National Art
The National Museum of Art of Moldova possesses an important collection of pedestal sculpture. Currently, it includes over 900 works, constituting a significant material for studying and understanding the processes occurring in sculptural art.
The museum's collection is important not only in terms of quantity but also in terms of the diversity of genres and themes, the creative individuality and stylistic currents, and the approach to materials – wood, stone, bronze, marble, ceramics, etc.
The evolution of professional sculpture in Bessarabia was deeply marked by the work of Alexandru Plămădeală. His collection includes medal art, portraits, and numerous sculptural compositions, with many of his works donated to the National Museum of Art of Moldova in 1945 by his wife, Olga Plămădeală. Most of the works by Moldovan artists date from the post-war decades and showcase the work of masters who benefited from professional studies in the 1930s: Claudia Cobizev, Lazăr Dubinovschi, Leonid Fitov, whose names are associated with the early stages of post-war sculpture. Numerous works, representing various species and genres, stand as a testament to the fervent creation of sculptors from succeeding generations who studied in Russia, the Baltic States, Ukraine, and Moldova, integrating into cultural life in the 1960s: Alexandra Picunov, Naum Epelbaum, Brunhilda Epelbaum-Marcenko, Victor Rotaru, Galina Dubrovina, Iurie Canașin, Iurie Horovski, etc.
In the 1960s, small-scale sculpture began to attract more followers. Artists such as Vladimir Chiticari, Anatoli Silițki, Niele Meșchite, Iurie Baranciuc, etc., especially favored ceramics. The decorative aspect of their works is due not so much to the connection with the environment but to the renewal of the plastic language.
A number of works reflect the search efforts of young artists from the 1990s.
Despite the inherent difficulties of sculptors' work, the general process of development in contemporary plastic art is characterized by an incredible diversity of movements, methods, and searches for new forms of expression.
