Ivan Ivanov is a sculptor from Plovdiv. I met Ivan on my visit to Tasuleasa Social, where the Via Transilvanica camp is, in September 2021. He started to be involved with the project in 2018 and he feels like Romania is his second home.
Artist Ivan Ivanov at Tasuleasa Social
DK: Ivan, how did you get involved in this project?
Ivan: Via Transilvanica established its first sculpture camp for milestones creation in 2018, while I was an Erasmus student in Romania. I was very happy to be invited by my Romanian colleagues.
The entire project is great. The place where we work is amazing (n.e. VT’s headquarters in Pasul Tihuta, Bistrita Nasaud, Northern Romania, at the border with Ukraine). Over the years, these camps were a great experience. I’ve connected with a lot of young artists that I haven't met before.
DK: What does Via Transilvanica mean for you?
Ivan: The opportunity to create an artwork that is going to be placed somewhere in Romania and last for generations is thrilling. There are so many things to appreciate as a young artist.
For me sculpting the milestones was a task with specific requirements that I was following, but beyond that, I was thrilled to create designs inspired by history, nature, and Romanian culture. These subjects triggered my imagination in my search to make them immortal on the milestones.
The thing I treasure the most is the time I spent with fellow artists. We established strong friendships that I hope will last a lifetime. Now, in perspective, looking back at my work on this project, I can say for sure that I was part of something big at least once in my life.
More about Ivan’s work here: https://www.instagram.com/iva_art_nov/
At Tasuleasa with Ivan Ivanov (Bulgaria), Tsvetelina Angelova (Bulgaria), Cris Ianculescu (SUA), Iuliana Gradinaru (Ro), Alexandru Burlacu (Ro), Andrei Boitan (Ro), Daniela Kammrath (SUA) in September 2021
About Via Transilvanica: The 1,400 km trail that unites over 400 communities from North-North-East to West-South-West of Romania is the most notable trail in Eastern Europe and, arguably, the longest art exhibit in the world. All of its milestones are hand-carved by sculptors on the premises in Bistrita. The work started in 2019 and by now over 1,100 of these pieces of art have been finished and installed on the trail. More about the project here.