Ana Lupaș
*1940 / Romanian photographer, installation and textile artist
Ana Lupaș was born in 1940 in the town of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Her early years there were shaped by the legacy of the Holocaust and World War II, and the subsequent political persecution of her academic family in the 1950s. Transylvania, the artist’s homeland, has gone through a constant process of transformation which Lupaș experienced as a child, as a student at the Institutul de Arte Plastice “Ioan Andreescu” in Cluj-Napoca, and later as a teacher at the same university.
Back to the basics: Inspired by tradition
Against the backdrop of all this change, Lupaș devotes her artistic endeavours primarily to things that remain constant: An affinity with nature and the customs and traditions of her homeland inspire her artworks. Though she initially practiced weaving, she soon turned her attention to the plastic arts and work in rural communities.
“The solemn Process”
Over the course of lengthy and laborious processes, Lupas produces thematically complex artworks. Her work “The Solemn Process 1964–2008 (1964–74/76; 1980–5; 1985–2008)”, which was created over a period of five decades in collaboration with Romanian farmers, portrays the harvest process and comments on art’s constant ability to change. This inquiry into the possibilities and purpose of art is a recurring theme in Lupaș’ work, as are references to politics and society.
She pioneered in Romania a kind of social practice, working with communities in Transylvania. She’s somebody who worked doggedly for 40 years without very much recognition for herself, but also supporting the artistic community in her country and across eastern Europe.
Success outside of Romania
After participating in the Lausanne International Tapestry Biennales in 1969 and 1971, Lupaș gained increasing international recognition. However the full scope of her oeuvre, which combines experimental weaving, the plastic arts and architecture, is little known outside of Romania even today.
Ana Lupaș had an extraordinary career in Romania, was very important as a teacher and mentor for generations of Romanian artists under communism and who now really deserves to be known across Europe and internationally.