David Roy - Larger Than Life
Irish News - 30th October 2004

Currently running at the Tullycarnet Library, Belfast, as part of the Belfast Festival at Queen’s is a new exhibition by up-and-coming Belfast-based artist, Avram Dumitrescu. Titled Transport, it captures some striking images culled from American car culture. David Roy met the artist to discuss his work.

BORN in St Helier, Jersey, and raised in Poleglass, 28-year old artist Avram Dumitrescu has already marked himself out as a fast-rising talent in the art world. You may have seen his illustrations of local scenery in the Ulster Tatler, and he has already held several local exhibitions. Thanks to his immediate style and bold use of colour, Avram’s work makes for compelling viewing, expertly drawing the observing eye to his canvas. With a mother from Belfast and a father from Romania, it’s perhaps fitting that his art should be featured as part of this year’s Belfast festival, with its theme of ‘journeys and migrations’. Weekend spoke to the young artist earlier this week to discuss the ideas behind his work and latest exhibition.

“I’ve just completed my Masters in applied arts at the Art College,” explains Avram. “I was exploring all kinds of themes and materials, working with my tutors trying out several projects. The theme of transportation seemed to be a good one, so from about February to May of this year I was creating illustrations and paintings of local vehicles.

“They were really successful at my end-of-year show, and I ended up selling most of my work from my Masters. During the week it was on, some people from Poleglass and Colin Glen Libraries where I had exhibited previously came down and brought along Mairead Ferguson from the Tullycarnet Library.

“That was the genesis of the new exhibition. Mairead liked what she saw and wanted to put on a show of my stuff as part of the Belfast Festival, because it tied in perfectly with the festival theme this year.

“As it happened, around the same time I had the opportunity to go to America. I decided to go out there and do some brand new work for the exhibition, rather than showing the pieces I’d already done.”

Thus, Avram travelled to Texas where he spent three months living in Austin, doing paintings of some of the vehicles he encountered in his distinctive style.

He says: “I was there with my girlfriend Megan, who’s actually American. We had a great time in Dallas and Austin. I would just go out onto the streets and create these big pieces from scratch. Sometimes it was actually too hot to work, but everything was created on the spot from life.”

Indeed, this approach has served Avram well over the years. Rather than working in the studio from sketches or memory, Avram prefers the immediacy of working directly from the subject at hand. As he admits, “the street is basically my studio”.

During his three months in the States, Dumitrescu familiarised himself with the local car culture. From painting local fire trucks, which earned him a spot in the local student newspaper, he moved on to rather more colourful transportation territory.

“I discovered something called the Cruise Night at Oakhill, in Austin,” explains Avram. “Basically it’s a weekly meeting of car enthusiasts who congregate in the parking lot of a supermarket called Albersons. They were lovely friendly people who spend Saturday night just hanging out and admiring each others restored vehicles.

“I thought it was a great opportunity to capture some classic Americana and it worked out great. I went up on a couple of Saturdays and painted, and they all loved the pieces.”

Having now documented American cars, Avram hopes to return to the States to work with some world famous architecture.

He says: “I’d love to go to Vegas and spend some time there painting all the neon illuminated buildings. I think it would lend itself well to my style.”

One of Dumitrescu’s emerging artistic trademarks is his preference for emphasising perspective and colour over actual detail. His paintings are often described as ‘larger than life,’ undoubtedly because they take the first impression and impact of the subject as their focal points. The actual pieces featured in Transport are quite substantial, measuring roughly 60x90cm. This only serves to heighten their impact.

“I wouldn’t say my style was abstract or impressionistic,” Avram explains. “I think exaggeration is probably the key. When I’m painting something, I go for the stuff that grabs you first – it might be the colour of it or a certain shape. I get hold of that and try to force it through, to concentrate it. That will be the genesis of the whole thing.”

This talent for capturing striking images obviously stems from something deep within the artist, as you can tell by studying the evolution of his artistic education. “My degree was in visual communication,” relates Dumitrescu. “It was a good degree and I got very good teaching, but I couldn’t quite focus. I found myself drifting towards video and film. I actually tried to get into that field and found it difficult. It’s one thing to do it in college, but to actually practice it in real life is something very different.

“I always remember drawing and sketching when I was a child, and my painting feels natural. It’s something that’s been developing since about 2001. I used to work quite small and tight, and in watercolour, but my tutors got me to grow a bit more. “I love the fact that painting is very portable. Acrylic is a nice medium to work with, in that it’s a fast, easy expressive paint. It definitely suits my personality.

He adds: “One thing that probably shows through in my work is that its got immediacy. When I go out drawing I’ll take a lot of extra materials. I might produce 10 pieces in one day, even if it’s just sketches to get them started. I tend to go out to focus on one thing and then get sidetracked by something else.” As for the future, Avram is content to take things one day at a time, letting his work and reputation grow at a natural pace.

“It can be difficult to sustain yourself doing this kind of work, but I do believe it’s something where I have to be prepared to sacrifice a lot of things,” he says. “For example, ironically enough given my current work, I can’t actually afford a car at the moment.

“I have pretty modest goals, really. It’s just a matter of slowly building things up. As for getting into private collections, I’d rather have people take an interest in my work because they like it, not because they think it’s a good investment.”

After a pause, he jokes: “Actually, no – you’d better scratch that. I’m really completely money motivated!”

Roy David; "Larger than Life"; Irish News; Saturday 30th October 2004