"I really want to emphasise the beauty of these short-lived, everyday details of life."
- Ana Popescu
A diversity in subject and medium highlights French-Romanian artist and illustrator Ana Popescu’s first collaboration with Paper Collective. Working across her artistic practice and illustration commissions, her work is defined by a strong colour palette mixed with a deliberately distorted use of perspective, light and shadow within her compositions.
We chatted with Ana about her first collaboration with Paper Collective; two collections of art prints, Les Vacances and Bathroom Stories, as well as her adopted home city of Vienna.
Q: Hi Ana. Having studied and now being based in Vienna, can you tell me about the creative culture of the city and how this influences your work?
A: Vienna is an interesting city for me as it offers a lot of cultural opportunities. There are many galleries and museums, but on the other hand it is a very calm city, which allows me a peace in which to work.
Q: With your collection of works for Paper Collective titled Les Vacances, you reference the summer days spent in Vienna. What do you love most about this time of year and how is this conveyed in your collection?
A: Les Vacances is actually a visual diary of all the places I visited this summer, including Vienna. There are moments from Italy, France, Romania and other places too. With the series I tried to express this feeling of melancholy when you realise that summer is soon over – that ephemeral feeling of never wanting the sun and warmth to disappear.
Q: Opposed to Les Vacances which is a very ephemeral collection, your Bathroom Stories collection is quite graphic and architectural. Tell me a little bit about the inspiration behind the collection and your interest in architectural spaces within your work.
A: With Bathroom Stories, I have tried to depict a kind of parallel reality. The human presence is not shown in the compositions but sensed, with light and shadow playing a key role in this. Architecture is one of the biggest influences within my work, in particular this relationship between nature and the man-made environment."... that ephemeral feeling of never wanting the sun and warmth to disappear."
Q: Within your work you use an exaggerated use of perspective and a strong contrast between light and shadow. Why do you like working with these elements, and what does it add to your compositions?
A: I think light and shadow add a narrative to a composition, highlighting a particular moment in time as light is constantly changing. I really want to emphasise the beauty of these short-lived, every-day details of life.
Q: Opposed to Les Vacances which is a very ephemeral collection, your Bathroom Stories collection is quite graphic and architectural. Tell me a little bit about the inspiration behind the collection and your interest in architectural spaces within your work.
A: With Bathroom Stories, I have tried to depict a kind of parallel reality. The human presence is not shown in the compositions but sensed, with light and shadow playing a key role in this. Architecture is one of the biggest influences within my work, in particular this relationship between nature and the man-made environment.
