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Remembrance

During the First World War (1914–1918) much of the fighting took place in Western Europe. Previously beautiful countryside was blasted, bombed and fought over, again and again. The landscape swiftly turned to fields of mud: bleak and barren scenes where little or nothing could grow.
Bright red Flanders poppies however, were delicate but resilient flowers and grew in by the thousands, flourishing even in the middle of chaos and destruction.

In early May 1915, shortly after losing a friend in Ypres, a Canadian doctor, Lt Col John McCrae was inspired by the sight of poppies to write a now famous poem called 'In Flanders Fields'. After the First World War, the poppy was adopted as a symbol of Remembrance.

My grandfather, Gheorghe Gruia, was was the youngest generation conscripted into Romanian Army’s Jandarmerie. They were the ones that came behind the troupes and were charged to keep the peace in the occupied and ravaged territories. We...

Ovidiu Ervin Gruia’s work reflects the constant struggle for balance in a world of contradictions and radical transitions. A recent arrival on the art scene, the mostly self-taught Gruia addresses themes of freedom and oppression, tranquility in the midst of chaos and spirituality in a secular world. Gruia escaped communist Romania at age 15 along with his family and he landed in a Southern California public high school with only a basic knowledge of English. At age 17, he developed the first of several start-ups, only to leave the business world to pursue his education. He studied business and theology and has a broad range of experience in facilities management, marketing and business development in the energy and healthcare...