Why Icons?

Hodighitria - George Pivas

"About forty years ago I heard people saying that the Bible is the Book of Books.
Intrigued and curious I wanted to see if this was true. Upon opening the Bible I found within it: history, philosophy, medicine, pedagogy, morals, and psychology. I also found that I was on a definite pathway, I saw where I was heading and, most importantly how to get there.
In time I understood more of the things in the Bible, I achieved deeper understanding.
About the same time, one of my work colleagues told me that his mother paints icons on glass (she graduated at the Arts Institute Nicolae Grigorescu, professor Ciucurencu class).
I visited her and I was amazed: a window to another world, a whole wall covered in icons on glass – in folk style.
From that moment I wanted to have something like that. And as I could not afford to risk my security (the lady wasn’t happy to make them as she was afraid of the Securitate), and I had no money, I decided to make them myself, although I never painted before.
Years later, in 1998, I was accepted as a student by Mariolanda Muresan, a pensioner architect who was making superb icons on glass(some of her patterns you can see in my exhibition).
In Australia I started this hobby that gives me enormous satisfaction.
While I am painting, I think about the meaning of the subject, the colour correlation, the frame.
I think about my life achievements, what I should have done and what I should do, introspection, a self-analysis, psychoanalysis.

This is why I decided to paint icons.

I thank God for opening this window!
I thank all who support me, my family and my teachers."
George Pivas