so cool!

What advice has had the biggest impact on your career?

Work, work, work, have fun.

If you could install your art absolutely anywhere, where would that be?

The Turbine Hall

If you could only have one piece of art in your life, what would it be?

City of Venice

If you weren´t an artist, what would you be doing?

Architecture/ Fashion design

What are your favourite places besides your studio?

the Mediterranean Basin, tennis court, water.


Other artists...

more artists...