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"His third eye acutely filters light and shadow,
joy and sorrow. He does not search--he finds with
immense creative force attributed to his emotions."
Anionella Bottari - Art critic, Rome

"What really stands out in the technique of Alexandru Darida is the transgression of the planes over a main composition theme; a descriptiveness full of lyricism with the unconfused intention of achieving a metaphor in which the feminine figure stands out with its eternal mysteries."
Doru Radosau - Director, Museums of Arts Romania

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The childhood of painter Alexandru Darida sounds more like something from a fairy tale than from reality.  Born in 1955 to an Italian father and Romanian mother, he grew up amidst breathtaking medieval castles in a small town in Transylvania, Romania – the region famous as the birthplace of the Dracula legend.  The romantic imagery of his youth and his father’s love of art provided the framework for his own artistic endeavors.

After graduating from the Ecole de Belle Art, Darida began his full-time artistic career as the Official Portrait Painter to the Communist President of Romania, Nicolae Ceausescu.  He had no artistic freedom – he was limited to painting what the government told him to paint and was denied permission to paint anything else.  Although his work for President Ceausescu brought him success in his homeland, he felt overwhelmed by the restrictions imposed upon him.  He realized that he would have to escape the tyranny of communism in order to pursue his artistic passion.

After a courageous escape to Italy, Darida was determined to pursue his new-found artistic freedom.  He enrolled at the Benedetti Liberal Academy of Art in Rome and traveled extensively around Western Europe, finding inspiration in the works of Botticelli, Rembrandt, and Modigliani.  Eventually, tired of being pursued by the Romanian government and with the help of the Mayor of Rome – who was an admirer of Darida’s art and shared the same family name – he immigrated to the United States where he finished his education at the Academy of Art in Chicago.

Darida’s museum placements include the Powerhouse Museum and the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia and his work has been featured at Municipal Galleries across Romania, the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, and the Museum of Art in Bucharest, Romania.  He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Formello-Roma International Prize for Painting, and the Award for Excellence in the Multimedia Miniatures Show in Romania.

Alexandru is heavily involved with music - which he finds inspirational, soothing and even a bit magical.  He paints to music and often finds inspiration in the voice of his wife, Marianna, an accomplished opera singer.  He is an experienced Madrigal conductor, and plays the piano (adding with self-effacing charm that he is “not very good” but finds it relaxing, nonetheless.) “Between painting and music,” he says, “that is my life!”

 

 

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