TIBERIU CHELCEA
Black Hole Sun Explosion (with Restart), monoprints off circuit boards, oilstick, gouache, collage on paper, 22" x 30", 2012

Ames-based artist Tiberiu Chelcea was born in Romania and came to the United States to pursue a PhD in Computer Science.  He has received several awards, fellowships, and patents in the field of electronic and digital design, which continues to be a major source of inspiration for his art.  Mr. Chelcea takes elements and processes of traditional printmaking and combines them with parts and operations of digital technologies.  His work demonstrates unexpected correlations between old and new technologies, and issues of consumption, serial design, and automated vs labor-intensive processes are brought to the fore.

Mr. Chelcea writes, "My work investigates the physical and tangible beauty of mass-produced technological/scientific objects and texts, as well as their relationship with our recent past and our outdated ways of doing things.  Technological products become obsolete at an increasingly rapid pace; throughout my career as an engineer, I have seen my share of technologies come and pass.  My works are not making the case to preserve these technologies; they are merely beautifying their transition or demise.  The very slow process of printmaking and drawing entirely bypasses the inherent speed and precision of everything electronic and new, thus transforming unknown or disregarded objects into a meditative experience."

Tiberiu Chelcea's website