One of the most renowned Romanian sculptors after Brancusi, Ovidiu Maitec (1925 – 2007) is acknowledged among the landmark artists for the evolution of Romanian post-war art: he made his debut not in Romania, but in London, in 1968, he had other 4 exhibitions in the UK, and was supported by two major British collectors and gallerists of the time, Jim Ede and Richard Demarco, thanks to whom works by Ovidiu Maitec are today in the collection of Tate Gallery, Kettle’s Yard Museum and in other prestigious international art collections. He participated four times at the Venice Biennale, and his main technical innovation – the rhythmical perforations in wood – will shape him a unique profile in the European art of the last decade. During the Romanian Revolution in 1989, Ovidiu Maitec will lose 70 works in a fire caused by the firefight which took place close to the Romanian Television, where his studio was based: a tragic destiny which will impact his last period of life, spent between Bucharest and Paris.
