Felicia Cirstea is a Romanian-Canadian contemporary visual artist based in Toronto, Canada. Born and raised in Bucharest, Romania, Felicia Cirstea completed her studies at OCAD University and Toronto School of Arts. Her practice involves drawing and painting while investigating themes of personal identity, self-discovery, survival and cultural displacement. Using abstraction and representation Felicia’s paintings carry a visual language influenced by architectural landmarks of Europe, nature, biology and Romanian folklore while depicting human forms such as faces as the main subject matter.
Felicia Cirstea’s recent works explore the transformative nature of identity through a process of cultural and personal metamorphosis. Her canvases, inspired by Orthodox churches and the Renaissance era, are intricately drawn, redrawn, braided, and reassembled, introducing new elements and narratives in a search for a sense of self and belonging. In Cirstea’s work, brushstrokes and marks become contemplative, capturing the fluidity of the present moment. Through this lens, her art challenges the notion of stability, inviting us to reconsider the narratives about ourselves we choose to embrace or discard.
CV
Born in Bucharest, Romania. Lives and works in Toronto, Canada.
EDUCATION
Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto, Canada, 2003-2007
Toronto School of Arts, Toronto, Canada, 2002-2003
STUDIO PROGRAM/RESIDENCY
Akin Studio Program Year 3, Auto BLDG, Toronto, Canada, 2021 - 2023
Akin Studio Program Year 2, Museum of Contemporary Art & Auto BLDG, Toronto, Canada, 2019-2020
SOLO EXHIBITIONS + SOLO ART FAIRS
"Alterations/Crowns of Glory", Remote Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2023
The Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair, Better Living Centre, Toronto, Canada, 2020
“Remains, a face between faces”, Akin Vitrine Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2019
58th Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, Nathan Philips Square, Toronto, Canada, 2019
The Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair, Better Living Centre, Toronto, Canada, 2019
Felicia Atanasiu, Sugar Ridge Art Gallery, Antigua, West Indies, 2012
GROUP EXHIBITIONS + ART AUCTIONS
Akin Program Auto BLDG, The Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair, Toronto, Canada, 2023
Akin Winter Exhibition, Clark Centre for the Arts, Toronto, Canada, 2022
At Intervals, Auto BLDG ( home to MOCA), Toronto, Canada, 2020
New Measures, Collision Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2020
Akin’s Annual Holiday Market, MOCA, Toronto, Canada, 2019
Ramp Up 2019, Stop Gap Foundation Annual Fundraiser, Wychwood Barns, Toronto, Canada, 2019
“Home is where the art is”, Art Auction, HOK, Toronto, Canada, 2019
Digital Group Exhibition, Yonge-Dundas Square, Toronto, Canada, 2018
Marine Art & Photography, Copper & Lumber Store Hotel, Antigua, West Indies, 2012
Art & Sole, 381 Projects, Toronto, Canada, 2010
SELECTED PRESS
The Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair, Studio Visit: The Akin Studio Program at MOCA, 2020