ART ENCOUNTERS | Appearance & Essence | 3-31 OCTOBER 2015 TIMISOARA | ARAD
Lena Constante
(1909, București, România - 2005, București, România)
Lena Constante became known internationally after 1989 by two books that describe her experience in the Communist prisons. The artwork of Lena Constante is not just a profession, it is an aesthetic act.
She was an artist well known for her original work of tapestry and her folklore activities. She made carpets with stylized motifs in her own workshop having solo exhibitions of tapestry. In 1954 she founded the Theatre "Ţăndărică" (theater for children) together with Elena Pătrăşcanu, wife of Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, Justice Minister at the time, leading to the arrest and conviction of her and Harry Brauner to 12 years in prison. She is released in 1962, and in 1968, at the Pătrășcanu retrial, both are found innocent. Although a member of the Union of Artists in Romania, Lena Constante could not expose paintings because of political reasons. This determines her to start crafting and to move towards tapestry using authentic folkloric materials, making collages out of fabric. Fragments of traditional costumes, towels and peasant embroidery lose their original utility in the collages of Lena Constante, while being loaded with new aesthetic values, while retaining their authenticity.
