Description

Pliuri, n. Romanian for folds.

Born in Galati, Romania, and raised in Texas, artist Diana Antohe creates multimedia work that explores her dual-culture identity through painting, drawing, sewing and writing on textiles. She is particularly influenced by the textiles, letters and other items given to her family in Texas by her grandparents still living Romania. These objects not only serve as tactile memories of her grandparents and emblems of their Romanian heritage, but they also, by bearing the creases of having been folded up into luggage for the voyage across the Atlantic, tell a story of shifting identity in America. The title of the exhibit derives from these creases.

The exhibit has two components: large fabric pieces hanging on the walls and small objects resting on a plexiglass luggage rack. Attendees are encouraged to touch and handle the latter.

The exhibit is free and open to all during normal library hours. Parking is available for a fee in the 8th Street parking deck. If special accommodations are needed, please contact Stephen Barkley, Tompkins-McCaw Library operations librarian, srbarkley@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1705.

About the Artist

Diana Antohe received an MFA in painting and printmaking from VCU in 2019 and a BFA in studio art from Southern Methodist University in 2014, with additional studies at the Slade School of Art and Yale's Auvillar Program. She has held residencies at Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, Germany; Can Serrat in El Bruc, Spain; the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vt; and Mildred's Lane in Beach Lake, Pa. Her work has been exhibited locally and internationally, including Page Bond Gallery, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts and Camden Arts Centre, and it was recently featured in the latest MFA issue of New American Paintings.

Image: Pentru Nadia, by Diana Antohe