Tudor Cataraga (born 4 August 1956 in Seliște – 27 December 2010) was a sculptor from the Republic of Moldova.

Biography

From 1981 to 1984, Cataraga was a student in the sculpture department at the

Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...

. As a graduate student at the same Institution (1989), he worked with Professor Sergey Kubasov. He became a member of the Union of Artists of Moldova in 1993 and of the International Association of Arts (IAA-UNESCO) in 1997. In 2000, he was named chair of the Sculpture Department of the Union of Artists of Moldova. In 2011, Cataraga and his wife were killed in a car accident.

Awards

*1998 – The Prize of the Union of Plastic Artists from Romania for the sculpture ''The Man Bird'' (bronze, 36x19x12 cm, 1994). Now in the public collection of the Artists Union, Romania *2000 – Medal "

Mihai Eminescu Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active membe ...

", awarded by the President of Romania *2001 –

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...

, Commander rank * Awarded the National prize of the Culture ministry

About the artist

"...As a starting point for the understanding of the artist's repertory of shapes, I would suggest two monuments: Monument to

Ion Dumeniuc Ion Dumeniuc (May 5, 1936 in Socii Noi – November 3, 1992 in Chişinău) was a scientist, editor, and politician from the Republic of Moldova. He was the founder of the Limba Română magazine. Biography Between September 1991 and November ...

, ''The Guarding Angel (stone, 1995, Central Orthodox Cemetery,

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...

)'' and ''Mihai Eminescu (bronze, 1996, square of the "Mihai Eminescu" National Theatre)'', both of them representing visual arguments of a precise spiritual and historical identity. The first monument is characteristic for the religious, spiritual aspect, always present in the sculptor's work. We can place the ''Guarding Angel'' project, first executed in baked clay and in a smaller form in 1990, into a larger family of works: ''Prayer (metal, 1991)'' and ''Sound of Sadness (baked clay, 1992)''. The "simplicity as a resolved complexity" Brancusi is an important key for the understanding of these works. ...for the monument to ''Mihai Eminescu'', Tudor Cataraga selects only abstract principles, imagining a "cosmic" portrait of the national genius. Far more modern in visual expression, the sculptor is now free to play with three-dimensional elements and he conceives a rhythmical network that concentrates in the poet's figure /symbolic nucleus, without stirring the space, but comprimating. This second direction of his research, his playing with neo-expressionist forms can be seen in a series of his recent experimental works: ''The Woman-Crossbow (bronze, wood, 1994)'', ''The Man-Bird (bronze, granite, 1994)'', ''Motherhood (bronze, granite, 1998)''. Underwater object (metal 1998)

Tenacious in his research leading him from deductive to inductive thinking, without any disruption from his way, the sculptor's interest is gradually sliding to architectural constructions, and constructivism. The ever more pregnant abstract trend, the play with geometrical modules epitomise his fascination with the assemblage and with the rich relation "entity-detail": ''Genesis (wood, metal, 2000)'', ''Masterpiece (wood, metal, 2000)''. Tudor Cataraga, in his full artistic maturity, has the energy and the firm gesture of an inquisitive and attentive sculptor".

Monumental Works

*1990 ''Archeology'', bronze and stone *1990 ''Manole the Builder'',

chamotte Grog, also known as firesand and chamotte, is a raw material usually made from crushed and ground potsherds, reintroduced back into crude clay to temper it before making ceramic ware. It has a high percentage of silica and alumina. It is normal ...

*1994 ''Guarding Angel'', funeral monument dedicated to

, stone,

, Moldova *1994 ''Woman-Crossbow'', bronze and wood *1995 ''Levitation'', bronze and wood *1995 ''Human bird'', bronze *1996 ''

'', bronze-granite, Chișinău, Moldova *2000 ''Medieval Throne'', sandstone,

Ungheni Ungheni () is a municipality in Moldova. With a population of 35,157, it is the seventh largest town in Moldova and the seat of Ungheni District. There is a bridge across the Prut and a border checkpoint to Romania. There is another border t ...

, Moldova *2001 ''Beginning and End'', granite, Changchun World Sculpture Park,

Changchun Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 c ...

, Jilin province, China *2002 ''Meeting in space'', wood-stone-metal, Ungheni, Moldova *2002 ''Rigid fluidity'', funeral monument dedicated to

Andrei Sârbu Andrei Sârbu (born 6 December 1950 in Chișinău – died 14 April 2000 in Chișinău) – Moldovan painter who contributed to the introduction of a modern approach to painting in Moldova. Known for his non-figurative works, Pop Art series and ...

, Chișinău, Moldova *2004 '' Stephen III of Moldavia'', stone, Nisporeni, Moldova *2005 ''Mihai Eminescu''-bust, stone, Nisporeni, Moldova *2005 ''Meşterul Manole'', stone,

Criuleni Criuleni () is a city in Moldova, seat of the Criuleni District. The city administers two villages, Ohrincea and Zolonceni. International relations Twin towns — Sister cities Ungheni is twinned with: * Orăștie, Romania Roma ...

, Moldova *2006 ''Dispersal in Time'', stone, Ungheni, Moldova *2006 ''Dolmen'', granite, Chișinău, Moldova *2006 '' Alexander I of Moldavia'', bronze,

Ialoveni Ialoveni () is a city in the Republic of Moldova situated from Chișinău. The city is administrative center of the Ialoveni District. History On 25 March 1977 the settlement was named to Kutuzov, and also its status was changed to urban-ty ...

, Moldova *2008 ''Leonardo Da Vince'', stone, Technical University of Moldova *2008 ''Mihai Eminescu''-bust, bronze,

Iurceni Iurceni is a commune in Nisporeni District, Moldova. It is composed of two villages, Iurceni and Mîrzoaia.Sângeorz-Băi, Romania

Sculpture Camps

*1992 Galda Moment, Alba-Iulia, Romania *1993 Nine Masters, George Apostu Art Center, Bacău, Romania *1993 Mold-Expo, Chișinău, Moldova *1997 First International Symposium of Bronze Sculpture, Chișinău, Moldova *1998 Second International Symposium of Bronze Sculpture, Chișinău, Moldova *2000, 2002, 2006 Stone Sculpture Symposium, Ungheni, Moldova *2001 International Sculpture Symposium, Changchun, Jilin province, China *2005 Stone Sculpture Symposium, Criuleni, Moldova *2008 Stone Sculpture Symposium, at Chișinău Technical University, Moldova *2009 Stone Sculpture Camp, Bran, Romania *2010 Sculpture Camp, Sângeorz-Băi, Romania

Personal exhibitions

*1998 Gallery Latin America House, Bucharest, Romania *1999

Vasile Pogor Vasile V. Pogor ( Francized ''Basile Pogor''; August 20, 1833 – March 20, 1906) was a Moldavian, later Romanian poet, philosopher, translator and liberal conservative politician, one of the founders of ''Junimea'' literary society. Raised in t ...

Memorial House,

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

, Romania *2000 Parliament Hall, Bucharest, Romania *2003 Center

Constantin Brâncuși Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian Sculpture, sculptor, painter and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century and a pioneer of ...

, Chișinău, Moldova *2005 UNHCR, Chișinău, Moldova *2005 Art exhibition at OSCE Mission, Chișinău, Moldova *2006 National Museum of Art (MNAM), Chișinău, Moldova *2014 ''Cu pietate, in eternitate'', in memory of Tudor Cataraga, curated by Tudor Braga (art critic), at the Exhibition Center Constantin Brâncuși, Chișinău, Moldova

Collective exhibitions

* 1986 Youth's Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russia * 1987 Exhibition Center Saint Petersburg Manege, Russia * 1988 ''Contemporary History and Civilization'', Saint Petersburg, Russia * 1989 Exhibition OHTA, Saint Petersburg, Russia * 1989 ''Leningrad and its inhabitants'', Saint Petersburg Manege, Russia * 1989–2001 ''Moldova's Salon'', Chișinău-Bacău-Bucharest * 1990,1994 ''Spring Salon'', Exhibition Center Constantin Brâncuși, Chișinău, Moldova * 1990 ''The Disciples of Art Academy of USSR'' Saint Petersburg, Russia * 1991 ''The Disciples of Art Academy of USS'', Tbilisi, Georgia * 1991,2001 ''Autumnala '91'' Exhibition Center Constantin Brancuși, Chișinău, Moldova * 1992 ''Limba Noastră'', Exhibition Center Constantin Brâncuși, Chișinău, Moldova * 1992–1993 ''Bassarabian Artists in Bucharest'', Art-Expo, Bucharest, Romania * 1995 Painting Exhibition, Düsseldorf, Germany * 1996 Art Exhibition, Budapest, Hungary * 1999 Art Exhibition,

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, France * 2000 Parliament Hall Art Exhibition, Bucharest, Romania * 2001–2010 ''December 1 – National Day of Romania'', Chișinău, Moldova * 2002 Sculpture Exhibition, Constantin Brâncuși Exhibition Center, Chișinău, Moldova * 2002 Painting Exhibition, Leone, France * 2003–2006 ''Orizont Eminescian'', Constantin Brâncuși Exhibition Center, Chișinău, Moldova * 2004 Art Exhibition at National Museum, Chișinău, Moldova * 2005 Art Exhibition, Vilnius, Lithuania * 2006 Exhibition TsDH, Moscow/Krimskiy Val, Russia * 2006 Art from Republic of Moldova, Utrecht, Holland * 2006 ''Emergenţă'' Sala Rotonda, Iași, Romania * 2008 Exhibition Center Constantin Brâncuși, Chișinău, Moldova

Public collections

* National Art Museum of Moldova, Chișinău, Moldova * Romanian Literature Museum, Chișinău, Moldova * Romanian Literature Museum, Iași, Romania * Moldova State University, Chișinău, Moldova * Culture Center George Apostu, Bacău, Romania * Artists Union of Romania, Constantin Brâncuși Exhibition Hall, Bucharest, Romania

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cataraga, Tudor 1956 births 2010 deaths People from Nisporeni District Moldovan journalists Male journalists Moldovan sculptors Moldovan writers Romanian people of Moldovan descent Commanders of the Order of the Star of Romania