MY STORY

My work explores my mixed Jewish-Christian identity, shaped by growing up under a fascist Communist dictatorship in Romania and my experience as an immigrant exploring my ancestors’ histories. I began formal art training at twelve, though my passion for drawing started as soon as I could hold a pencil. I studied at a specialized arts high school and earned an MFA in Fine Arts and Mural Painting.

During the fascist Legionary rebellion of 1941, my father hid in my mother’s cellar for three weeks to escape violent attacks targeting the Jewish community in Bucharest. Following that, in order survive, we took my mother’s Christian name for ten years, concealing our Jewish identities.

Tensions between my parents’ families were always palpable—my father’s side treated us as illegitimate, while my mother’s offered cold glances and whispered judgments. I learned early: for Christians, I would always be a Jew; for Jews, a goy. This divide shaped my identity and fueled my rejection of prejudice. I eventually defected from Communist Romania—leaving behind my life and family, unable to return—to seek refuge from a regime defined by scarcity, fear, and constant surveillance.

Now an immigrant in the United States, I revisit my family’s stories through old photographs, painting their faces and interpreting their rich histories. My solo shows, Relative Tensions and Take 2, reveal their shared humanity and fragile presence—images tilted and cropped as if they briefly left their trace before fading away.

Returning to these photographs, I see the weight of fate mingled with kindness and a quiet hope for tolerance.

CV

EDUCATION

MFA in Mural Painting
Fine Arts University, Bucharest, Romania — 1970

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2013 — Take 2, Silvermine Galleries, New Canaan, CT
2011 — Relative Tensions, RIVAA Gallery, Roosevelt Island, NY
1983 — Solo Exhibition, Bucharest, Romania
1981 — European School, Mol, Belgium
1979 — Solo Exhibition, Bucharest, Romania

GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)

2013 — Brimming On The Edge, Harlem Art Association, Andrew Friedman House, Bronx, NY
2011 — Immigrant, NOMAA Exhibition, New York, NY
2010 — Women In The Heights: Perspectives, NOMAA Exhibition, New York, NY
2007 — 118th Annual Exhibition, National Association of Women Artists, Monroe Center for the Arts, NJ
2001, 2000 — Magical Mystery Show, Merrill & Jennings Gallery, Davidson, NC
1993 — Michael Ende Gallery, New York, NY
1992 — Tamenaga Gallery, New York, NY
1980s — Annual National Exhibitions, Romanian Artists’ Union, Bucharest, Romania
1980s — Romanian Contemporary Art Show, Geneva, Switzerland
1980s — International Grand Prix of Contemporary Art, Monte Carlo, Monaco
1980s — Juan Miró Drawing Contest, Barcelona, Spain
1980s — Inaugural Japan Art Society Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan

AWARDS & HONORS

1986 — Mary B. Hathaway Award, Greenwich Art Society Annual Exhibition, CT
1979 — UNESCO Prize, XIVème Grand Prix International d’Art Contemporain de Monte Carlo

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• Member, Taylor Foundation, Paris (since 2006)

• Member, Silvermine Arts Guild, New Canaan, CT (since 2010)

• Member, Greenwich Art Society, CT

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Textile Design
Freelance designer for luxury home furnishing companies including Cowtan and Tout and Concord

• Designs featured twice in Architectural Digest

• Specialized in high-end patterns for textiles and wallpapers

Mural Painting
Executed custom mural works for luxury residences in New York City (1986)