Narcissistic, impetuous and intemperate, with a life on the „top of the wave", full of success or fallen into

obscurity, artists fascinate and surprise us often. The Romanian sculptor from the city of
Timisoara, Stephen Calarasanu is no exception and, at least from the angle from which I look today, I could
hardly say that he led a boring life. And how could it be otherwise, if all the time he was the center of
attention ? Well, not really so. Few of the articles in the press, after his untimely death, gives us an
indication that the authors would have really known the artist. But, ironically, so it is. Despite the explosion
of flash media and Internet, we know less details about the art and life of an artist than in the 19th century,
when information flew slower but it was more direct and authentic than today.

The image of the artist in society depends not only by his art but also by the play of lights and shadows that
confronts those who knew him, family, media, collectors, critics and biographers, and, perhaps most
importantly, the art community around them. They contribute to the revision of a standard of excellence and
artistic merit which has led some artists feel they are worth more after death than during life, and others to
build a false public image. That was exactly what feared Stefan Calarasanu almost a year ago, after he
learned he had cancer. "Adrian, I am tired of these ladies who come around me and begin to wail ," he told
me shortly before his death. Stephen, who liked to be brutally frank, had an intuition and expertise in social
relations practiced since the times in which to be a sculptor in the 70’s you had to know how to drink wine
and kiss a lady's hand. More or less, our generation has followed this romantic trend which made us a
doomed and extravagant species. From this point of view, George Apostu a sculptor from Bucharest where
Stephen served his apprenticeship after graduating from Timisoara Faculty of Arts (1970-1973) , was a
model. The two years (1973-1975) he spent in the Baneasa studio of the master were certainly the most
important years in his artistic training. Compared to Apostu 's sculpture, which was rough and cut of the ax ,
the wood carving of Calarasanu is more delicate. With his inclination for ornamental incisions
and metallic inserts, as noted by the critics who wrote about his sculpture, Calarasanu creates abstract
allusions to a mysterious writing .

After the experience in Bucharest and several participations at the national sculpture symposiums
from Hobiţa, St. George and Deta, Stephen returned to Timisoara. The sculpture of Timisoara in the 80’s
had a great start with a symposium organized in 1984 on the banks of the Bega canal.
Here, Stephen produced „Lacustra" , a sculpture carved in limestone. His participation gave color to the
event and was a memorable contribution. After Bata Marianov, a leading sculptor from Timisoara , left the
country and other two important sculptors, Victor Gaga and Jecza Peter died, the art scene made room for
new artists and Stefan Calarasanu, with his combative spirit and a rare people talent, was propelled as one
of the most important sculptors from Banat. It was a fertile time, especially after the 1989 Revolution ,
materialized in public works, among them " Liberty Bell ", which stands as a remarkable stone monument
placed in the Traian Square, also other monuments erected in Resita, Lugoj and the Czech Republic.

After 2000, along with painters Cristian Sida and Gyuri Fikl , seconded by the noted Marcel Tolcea, the
director of the city's Art Museum, Stephen Calarasanu contributed to the initiation of local symposiums and
exhibitions, events which have reopened the taste for art collecting in Banat . His last
attended symposiums were symposiums in which andesite was the stone of choice.
.
Andesite and granite are rough stones. For those who can not appreciate this, it is sufficient to say that the
only rock harder than them is diamond. The symposiums in andesite are unique not only in Romania but
also abroad. The rock, which is quarried by a company from Magura Ilvei next to Sângeorz – Bai, is very
nice and, allows outstanding compositional effects.
Cutting with a flex grinder without water, is producing a cloud of dust . Sculptors in stone are less
concerned about this because they work usually in limestone, which is calcium carbonate and is absorbed
by the body. But andesite is different. It's like a mist of broken glass that enters in your lungs and can not be
eliminated. When using a compressor and pneumatic hammers this risk is lower, but in Romania there is no
tradition in this respect. Images from the press and television reports have immortalized the heroic effort of
this sculptors and often they proudly posed covered in dust as proof of their direct contact with the stone .

In January 2013 , all the world of success that allowed Stephen Calarasanu to create without material
deprivation, collapsed . Only those in his intimate circle knew the truth, but slowly the news became public .
In his writings, Emil Cioran tells us a simple and disarming truth: " violent pains are leaving marks on us,
but choked and bearable pains are grinding us down as conscientiously as time". With this stunning
exit, Stephen reminds us that man's power is limited, but not every loss comes as a disaster. Since I
never passed the stage where I can imagine the world from „beyond” other than a duplication of what I see
here on earth, I imagine Stephen in the luminous garden from Baneasa, along with his master and those
who today are no longer, but mean so much to us.