SINCE I WAS LITTLE, I’VE BEEN A CURIOUS AND REFLECTIVE PERSON. FASCINATED BY THE MARVELS OF THE WORLD AROUND ME, I OFTEN FOUND MYSELF ABSORBED IN CONTEMPLATING THE EVER-SHIFTING BEAUTY OF NATURAL LANDSCAPES, PARTICULARLY DRAWN TO THE INTERPLAY OF LIGHT.

I PERCEIVE OUR CURRENT ERA AS ONE CHARACTERIZED BY RAPIDITY AND CONSUMERISM, WHERE OUR CAPACITY FOR MARVELING AT THE WORLD HAS DIMINISHED AMIDST PERVASIVE CHRONIC STRESS. THUS, MY WORK ENDEAVORS TO REIGNITE FEELINGS OF AWE, WONDER, AND TRANSCENDENCE, URGING INDIVIDUALS TO PAUSE, CONTEMPLATE, AND EMBRACE THE PRESENT MOMENT.

I’VE BEEN DRAWN TO CREATING SINCE I WAS A KID, AND I REMEMBER MAKING SMALL DESIGNS FROM STONE AND STONE POWDER, USING IT AS PIGMENT. MY GRANDFATHER, WHO WAS THE DEAN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHEMISTRY, EMBEDDED IN ME A LOVE FOR SCIENCE AND EXPERIMENTS. THIS INFLUENCE IS VISIBLE IN MY WORK TODAY, WHERE I OFTEN BLUR THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN SCIENCE, ART, AND TECHNOLOGY. I ENGAGE IN A LOT OF MATERIAL EXPLORATION, SO MY STUDIO SOMETIMES LOOKS LIKE A LAB.

AS MENTIONED ABOVE, I INITIALLY STUDIED GRAPHICS IN CLUJ-NAPOCA. LATER, I BECAME FASCINATED BY DESIGN AND SCULPTURAL ART PIECES, ESPECIALLY WITH A FOCUS ON LIGHTING. I FOUND IT TO BE A MUCH MORE IMMERSIVE MEDIUM. I WAS CAPTIVATED BY THE IDEA OF TRANSFORMING A CONCEPT INTO SOMETHING TANGIBLE, THREE-DIMENSIONAL, AND FUNCTIONAL—SOMETHING THAT CAN IMPACT PEOPLE’S LIVES WHILE TRANSCENDING MERE FUNCTIONALITY.

CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE ARTISTIC INFLUENCES THAT HAVE SHAPED YOUR STYLE, AND WHAT MAKES YOUR APPROACH UNIQUE WITHIN THE DESIGN LANDSCAPE?

IN MY WORK I EXPLORE LIGHT, TRANSPARENCIES, GRADIENTS AND VISUAL ILLUSIONS, AND EXPLORES CONCEPTS SUCH AS TIME PERCEPTION AND PERCEPTION IN GENERAL.

WHILE MY PIECES HAVE A DISTINCT AESTHETIC STYLE, I AVOID LIMITING MYSELF TO ONE SPECIFIC APPROACH. INSTEAD, I FOCUS ON THE BEST WAY TO BRING AN IDEA TO LIFE WITHOUT FEELING CONSTRAINED BY A PARTICULAR AESTHETIC OR MATERIAL. SOMETIMES, THIS MEANS CREATING PIECES THAT DIVERGE FROM MY USUAL STYLE IF A DIFFERENT APPROACH BETTER SERVES THE IDEA.

AS AN EXPLORER, I NATURALLY CHALLENGE CONVENTIONS AND DELVE INTO VARIOUS ASPECTS OF PERCEPTION, INCLUDING VISUAL AND TEMPORAL DIMENSIONS. THROUGH MY ARTISTIC ENDEAVORS, I AIM TO PROVOKE INTROSPECTION AND FOSTER A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD WE INHABIT.

MY WORK IS DRIVEN BY MY INTERESTS IN PERCEPTION AND MOVEMENT, WITH RECURRING THEMES OF TIME PERCEPTION, ENTROPY, LIGHT, AND NATURE. THROUGH MY INTERACTIVE OBJECTS, I OFFER EXPERIENCES THAT CHALLENGE PERCEPTION AND VISUALIZE THE INVISIBLE FORCES AROUND US IN AN ENGAGING MANNER. THIS RECONTEXTUALIZES REALITY, TRANSFORMING THE ORDINARY INTO THE EXTRAORDINARY.

I CREATE AMBIGUOUS OBJECTS THAT APPEAR TO SHIFT AND CHANGE DEPENDING ON THE VIEWER’S PERSPECTIVE. THIS PRACTICE ENGAGES THE VIEWER, MAKING THEM A CO-CREATOR OF THE EXPERIENCE. IDEALLY, IT SERVES AS A JOURNEY OF SELF-REFLECTION, PROMPTING QUESTIONS SUCH AS: HOW DEEPLY CAN I GRASP REALITY? WHAT TRULY DEFINES COLOR? AND WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF OBSERVATION ITSELF?

CAN YOU PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS OR ARTWORKS YOU PARTICULARLY ADMIRE? WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM OVERCOMING THOSE OBSTACLES, AND HOW DID IT INFLUENCE YOUR APPROACH TO FUTURE PROJECTS?

MORFOZA IS ONE OF MY CHERISHED COMPOSITIONS, BORN FROM AN EXTENSIVE JOURNEY OF MATERIAL EXPLORATION AND DEEP DIVES INTO OPTICAL RESEARCH. EMPLOYING MATERIALS COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVORS, THIS PIECE EMERGES AS A TESTAMENT TO MY TRANSDISCIPLINARY MINDSET.

“ MORFOZA: LIGHT & COLOR OUT OF THIS WORLD “IS A UNIQUE AND VERSATILE LUMINAIRE THAT USES THE LIGHT SPECTRUM TO CREATE MESMERIZING EFFECTS. THIS INNOVATIVE LUMINAIRE TRANSFORMS FROM A MINIMAL MONOCHROME LIGHT SOURCE INTO A VIBRANT DISPLAY OF COLORFUL, DYNAMIC MOTIFS. IT OFFERS AN ESCAPE INTO A REALM OF OTHERWORLDLY LIGHT AND COLOR WHILE ALSO QUESTIONING VISUAL PERCEPTION.

THE LIGHT EFFECTS ARE PRODUCED USING HUMBLE MATERIALS SUCH AS PLASTIC FILM AND WHITE LIGHT. THE PIECE YOU ARE CURRENTLY VIEWING INCORPORATES NATURAL CRYSTALS. OUR STUDIO’S INNOVATIVE DESIGN SOLUTION BRINGS THESE MATERIALS INTO A COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED LIGHT. THE ALMOST SURREAL LIGHTSCAPE AIMS TO QUESTION OUR PERCEPTION OF DAILY OBJECTS AND EXPERIENCES: WHAT IS REAL? HOW MUCH OF “REALITY” ARE WE ABLE TO PERCEIVE?

DURING THE INTEGRATION OF THIS PIECE, I FACED MANY CHALLENGES, ESPECIALLY ON THE PRODUCTION SIDE. USING MATERIALS NOT COMMONLY FOUND IN ART OR DESIGN, BUT RATHER IN SCIENTIFIC CONTEXTS, REQUIRED EXTENSIVE EXPERIMENTATION. THIS LENGTHY AND ARDUOUS CREATION PROCESS REQUIRES GRIT AND PERSEVERANCE, SERVING AS A POWERFUL MEANS OF SELF-DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION. IT HAS TAUGHT ME A GREAT DEAL ABOUT MYSELF, REVEALING STRENGTHS AND INSIGHTS THAT ONLY EMERGE THROUGH FACING AND OVERCOMING ARTISTIC CHALLENGES.

BEFORE DIVING INTO A NEW PROJECT, WHAT KIND OF RESEARCH DO YOU TYPICALLY DO TO FUEL YOUR IDEAS? ARE THERE SPECIFIC SOURCES YOU TURN TO FOR INSPIRATION, WHETHER ONLINE OR OFFLINE?

WHAT ROLE DOES STORYTELLING OR NARRATIVE PLAY IN YOUR WORK? HOW DO YOU USE VISUAL ELEMENTS TO CONVEY A MESSAGE OR STORY THROUGH YOUR ART OR DESIGN?

I BELIEVE THAT AS HUMANS, WE ARE INHERENTLY DRAWN TO STORIES, AND I STRIVE TO INCORPORATE THIS ASPECT INTO MY WORK. EACH OF MY PIECES HAS A CONSISTENT STORYLINE BEHIND IT, CONVEYED IN VARIOUS WAYS DEPENDING ON THE PIECE.

FOR EXAMPLE, SOME PIECES CONVEY THEIR STORY THROUGH INTERACTION. TAKE MIRA LAMP FOR INSTANCE, A LUMINAIRE THAT NARATES THE STORY OF OUR  FRAGILITY, VULNERABILITY, AND OUR INNATE DESIRE FOR CONTROL AMIDST ENTROPY. WHEN NO ONE IS PRESENT, THE PIECE, COMPOSED OF AN ARRAY OF FRAGMENTED PARTS APPEARS TO DECOMPOSE SYMBOLIZING ENTROPY AND DECAY. HOWEVER, WHEN APPROACHED, IT RESTORES ITSELF TO ORDER, REFLECTING OUR NEED FOR CONTROL. THIS PERPETUAL CYCLE MIRRORS THE CONSTANT STRUGGLE BETWEEN ORDER AND CHAOS .

IN CONTRAST, OTHER PIECES TELL THEIR STORY THROUGH AESTHETICS. CONSIDER THE “EVENT HORIZON” LAMP, INSPIRED BY THE LIGHT SURROUNDING BLACK HOLES. IT SYMBOLIZES THE LAST GLIMPSE OF LIGHT BEFORE IT VANISHES INTO THE UNKNOWN. THIS MYSTERIOUS ASPECT REFLECTS HUMANITY’S ONGOING EXPLORATION OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE MYSTERIES OF BLACK HOLES.

SIMILARLY, URMA CLOSK, NARRATES THE STORY OF TIME PERCEPTION AND ITS EVOLUTION WITH AGE. IT DEPICTS THE TRANSITION FROM ORGANIC TIME, REPRESENTED BY NATURE’S RHYTHMS, TO THE RIGID AND IMPOSED STRUCTURE OF HUMAN PERCEPTION. THIS PIECE CHALLENGES THE NOTION OF THE PRESENT MOMENT, HIGHLIGHTING OUR CONSTANT CONNECTION TO THE PAST AND FUTURE.

THROUGH THESE NARRATIVES, MY WORK AIMS TO EVOKE CONTEMPLATION AND REFLECTION ON VARIOUS ASPECTS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

I’D LOVE TO SAY I HAVE TIME TO KEEP UP TO SPEED WITH THE WORLD, I OBVIOUSLY EXPERIMENT WITH CERTAIN NEW MAKING PROCESSES AND MATERIALS AND LOVE THE WORLD OF 3D PRINTING AND NEW SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS WE CAN PRINT WITH BUT IT’S SO HARD TO INVEST TIME IN THAT. GOING TO TRADE SHOWS AND SEEING WHAT PEOPLE ARE WORKING ON IS VERY INSPIRING AND LEARNING FROM FELLOW CREATIVES IS THE BIGGEST TRIGGER OF SOMETHING THEY SUGGEST I SHOULD LOOK INTO. THE WORLD OF AI IS MIND BLOWING BUT I ALSO WANT MY WORK TO HAVE A VERY PROMINENT PERSONAL CONNECTION FROM ME, SO I’D RATHER HAVE A FEW CLONES OF MYSELF.

EVEN THE MOST CREATIVE MINDS FACE ROADBLOCKS SOMETIMES. HOW DO YOU BOUNCE BACK FROM CREATIVE BLOCKS OR MOMENTS OF SELF-DOUBT WHEN WORKING ON A PROJECT?

EXPERIENCING CREATOR’S BLOCK HASN’T BEEN A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE FOR ME. LIKE ANY CREATIVE INDIVIDUAL, I OCCASIONALLY DOUBT MY VOICE AND WORK. DURING THESE MOMENTS, I FIND IT BENEFICIAL TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND RECHARGE. FOR ME, THIS OFTEN INVOLVES TAKING WALKS IN NATURE, SPENDING TIME WITH LOVED ONES, AND SIMPLY RELAXING.

I BELIEVE THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE FOR ME ISN’T CREATIVE BLOCK BUT RATHER BURNOUT. IT CAN BE CHALLENGING TO SILENCE MY INNER CRITIC AND STOP OVERTHINKING EVERY OPTION AND DECISION, PARTICULARLY WHEN WORKING INDEPENDENTLY. THIS CONSTANT MENTAL STRAIN IS SOMETHING THAT CAN DRAIN THE ARTSTIC EXPRESSION.