Georges Mazilu and Mavis McClure: Morphed

Romania during the rule of harsh dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was like living with Dracula in charge. The barbaric, uneducated Ceausescu actually had the blood of young boys transfused into his own body, bringing the Dracula legend eerily to bear. Georges Mazilu grew up in Sibiu Romania--a region of Transylvania, during the rule of Ceausescu. His life was one of shadows and fear, until he escaped Romania and found refuge in France, where he still lives today. His extraordinary skill has resulted in his paintings being included in esteemed museum collections in Eastern and Western Europe and the United States.

Though Romanian history is dark and oppressive, it possesses an art history that is rich and beautiful. Golden icon paintings and ornate monasteries grace the countryside. Consequently, artistic training in Romania is highly rigorous, with 9 years of schooling. The first four years focuses on the human figure; the last five years focuses on a specific media of choice. Thus, Georges Mazilu was trained as a realist, portraying the human figure. After mastering realism, Mazilu “morphed” into an abstract painter. For several years, his works were purely abstract assemblages, with the final forms somewhat anthropomorphic. Today, Mazilu’s paintings display perfectly blended fusions of abstraction and stunning realism. He combines his magical realist style with the European Old Master palette, creating a masterful fusion of old world and dream world.

Mavis McClure’s stylized, iconic figures of humans and animals draw inspiration from iconic Greek sculpture. Exaggerated scale of hands and feet, morph the human into superhuman.  As Greeks idealized beauty and human nature, so does McClure idealize the contemporary figure.