We are talking about Ion Barladeanu, an old man who has received a house and a set of new teeth in the past year, ‘Gandul’ daily writes. Barladeanu has an amazing talent: he does collage- art. He was an important exponent of pop art, albeit unwittingly. Ion Barladeanu, ex-grave digger and ex-homeless and currently the revelation of high-life art, is opening an exhibition in Paris. On Friday afternoon, before the varnishing at the Anne de Villepoix gallery, Ion B. had an unexpected guest: Angelina Jolie who is currently shooting for ‘The Tourist’ in Paris. The visit was not accidental. The actress had seen the trailer of Alexander Nanau’s ‘World According to Ion B.’ documentary and had been told Ion’s story. His radically different destiny fascinated the movie star who insisted on meeting the eccentric Barladeanu.
It is hard to tell how the two communicated during the hours they spent talking: Ion does not know any foreign languages. The dialogue was most likely facilitated by Alexander Nanau and centered on art and film. Anyway, language difficulties aside, Angelina was thrilled with the Romanian artist’s works and expressed her interest in buying several collages. This potential customer could elevate Barladeanu’s exposure. He could end up a rich man after living in the room in which a block’s garbage disposal bins are stored and surviving on handouts. Thus, Barladeanu has chances of becoming another version of ‘slumdog millionaire.’
previous post
next post
