Silviu Oravitzan is a Romanian painter. Having some traits of geometric abstract art of 20th century, his artworks are mostly based on Byzantine Art and the religious art of Orthodox Christianity. The works are full of its symbols and imagery, such as the cross, for example.
Background
Silviu Oravitzan was born on 4 October 1941 in Ciclova Montana, Caras-Severin county, Romania. He is a son of Iosif Creţu and Ecaterina Creţu, both teachers who were activists in public and cultural life during inter-war period.
Silviu has a brother, Gheorghe Creţu.
Silviu Oravitzans’ parents were subjects of Bărăgan deportations undertaken during the 1950s by the Romanian Communist regime. After parents’ departure, Silviu and his brother were raised by their grandmother.
In 1957, Silviu’s father returned from the exile and became an undesirable person that’s why Silviu changed his surname from Creţu to Oravitzan.
Education
Silviu Oravitzan entered the primary school of his native village in 1947 and finished it in 1951. The same year, he began his secondary education at the General Dragalina school in Oravița.
In 1958, Oravitzan enrolled at the Timisoara Training College and had attended it for two years.
After graduating from the college, he became a student of the Timisoara University’s Fine Arts Department in 1960.
Career
Silviu Oravitzan started his career in 1963 from the teaching activity in Iulia Hasdeu National College and Coriolan Brediceanu High School, both in Lugoj, Romania where he had taught painting as a professor for seven years.
In 1965, Oravitzan opened his Galerie Pro Arte in Lugoj which the artist presided from 1985 till 2006. A year after the opening of the Galerie, his first exhibition along with Vladimir Streletz and Tudor Tudan was organized in Dacia Hall in Lugoj.
The Galerie Pro Arte became a true cultural center in Romania by the time and gathered the most famous painters, writers, art historians, musicians and other artists , including art critics Vasile Drăguț, Ion Frunzetti, Livius Ciocârlie, Amelia Pavel, Romanian painters Ștefan Bertalan, Corneliu Baba, Ștefan Câlția, Horia Bernea, Raul Sorban and a politician Andrei Pleşu.
The style of Oravitzans’ paintings created in 80s was close to the abstract impressionism and expressed the sort of opposition to such famous painters of the time as Horia Bernea and Sorin Dumitrescu. This period became a crucial moment in Oravitzan’s career. In 1981, he travelled to Greece visiting as well the museums in Italy, France, Germany and Austria what gave the painter a new source of inspiration.
The artist received a fellowship in Paris in 1983 and two years later the fellowship from the Peer Mattsson Foundation (Sweden). One of the most significant solo exhibitions of the time took place at The Dalles Hall, Bucharest, Romania in 1985. It caused great scandal among the enemies of Romanian art and was closed.
The following five years, Oravitzan presented his works around the world, in particular in United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Netherlands, Russia, Slovenia and Hungary.
In 90s, Silviu Oravitzan met a Romanian conductor and composer Sergiu Celibidache who appreciated Oravitzan’s artworks and bought some of them. Two artists became close friends. Another famous personality with whom Oravitzan shared his art views was a film director Paul Bărbaneagră.
In 1997, Oravitzan returned to his teaching activity and became a professor in the West University of Timisoara in Romania. Although, the artist pursued his painting career. So, three years later, the painters’ works were a point of departure of the artistic project of Maria von Kamarovsky organized in Catholic Art Museum in New York.
At the beginning of the 21th century, Silviu Oravitzan travelled to Austria where he started the collaboration with Ana-Maria Altmann and the Belvedere Art Museum.
Since 2005 Oravitzan had been involved in the activity of The Romanian Institute of Inter-Orthodox, Inter-Confessional and Interreligious Studies.
He now lives and works in Timisoara taking active part in the cultural city life.
The last exhibition of Silviu Oravitzan artworks was organized in this town in 2010-2011 by the local art museum.
Achievements
Silviu Oravitzan is a remarkable artist whose works are the brilliant interpretation of Byzantine Art and the religious art of Orthodox Christianity.
During his career, Oravitzan’s paintings were recognized by multiple solo and group exhibitions the artist had all around the world, including Galerie Berthe, Paris, France (1983), Rudolf Schoen Gallery, Germany (1990), Centre for Culture and Arts, Hungary (1994), House de Watazzi, Luxembourg (1998), Romanian Cultural Centre, Vienna, Austria (1998) and Oravitan Gallery in New York (1999).
The painters heritage is preserved both in personal collections and museums, such as The Royal Family Art Museum, Belgium, The Peer Matson Foundation Museum, Vernanese , Sweden, The Ministry of Light Industry Collection, Bucharest, Romania, The Art Museum, Reszow, Poland, and The Art Museum, Debrecen, Hungary.
Silviu Oravitzan became an Honorary citizen of Oravita in 1997 and an Honorary citizen of Lugoj, Roumania in 2004.
Through his artworks, Silviu Oravitzan tries to answer such eternal questions on human existence as ‘Where are we coming from?’, ‘Where are we going to?’.
Membership
Union of Romanian Artists
,
Romania
1970
Logos Group
,
France
1983
Romanian Institute of Inter-Orthodox, Inter-Confessional and Interreligious Studies
,
Romania
2006
International Association of Fine Arts
1993
Connections
Silviu Oravitzan met Gina Căpitan during his training at the Timisoara University and married her in 1962. Four years later, the couple had a son whose name is Ionut Oravitzan.
