Tibi Chelcea takes elements and processes of traditional printmaking and combines them with parts and operations of digital technologies. His work demonstrates unexpected correlations between old and new technologies; and issues of consumption, serial design, and automated vs. labor-intensive processes, are brought to the fore. His drawings in ink and colored pencil summon an attraction to the abstract, even as the mind works with the lines to make an engineering or technological sense of them. It is precisely this that is subverted by the graphical elements and empty space that Chelcea draws, as if he is creating new conduits for our sensibility, and transforming an assumed understanding into one of more-finely-tuned receptors. Chelcea, born in Romania, holds a Bsc and Msc in Electrical Engineering from Politehnica University of Bucharest, and a PhD in Computer Science from Columbia University. He has received several awards, fellowships and patents in the field of electronic and digital design, which continues to be a major source of inspiration for his art. Chelcea currently lives in Ames, Iowa.

SELECTED WORKS