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Ioana Belcea is an artist based in Princeton, NJ who works in a variety of historic media such as buon fresco, mosaic, and egg tempera on wood and calf parchment. Thematically her work is of a liturgical and devotional nature. Her liturgical art commissions include the Dominican House of Studies in Washington DC, St.Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Great Falls VA, St.Mark Catholic Church in Fallston MD, Mount St.Mary's University, Emmitsburg MD, St.Katharine Drexel Catholic Church in Frederick MD, Seton High School in Manassas VA, and St.Francis University in Loretto PA. She holds degrees from Rutgers University (BA in Fine Arts and MA in Spanish Translation). Ioana also conducts workshops in iconography (Arlington Catholic Herald) and lectures on liturgical art.
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SELECT COMISSIONS
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Dominican House of Studies, Washington DC
Icon of the Tree of Life
Siena Academy, Great Falls VA
Icon of the Tree of Life
St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Great Falls VA
Icon of the Baptism of Christ
St. Mark's Catholic Church, Fallston MD
St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church, Frederick MD
St. Dominic's Monastery, Linden VA
Icon of the Transfiguration
Mary Queen of Angels, Seton High School, Manassas VA
Polychrome ornamental design and painting of the interior
Buon Fresco of Mary Queen of Angels
Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, St. Francis University Loretto PA
Polychrome glass and stone mosaic of the Immaculate Conception.
Community of the Good Shepherd, Colleyville TX
Polychrome glass and stone mosaic of the Good Shepherd
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CLASSES AND LECTURES​
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Aquinas Learning, Manassas VA, hands-on art appreciation classes
St. Veronica Church, Chantilly VA, Byzantine Icon workshop
St. Catherine of Siena Church, Great Falls, VA, Byzantine Icon Workshop
Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, Byzantine Icon Workshop, Nashville TN
St. Veronica, Chantilly VA, lecture Liturgical Art, Liturgical Space
Truro Anglican Church, Fairfax VA, lecture and exhibit Theotokos in Byzantine Iconography
Mount St. Mary Seminary, Emmitsburg MD, lecture Liturgical Art, Liturgical Space
Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton NJ, guest lecturer
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EDUCATION
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RUTGERS UNIVESITY
BA in Fine Arts
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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
MA in Spainsh Translation
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Traditional Buon fresco
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PROSOPON SCHOOL OF ICONOGRAPHY AND ICONOLOGY
Byzantine Iconography​
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Architectural Mosaic
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AWARDS
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JPII Award for small bronze sculpture,
Biennale Internazionale Dantesca di Ravenna
Ravenna, Italy
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TESTIMONIALS
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"Ioana’s passion for icons helped me understand how they are not simply beautiful objects, but, as she described them, 'windows to the soul.' She explained how there is always a deeper meaning to be found behind the icon, just as there is always a deeper meaning to be found in our faith. Her understanding about the difference between an icon and a portrait was fascinating and echoed Cardinal Ratzinger’s suggested movement in images. She observed that an icon goes further than a portrait, that 'it brings you back to yourself and back to God.'”
E. Steel, PhD Candidate, Princeton Theological Seminary