Iulian COPĂCEL 

Study and Gesture in Contemporary Drawing

I am a visual artist whose practice is centered on the relentless study of drawing in all its forms. My art is not merely about the subject itself, but about the energy it radiates. While my journey began with the rigor of formal art education, I have always felt a magnetic pull toward what lies beyond form: movement, femininity, and fluidity.

For a significant period, I immersed myself in the world of Degas’ ballerinas, exploring how the human body carves through space. However, that phase was merely the foundation. My turning point came when I decided to liberate the line from academic constraints. I stopped drawing what I saw and began painting the rhythm of the line itself.

Today, my creative process is an act of liberation. I work with acrylics in experimental consistencies, allowing the medium to partially dictate the direction in a continuous dialogue between control and chance. I am no longer seeking to represent a body or an object; instead, I aim to capture that moment of absolute freedom where composition becomes dynamic and color becomes pure emotion.

To me, painting is a form of expression stripped of preconceived notions. It is a constant search for that state of flow where years of technical discipline meet the spontaneity of abstraction. The result is a distinct, mature style that prioritizes the vibration of the composition and offers the viewer the freedom to find their own story within the layers of color.

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Studies/Titles

Graduate College of Arts “Octav Bancila” Department of Graphic Art, in 1993 lasi / ROMANIA
Graduated from the University of Arts “George Enescu” lasi Class of 1998
Full member of the Union of Visual Artists from Romania – lasi Branch since 2007

Participating in exhibitions:

1997 – Participation in collective exhibition “STUDFEST 6th edition” Timișoara (2 artworks)

1998 – collective exhibition composed of – advertising graphics, easel graphics, engraving and book object, “CUPOLA” Galleries IAȘI (5 artworks)

1998 – participation in engraving exhibition and published in the presentation catalog of the Small Engraving Triennial hosted by Tama Art University in Tokyo (2 works)

2002 – participation in the TVR IASI collective exhibition – (2 pastel artworks – portrait)

2003 – personal exhibition “ROTONDA” Hall (within the IASI University of Medicine).

2003 – Published works of painting, tempera and pastel in Revista culturala Timpul – no. 9 of November 2003

2004 – Published with a photos in the cultural magazine Timpul – no. 4 of April 2004

2004 – Participation in the Triennial engraving exhibition of Small Engraving realized by Tama Art University Tokyo (2 artworks)

2005 – Participation in collective exhibition together with “ERASMUS” students at the “George Enescu” University of Arts Iași (3 artworks)

2012 – Personal exhibition of painting and graphics “Portrete. Female Poses”, hosted by the “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University Museum in Iași, in the Attic Hall.

2015 – Personal exhibition of painting and graphics “Documenter les gestes” exhibition hosted by the French Institute in Iasi

2016 – Mural project composed of 14 drawings illustrating the “Amazon Principles” with dimensions of 10x3m as part of a design project for the AMAZON Iasi office building

2019 – Participation in the “International Festival of Education 2019” (2 artworks)

2019 – Personal exhibition of painting and graphics “3. Documenter les gestes” opened at the Victoria Gallery in Iași

2019 – Abstract painting project composed of 12 works on canvas as part of a design project for the AMAZON Iasi office building

2020 – Participation in the Annual Art Show “ARTIS 2020”, organized by the Union of Visual Artists from Romania – Iași Branch and Iași City Hall

2021 – Personal drawing exhibition “A red circle” opened at the Nicolaie Tonitza Gallery in Iași

2021 – Painting project composed of 17 large works on canvas within a design project for an AMAZON office building in Iasi where the 14 Amazon principles were illustrated.

2022 – Personal exhibition “LUCIFERIC DANCE. THE LOST HORN OF THE UNICORN.” Art gallery Th.Pallady, of the Union of Visual Artists from IASI

2022 – Participation in the exhibition “NICOLAE TONITZA” INTERNATIONAL BIENNIAL OF CONTEMPORARY ART, 4th edition, “Vasile Pârvan” Museum, Bârlad.

2022 – Personal exhibition at Elite Art Gallery, Bucharest – “Rhythms of Being.”

2023 – OLD TOWN – 450 square meters of wallpaper with personalized drawings with the “Old Town” theme, where the emblematic buildings of the city of Iasi are represented, images populated with characters and vintage vehicles that animated the city in the interwar years. The project takes place on 5 levels and was carried out for the arrangement of some offices within the Palas Campus complex.

2023 – INDUSTRIAL – 12 OSB panels drawn with black acrylic representing buildings that were part of the old industrialized area of Iasi, which are represented like oversized postcards.

2023 – Participation in the exhibition – NATIONAL BIENNIAL OF PLASTIC ART “LASCAR VOREL” PIATRA-NEAMȚ

2024 – Personal exhibition THE OBJECT that was opened in Iasi at the Absida Gallery and in Suceava at the Bucovina Library “I. G. Sbiera”.

2024 – Group exhibition within the Art’98 project – generation 1993-1998 graduates of the George Enescu University of Arts from Iasi