CRITICAL REVIEW


        As a contemporary sculptor preoccupied especially by a sacred origin symbolic, Gheorghe Zaharia proves to be a prolific and extremely rigorous artist in treating the surfaces, interested in experimenting working with all the materials destined for sculpture. To the grand Old and New Testament themes the artist approaches, among them being predominant the tree of life, the sacred mountain and the gates as symbols of passing, the artist adds an overflow of emotions born from a fertile imagination, capable of discovering new meanings and to provide them with an original plastic image. Gheorghe Zaharia understands the significance of the materials he uses and he inspiringly adapts them to the themes approached. Both in the workshop and in the monumental works, the sculptor suggests the sight to exceed the visible form in order to separate the deep meanings of his embodiments, sometimes placed on the edge between figurative and non-figurative. The introspection and the meditation on some fundamental themes he addresses with consideration for plasticity and even for a certain type of surface picturality, are obvious and generating new forms of expression.

Luiza Barcan (2014)
 


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    BIOGRAPHY

    (Brăneşti, Ilfov, 1952)

    Academic studies:
    2008 - National Art University, Fine Art Faculty, Sculpture Department, Class of Prof. Mihai Buculei, Bucharest, Romania;
    2011 - Master in Sculpture, Coordinator Conf. Univ. Dr. Aurel Vlad.
     
    Professional Activity:
     - Painting and restoration of monumental old painting in fresco;
     - Professional Sculptor.
     
    Member of:
     - The Fine Art Professionals from Romania, Sculpture Department, Bucharest (UAP)
     - International Association for Monumental Sculpture (AIESM)
     - European Art Group - Fédération Nationale de la Culture Française (EAG-FNCF)
     - Olympic Fine Art Association (OFAA)
     - Centre of Art Four Seasons - AthensART (CA4S)
     


    PROJECTS

    Group Exhibitions:
    2006 - Sculpture Exhibition, Polytechnic Institute Hall, Bucharest, Romania;
             - The Young Artists Gala “The Spring,” Bucharest, Romania;
    2007 - Sculpture Exhibition, Galaţi, Romania;
             - National Exhibition of Small Sculpture, Bucharest, Romania;
    2008 - Small Sculpture Exhibition, “Apollo and Art Shelter” Galleries, Bucharest, Romania;
             - Sculptors’ Drawings Exhibition - The 19th Edition, “Art Shelter” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
             - The 13th Asian Art Biennale, Dhaka, Bangladesh;
             - The 6th Art Biennale “Ion Andreescu,” Buzău, Romania;
             - Olympic Fine Arts Exhibition, Beijing, China;
             - The 3rd International Art Biennale, Beijing, China;
             - Art Exhibition, Parliament House, Bucharest, Romania;
    2008 - 2009 - Art Exhibition, “Apollo” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
    2009 - “Şelari” Biennale, “Apollo” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
             - Small Sculpture National Exhibition, “Apollo” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
             - International Exhibition “Urania's Gardens - Gargling Sky,” Rouvas, Crete, Greece;
             - International pre-biennale of sculpture - Exhibition in open air, Gongju, Korea;
    2010 - Sculptors’ Drawings Exhibition - the 20th Edition, “Simeza” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
             - The “October” Salon, “Thuillier” Gallery, Paris, France;
             - Exhibition “Art in Bucharest, 1st Edition - The City,” “Art Shelter” and “Simeza” Galleries, Bucharest, Romania;
             - The 2nd International Biennial of Painters and Sculptors "Mediterranean 2010," Split, Croatia;
             - Small sculpture salon “Ovidiu Maitec”, the 38th Edition, “Horizon” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
             - International Art Exhibition - “AthensArt 2010,” Athens, Greece;
             - The 12th International Art Salon “M. C. A. Azur”, Cannes, France;
             - International Art Exhibition “P.A.I.”, Samothrace, Greece;
    2009 - 2010 - Visual Art Salon - the 5th “Winter Exhibition,” “Şuţu” Palace, Bucharest, Romania;
    2010 - 2011 - Visual Art Salon - the 6th “Winter Salon,” “Şuţu” Palace, Bucharest, Romania;
    2010 - 2013 - International Sculpture Traveling Exhibition “Family Unity”, Yekaterinburg - Moscow, Russia;
    2011 - “Art en capital” Exhibition, Grand Palais, Paris, France;
             - Metal Sculpture Salon, “Horizon” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
             - The “Bronze Age” Biennale, 2nd Edition, Bánffy Palace, Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
             - Fine Art Exhibition, “Parliament House,” Bucharest, Romania;
             - Philanthropic Exhibition “Art for Japan”, “AthensArt,” “Travel” Gallery, Vienna, Austria;
             - The 1st International Biennale of Metal Art - “Metalofonas”, Vilnius, Lithuania;
             - Exhibition “Art in Bucharest,” 2nd Edition, “Simeza” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
             - Gravure and Sculpture Salon, “Simeza” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
             - The 5th Edition of “Little Salon”, “Art Shelter” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
             - “Bronze 2011” Exhibition, “Simeza” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
    2011 - 2012 - Decorative Art Salon, “Cotroceni Palace Museum” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
                        - Visual Art Salon - the 7th “Winter Salon,” “Şuţu” Palace, Bucharest, Romania;
                        - Sculptors’ Drawings Exhibition, “Simeza” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
                        - Little Sculpture Exhibition, “Simeza” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
    2012 - “Metal Salon,” “Horizon” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
             - Decorative Arts Biennial, the 1st Edition, "Brâncuşi" Hall, House of Parliament, Bucharest, Romania;
             - The 1st Ecorea Jeonbuk Biennale, Jeonbuk, Korea;
             - The 8th Art Biennale “Ion Andreescu,” Buzău, Romania;
             - The 5th Beijing International Art Biennale, Beijing, China;
             - Moldavian Art Salons, the 22nd Edition, Bacau - Kishinev, Romania - Republic of Moldova;
             - National Fine Art Salon “Contemporary Attitudes,” 5th Edition, Traveling Exhibition, Romania;
             - The 13th International Art Salon “M. C. A. Azur”, Cannes, France;
    2012 - 2013 - Visual Art Salon - the 8th “Winter Salon,” “Şuţu” Palace, Bucharest, Romania;
                        - The 13th Edition of National Exhibition of Decorative Arts, Cotroceni Palace, Bucharest;
    2013 - The “Bronze Age” Biennale, 3rd Edition, Bánffy Palace, Cluj-Napoca, Bistriţa, Romania;
             - “Bronze 2013” Exhibition, “Simeza” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
             - “Metal Salon,” “Horizon” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
             - Gravure and Stone Sculpture Salon, “Simeza” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
             - “National Art Salon,” the 4th Edition, Parliament House, “Brâncuşi” Hall, Bucharest, Romania;
             - National Fine Art Salon “Contemporary Attitudes,” the 6th Edition, Traveling Exhibition, Romania;
             - ”Balcic - Artists Without Borders” Exhibition, Ruse, ”Director” Art Gallery, Ruse, Bulgaria;
             - "Color and form forever" Exhibition, Outdoor Museum in "The Grove of Sibiu," Sibiu, Romania;
             - “Anniversary Exhibition - Two years,” "Elite Prof Art Cotroceni" Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
             - “Winter Exhibition,” "Elite Prof Art" Gallery at Hotel Pullman, Bucharest, Romania;
             - The 1st International Art Biennale of Palermo, Loggiato San Bartolomeo - Palermo, Italy;
    2013 - 2014 - Geumgang Nature Art Biennale of Yatoo, Gongju, Korea;
                        - The "Unicorn story," Biennale, National Museum of Maps and Old Books, Bucharest, Romania;
                        - Visual Art Salon - the 9th “Winter Salon,” “Şuţu” Palace, Bucharest, Romania;
    2014 - The Pavilion “Art Safari,” “Simeza” Galley, “Enesco” (Royal Palace) Place, Bucharest;
             - The Intl. Art Salon ”Grounds,” 5th Edition, “The Tree of Life,” “Brâncuşi” Hall, Parliament House, Bucharest;
             - The 8th Edition of “Little Salon”, “Art Shelter” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania;
             - The Exhibition “The Greek Wave”, National Military Museum „The King Ferdinand I”, Bucharest, Romania.

    Symposia:
    2009 - International Fine Arts and Design Symposium “I.M.E.C.E.,” Eskisehir, Turkey;
    2011 - 2012 - “Te Kupenga” International Stone Sculpture Symposium, New Plymouth, New Zealand;
    2012 - Symposium of ”Ecorea” Biennale, Jeonbuk, South Korea.

    Monumental works:
    2008 - Graduation work, placed in Branesti, Ilfov: Sacred Precincts - wood sculpture;
    2011 - 2012 - “Te Kupenga” International Stone Sculpture Symposium, New Plymouth, New Zealand: Sacred Mountain ”Taranaki”
    Gate to Heaven, Introspection - andesite sculptures.

    Works in private collections and Museums from:
     - Romania, China, France, Croatia, Span, Turkey, Russia, Greece, Austria, New Zealand and South Korea.
     
    Distinctions:
    2006 - The Young Artists Gala “The Spring”, Bucharest, Romania - 3rd Prize for Sculpture;
    2008 - Olympic Fine Arts Exhibition, Beijing, China - “Gold Medal”;
    2010 - The 2nd Intl. Biennial of Painters and Sculptors, “Mediterranean 2010,” Split, Croatia - 3rd Prize for Sculpture;
             - The 12th International Art Salon “M. C. A. Azur”, Cannes, France - “Grand Prix - Plaquette d’or”;
    2011 - The 5th Edition of “Little Salon”, “Art Shelter” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania - The Sculpture Prize;
    2012 - The 1st Ecorea Jeonbuk Biennale, Jeonbuk, Korea - “Gold Medal”;
             - The 13th International Art Salon “M. C. A. Azur”, Cannes, France - “1er Grand Prix Sculpture, Plaquette d’or”;
             - The 13th International Art Salon “M. C. A. Azur”, Cannes, France - “Prix Ville de Cannes, Médaille d'or”;
             - The 8th Art Biennale “Ion Andreescu,” Buzau, Romania - Nominated;
    2014 - The 8th Edition of “Little Salon”, “Art Shelter” Gallery, Bucharest, Romania - Nominated.
     


    BIBLIOGRAPHY


    Dictionary of sculptors from Romania, vol. II, pp. 361, Ed. of Academy, 2012.

    “OverArt”, Bimestriale d’Arte e di Cultura, No. 2, pp. 111, 2012.
    “La Gazette des Arts”, Magazin d’Art International, Numéro spécial, pp. 41, 2011.
    “Univers des Arts”, Le Magazine de l’Information Artistique, No. 152, pp. 51, Juin 2010.