Gheorghe Ilea is consistently interested in patterned planar elements, the tactility of weathered paint when reproduced on a picture plane, and the textures of woven textiles. His activities involve tenacious historical research.
One major ongoing project examines the materiality of art found in the interior and exterior of a very old church in Gălpâia with its painting by Ioan Pop of Românași. It looked at the resilience of the paint-surface properties when copied onto canvas or made into frottage rubbings, and transferred to new supports. Examples include Ciucea-Galpaia and The Paper Church (both 2012).
For long spectacular painted reproductions, Ilea photographed the interiors of both the church and museum so he could refer to the weathered surface materiality of both buildings in detail, even though the original paintwork was barely detectable. This project reflects much earlier ‘wall duplication’ mixed-media projects like The Barn (1998).
Another painting project, the ‘Tronicart 1300’ series includes historic images of Christian mystics, workers, and family members on 56 metal automobile bonnets from Dacia, the car that was the proud showpiece of the Romanian communist party but here used for the artist’s diaristic and philosophical purposes, not national flag-waving.
