Artist Interview – Claudiu Guraliuc

Artists Biography

Claudiu Guraliuc is a fine art photographer, educator and NFT artist, based in Cluj, Romania.
He is a Master Photographer, holding the Associate distinction with The Master Photographers Association in the UK, and the distinction of Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain

He`s been awarded numerous international accolades, in October 2020 receiving the Fine Art Photographer of the Year award, at the Master Photography Awards Gala in the UK, with an image part of his painterly, baroque-inspired series.

In January 2022, he received the International Master Photographer of the Year 2021 award, one of the top accolades in the industry. He was also presented with the Portrait and Fine Art Photographer of the Year awards, at the 38th Annual Master Photographers International Awards in the UK.

He had his work published by some of the largest circulation photography magazines and has artwork present in galleries, private collections and museums in Europe, Asia and United States.

Represented by the Katsea Art Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland, USA and Influx Gallery, Notting Hill, London

Artists Satement

My work is first and foremost an attempt to translate the Old Masters aesthetic to the modern means of expression of photography. I know it`s a kind of mimetism. But I can stop loving it.

The 16th-17th century painting has always been close to my soul. I fell in love with the drama of chiaroscuro, the atmosphere and composition of the baroque paintings. Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, Caravaggio….Only when I started to look at the work of these titans with the hungry eye of the photographer in search of an aesthetic to resonate with, did I really begin to see. This is when I truly felt that my work fulfills me creatively.

So, I started with simple portraits and a lot of questions. How the Old Masters would have done it? What would the lighting be? The color scheme? The expressions, the atmosphere?… How would it have made the viewer feel?

From these “simple” portraits, I went to more elaborate series of images, usually of mythological or biblical inspiration, sometimes including a slight erotic twist to the mix, often working with professional actors to better bring my vision to life. This imagery is quintessential for my work and style.

At the end of the day, my images are about who I am, more than anything else. They’re the product of my experience, memories, emotions, accomplishments, and trauma alike. Stories I saw with my eyes wide shut and fell in love with.