Sorin Ilfoveanu

(b. 28 August 1946, Bucharest, Romania)

Sorin Ilfoveanu is a Romanian painter, graphic artist, educator, and a major figure in contemporary Romanian visual culture. Known for his refined draughtsmanship, conceptual rigor, and engagement with myth, symbolism, and the human figure, Ilfoveanu has developed a distinctive visual language that bridges classical sensibilities with modern expression.

He studied at the National University of Arts Bucharest (formerly the Nicolae Grigorescu Institute of Fine Arts), graduating in 1970. Ilfoveanu’s early work emerged in the context of the post-War generation of Romanian artists, yet his approach remained singular by combining a strong command of traditional drawing and composition with a critical, poetic sensibility.

Throughout his career, Ilfoveanu has worked across multiple media, including painting, drawing, printmaking, and graphic design, always attentive to the expressive potential of line, form, and surface. His work often explores the tension between figure and abstraction, memory and myth, presence and absence—creating images that evoke a reflective, symbolic universe rather than straightforward representation.

In addition to his artistic practice, Ilfoveanu has had an important role in art education. He served as professor and later rector at the National University of Arts Bucharest, influencing generations of students and contributing significantly to the development of contemporary Romanian art practice.

His work has been exhibited widely in Romania and internationally and is represented in major museum collections, including the National Museum of Art of Romania and other public and private collections.

Within the context of Pavot, Sorin Ilfoveanu’s oeuvre resonates with themes of interior exploration, narrative ambiguity, and the poetic interplay of form and idea—where artistic inquiry becomes both a reflective and visual journey.