Ion Vincent Danu - Between Heaven and Hell

This is a unic Art Book. About a decade ago, I saw on the net some bizarre drawings, filled with French or Romanian text. The author's name was Ion Vincent Danu, no doubt an eccentric, I was saying to myself, since a Romanian citizen would never be baptized Vincent. In a short time, I became a very good friend of the outstanding painter, philosopher and avant-garde artist, born Dan Iordache, in the Sibiu town of Transylvania. A stormy life, full of adventures and painful problems, bring him and his family to Canada in the Francophone region of Quebec. I met him on net, at the decline of a promising carer, while he was fighting a broad spectrum of financial and family problems. But, a generous man, Danu sent me fascinating sketches, drawings and paintings and especially elaborated messages full of the philosophy of a bitter, ignored artist. He spent hours in cafe houses drawing and painting portraits for some bucks. Or he gave drawing lessons, or sold the watercolours made on the spot, for a curious client. His art was full of force, with infinite subjects from landscapes to marine monsters, nudes, imaginary animals, insects and horses, etc, all treated in a philosophic way, surrealistically or in a canonical classical style. Although, I did not meet him face to face, all his messages spoke to me about a cult, erudite, a well established connoisseur of the European painting from which it drew its artistically essence. Van Gogh, Millet, Cezanne were models he admired and kept on knowingly their influence. We wrote together, articles about art, and I interviewed him about his life and work in Canada. Three years ago, a relentless disease cut him off from creative power. He was a pedantic and orderly man. Prior to death, he sent me some CD\s - photo albums calling me the heir his digital archive. This album of drawings and discussions IVD "Between Heaven and Hell" marks my gratitude and admiration for the great DANU, artist and fine friend. Adrian Grauenfels- Israel