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Ion Zupcu
was born in Romania in 1960. He
began his explorations of photography working in a studio in his
native city. While spending long hours in his
living room taking care of his daughter but with the desire to take
photographs himself, Mr. Zupcu began to take still-life photographs of
vases and flowers. During this same period he came across the still
life and staged photography of other artists, an encounter which
influenced him greatly.
Ion
came to New York in 1991. While driving a yellow cab, he met the owner
of a black and white photo lab and began working for him, learning the
tools of traditional black and white printing. In 1993 he made his first visit to the
International Center of Photography and also discovered the three Ansel Adams books
- The Camera, The Negative and The Print.
In
1998, after seven years of separation, he was at last reunited with
his daughter and wife in New York, and their arrival awakened in Mr.
Zupcu a sense of purpose and newfound motivation. Previously focused
on landscape subjects, he discovered a passion for still life
photography. He began spending long hours
shooting, studying and mastering the art of still life printing. His
first serious investigation into the genre began in 1999 with a series
entitled simply Flowers, which was followed by numerous collections of
photographs depicting bottles, fabrics, eggs and portraits. His latest
project is entitled "Works on Paper." Mr. Zupcu’s prints and sepia-tones
all of his own work.
Since
his first exhibition in 2000, Ion’s work has become part of many
private collections throughout the world. His works are in the
permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Ialomita
County Museum of Art in Romania; the O'Melveny & Myers Collection and
the LLP Collection. |
