Temporary Exhibitions
Emil Childescu — Graphic Art Exhibition
(Pastel, Watercolour)
On Wednesday, March 18, 2026, the National Art Museum of Moldova will inaugurate the exhibition “OUR LIFE”, featuring works by renowned Moldovan artist Emil Childescu.
The exhibition brings together 52 works created between 2003 and 2026, executed in pastel and watercolour. It offers an overview of the artist’s easel graphics, highlighting his approaches to genre, subject matter and artistic technique. The exhibition presents a cycle of pastel landscapes, as well as thematic compositions and portraits in watercolour, distinguished by refined artistic culture and sensitivity.
Born on May 7, 1937, in the village of Sculeni, Ungheni District, Emil Childescu developed his professional skills at the Republican School of Fine Arts Ilya Repin in Chișinău (1956–1964), now the Alexandru Plămădeală College of Fine Arts. He made his exhibition debut in 1957 and became a member of the Union of Artists of Moldova in 1968.
Throughout his artistic career, Childescu has worked extensively in easel graphics, book illustration and painting, mastering a wide range of techniques, including etching, drypoint and linocut, as well as colour linocut. His book illustrations are particularly notable for their use of watercolour and ink. His oil paintings further reveal his distinctive mastery of halftones and subtle nuances.
The artist’s work explores the genres of landscape, portrait and thematic composition, with landscape—rural, urban or marine, panoramic or lyrical-epic—occupying a particularly important place in his oeuvre.
Over the course of his career, Emil Childescu has held numerous solo exhibitions in Moldova and abroad, including at the National Art Museum of Moldova, the Constantin Brâncuși Exhibition Centre in Chișinău, the A. Losev Republican Art Gallery in Bender, as well as exhibition venues in Austria, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.
Today, his works are held in the collections of major public museums and institutions in Moldova, as well as in private collections in Moldova and abroad, including Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Turkey and Ukraine.
Emil Childescu’s artistic achievements have been recognised with numerous prestigious distinctions, including the National Prize in Literature, Art and Architecture (1994), the honorary title Master of Arts (1997), the Medal “Mihai Eminescu” (2000), the UN Prize of the Republic of Moldova (2000) and the title of Knight of the Order of the Republic (2012).
Elena Musteață, PhD, Associate Professor
