somewhere in the middle

Written By Ana-Maria Manolache
 From an early age, I have lived in the tension between mathematical precision and artistic freedom, oscillating between the two with differing force throughout the years. Eventually, I came to understand that the border between them is not a limit, but a living space—one that must be guarded, opening onto many paths that lead to real life. And for me, real life is peace, joy, hope, love and an ongoing relationship with God, the Creator of the universe, both seen and unseen.

Ultimately, I feel that this is my place—both in painting and in poetry—and the works of recent years have confirmed this for me.
ana-maria manolache painter, iconographer and poet

I've always been somewhere in between.

Thus, in recent years, I have increasingly drawn upon sacred elements in my contemporary painting and in iconography, focusing on Angels as a predominant theme in my artistic search. These works incorporate subjective elements shaped by my own understanding and perception of these mediating and guiding beings toward the light. 
However, I cannot renounce sacred art in favor of contemporary art, nor contemporary art in favor of sacred art. Both directions draw me equally, and I feel that I am close to the place where I truly belong.

With this in mind, I invite you to discover, in my paintings and in the poetry that unfolds alongside them, what lies within me—what exists on the border between the visible and the invisible, and what leads me to believe in a perfect world created by God, where all of creation is united.

Born in 1992, in Brasov, Romania.

Education:

  • bachelor’s degree in Finance and Banking, Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2014

  • bachelor’s degree in Painting, University of Arts and Design, Faculty of Fine Arts, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2015.

  • master’s degree in Fiscality, Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2016

  • master’s degree in Sacred Art - conservation, restoration  and creation of cultural assets, Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Orthodox Teology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2024.

Group exhibitions:


2015 - Graduate Students of University of Art and Design Exhibiton, Expo Transilvania Exhibition Center, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2023 - Teachers and Students of Faculty of Orthodox Theology Sacred Art Exhibition, Faclia Art Gallery, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2024 - “Resurrection’s icons” Sacred Art Exhibition of teachers and students of Faculty of Orthodox Theology, Ermineia and Imago Galleries, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2025 - “Calea spre Lumina” Sacred Art Exhibition, Casa Iuliu Maniu, Blaj, Romania

Solo exhibitions:

2014 - “Self-portrait in penumbra”, Ferdinand Galleries, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2019 - “Inner Self”, Ora0 Gallery, Brasov, Romania




Ana-Maria Manolache