Andreea Alunei

Andreea Alunei is a Romanian multidisciplinary artist based in Bloomington, IN. She currently teaches as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design at Indiana University, where she also earned her MFA. Her background in both psychology and visual art informs her layered, symbolic painting practice.

Alunei’s small-scale works explore themes of motherhood, mortality, and spiritual uncertainty, using vivid color and surreal humor. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at Field Projects Gallery (NYC), Manifest Gallery (Cincinnati), and New House Art Space (UK). In 2024, she was named one of ten standout North American visual artists by curator Hettie Judah through the Acts of Creation competition.


Artist Statement

My work explores existential uncertainties through the intertwined experiences of life entering and leaving the body—the birth of my daughter and the death of my mother. These events, and the maternal bond they represent, shape my ongoing investigation of birth, death, spirituality, cultural identity, and motherhood.

By blending the observable with the imaginary, I create a personal mythology in small-scale, layered paintings. Using mixed media on silk, I build tactile, luminous surfaces that reflect fragility, impermanence, and spiritual longing. Inspired by medieval illuminated manuscripts and children’s illustrations, I focus on symbolic meaning over anatomical accuracy. Recurring motifs—halos, goats, unicorns, mice, and children—populate a whimsical, surreal world where roles and realities shift.

I approach painting with apprehension and reverence, treating the process almost superstitiously. Moving fear onto the surface becomes an act of courage and a way to transform vulnerability. Rooted in grief but resisting solemnity, my work uses humor and playfulness to create space for confronting fear with lightness, offering perspective on mortality and life’s absurdity.


https://www.andreea-alunei.com/