STATEMENT

Concerning my creations, I take my inspiration out of the nature, I am fascinated by the interference of the four elements: fire, water, sky and earth. I am also interested in the intensity of the light at different times of the day, and its influence over the colors. The intensity of human emotions is another theme which has a lot of my attention. I try to filter all these through my personality and express them with certain symbols (sometimes geometrical) and mostly though color.
The majority of my paintings are abstract compositions, sometimes combined with figurative elements, created with mixed media on stretched canvas. The heavy dripping goes across the paintings leaving gesture to its ultimate level of freedom. Present in a wide range of rhythms, it confers a dynamic aspect to the paintings.
In my view, painting is part of the spectacle of life, it is a continuous source of energy and balance.

EDUCATION & BIO

I am a member of the Romanian Professional Artists Association, painting department.
I graduated Francisc Hubik School of Art and I achieved a degree in Painting at the University of Fine Arts Oradea - Romania.

I was born on the 27th of November 1956, in Salonta – Romania.
Being passionate about painting, I tried to engage in discovering its mysteries by studying at different art schools as well as in private, expanding the different areas of creativity. Than there followed participations in exhibitions, summer camps and creative journeys of study, that have helped me to focus on the ideas of creation, by artistic personality and technique, in a viable equation.

My works can be found in private collections in Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australia.

A selected list of my EXHIBITIONS is as follows:

2014 - Palace of the Parliament Bucharest, C. Brancusi Hall, International Art Salon
2013 - Dec. - 2014 Jan. - Crisurilor County Museum, Baroque Palace, Oradea, Romania
2013 - Selected for the BIENNIAL PAINTING CHISINAU - 2013, Moldova
2013 - International Exhibition, BALCIC – Artists Without Borders, Ruse, Bulgaria
2012 – International Exhibition, Silistra Art Gallery, Bulgaria
2012 - SAFTH Expo 2012, Newaygo, Michigan, USA
2012 - National Fine Art Exhibition, Cultural Center George Topirceanu, Curtea de Arges, Romania
2012 - National Salon of Fine Arts "Contemporary Attitudes", Miercurea Ciuc, Romania 2012 - UAP ARTEX Gallery, Ramnicu Valcea, Romania
2011 - National Fine Art Exhibition, UNESCO Cultural Center “Ionel Perlea” Slobozia, Romania
2011 - National Salon of Fine Arts "Contemporary Attitudes", Curtea de Arges, Romania
2011 - UAP Gallery Tonitza, Iasi, Romania
2011 - SALON D’ETE 2011, Galerie Art Present , Paris
2011 - National Salon of Fine Arts "Contemporary Attitudes", Tulcea, Romania
2011 - “Maria Filotti” Theater, Braila, Romania
2011 - Ion Andreescu Gallery, Buzau, Romania
2011 - UAP ARTEX Gallery, Ramnicu Valcea, Romania
2011 - Art Gallery Hunedoara, Romania
2011 - “Tony Bulandra” Theater, Targoviste, Romania
2010 - "Ion Andreescu Biennale", Buzau, Romania
2010 - National Fine Art Exhibition, UNESCO Cultural Center “Ionel Perlea” Slobozia, Romania
2010 - National Salon of Fine Arts "Contemporary Attitudes", Curtea de Arges, Romania
2009 - Crisana Gallery, Felix , Romania
2006 - Decoration of Rodenta Stomatology Clinic, Oradea , Romania
2005 - Cultural Centre Liviu Rebreanu, Aiud , Romania
2004 - Crisurilor County Museum , Baroque Palace , Oradea , Romania
2004 - Oradea Fortress Gallery , Romania
2003 - Oradea Fortress Gallery , Romania
2002 - Oradea Fortress Gallery , Romania
2001 - Oradea Fortress Gallery , Romania
2000 - Michigan , USA
1990 - 2000 - Crisana Gallery, Felix , Romania
1995 - Military Circle Oradea , Romania
1994 - Lotus Hotel Gallery, Felix , Romania
1993 - Military Circle, Oradea , Romania
1991 - Art-Expo. Vat , Hungary
1991 - Art-Expo. Budapesta, Vat , Hungary
1990 - Schwedt , Lewerkusen , Germany
1990 - Crisana Gallery, Felix , Romania
1987 - Dalles Gallery, Bucharest , Romania

AWARDS

Artslant 4th 2011 Showcase Winner (International)
Silver Award, Artmajeur, 2010 (International)
Artslant Juried Showcase Winner - September 2009 (International)
Artslant Juried Showcase Winner - May 2009 (International)

REVIEW

Like a multicolored stained glass, the paintings of the artist Eugenia Mangra have a specific impact, generated by the intense and vivid brightness of the spectral colors, arranged in a subtle balance, and alternating between the solar shades of red, yellow, orange and the cold ones of blue, green, violet. Whatever the addressed motif, abstract compositions help define a subjective style, a universe of wonderful beauty, where the alert graphism separates the mosaics of color shades.

The modernism of the images derives from the dynamism of plastic expression: color spaces defined by undulating lines crisscrossing large, pictorial surfaces, giving rise to random rhythms, always unique, enriched by the specific footprint of the dripping. Through the specific processes of gestural painting, Eugenia Mangra transfers on canvas not only her primordial passion for color, but also the emotion, the intensity of the feelings induced by the beauty of creation, synthesized by four elements: Fire, Water, Sky and Earth. The intense and rich brightness of the solar shades help define the symbolic meaning of the works, the artist frequently explores cosmic implications, but also the spiritual or passionate side of the fire element. Depending on the subject of the work, the red color corresponds to the sun, the summer, or to emotion, heart passions and inner fire: The Land of the Sun, Burning Light, Under the Moonlight, Triumph of the Sun, Dawn, Sunshine through the Rain, Seasons of the Sun, Sunset Touch, The Birth of the Phoenix, The Glow of Love, The Passion of Life, Love, The Rhythm of Love, On the Wings of Love, Eternal Love. Other important works: The Other Side of the Ocean, The Glare of the Night, Waiting for Tonight, Skylight, From Dusk Till Dawn impress through the discrete glow of shades of cobalt blue or green. Another pictorial series capitalizes the geometric symbolism of the circle, the wheel of destiny, par excellence symbol of movement, transformation and cosmic infinity: Circle of Life, Across Time, Endless Moment, Fire and Water. The temperate modernism of the artist sometimes integrates figurative elements, especially portraits, exploring the mystery of feminine subjects: Desire, Ancestral Dream, Sensuality, Moon Dance, Fire and Ice, Flamenco Dancer.

Whether they express the essence of cosmic elements and metamorphoses, or suggest the intensity of a state of mind, the paintings of Eugenia Mangra conquer the viewer through the mirage of blazing colors and a deep inner dynamism, inherent to the approached techniques and themes.

Dr. Agata Chifor, art historian