Noche Crist
Encyclopedia
Noche Crist, née Maria Nicola Olga Ioan, (1909 Craiova
, Romania
- May 17, 2004 Washington, D.C.
) was an American artist. Her eclectic mix of paintings, prints, installations and sculptures throughout her long life was unique.
and the Romanian countryside where the family had a small estate.
She married Serban Grant in 1938 and divorced him in 1946.
After leaving Bucharest
in 1947, Crist continued to paint and write in Washington, D. C. using a complex iconography
, much of it based on her life in Romania
, until a few months before her death at the age of 95.
In 1945, she met David Crist, an American Air Force officer assigned to the Allied Control Commission in Bucharest
. He attended one of Noche’s art shows there, after buying one of her watercolors, he insisted on meeting the artist and they fell in love.
As his fiancée, he arranged for her to travel to Washington from Bucharest, just prior to the Communists taking over the Romanian government, and they married in 1947.
Noche Crist accompanied her husband on his military assignments to Hawaii
and various European countries while developing her distinctive artistic style with little or no formal training. She exhibited in Hawaii
, Frankfurt
, Paris
and elsewhere before settling in Washington DC in 1963.
After several exhibitions in different venues, she co-founded Gallery 10 in 1974, and appeared there in both group and solo shows during the next two decades. The gallery became known for promoting and showcasing new artists under her influence.
Working with acrylic paints on wooden cut-outs and transparent polyester resin small sculptures, Crist created images reminiscent of her childhood at her family's country estate, Ograda
, near Ploesti. Her works depict dreamlike, surreal scenes of partially-dressed women posing seductively in opulent, sometimes fantastical, settings. In other paintings and panels, she portrays bare-breasted women and felines sensually intertwined. Crist embraced silkscreen printmaking
and experimented extensively with the medium. Her works gained a following among art patrons, including Olga Hirshhorn, one of Washington's leading art collectors.
In 1984, at Gallery 10 simultaneously with her autobiographical art exhibition based on her Memoires about her childhood and life in Romania, she published a catalogue of these stories. Again in 1986 at Gallery 10, she continued this format with Memoires Part II. When her beloved husband, retired Air Force Col. David Crist, died in 1988, she recovered from this loss with the help of a supportive circle of friends. Later, she continued writing her memoirs as the basis for short theatrical productions in 1989 with The Decadent Child and 1992 with The Ladders of Hell at the Washington Project for the Arts
.
In 1995, the Washington Project for the Arts
held a retrospective of 50 years of Mrs. Crist's work called "Noche Crist: Boudoirs and Lupanars". In 2002, the Millennium Art Center
in Washington opened an installation of her artwork called the "Pinck Room" (Noche thought this spelling looked more Romanian), a boudoir setting featuring her two- and three-dimensional artwork. Her last years were spent writing, drawing, and making small paintings at home where she had had a studio for over 40 years. Surrounded by a circle of devoted friends for whom she was a catalyst, she died peacefully at home. Mrs. Crist is buried next to her husband at Arlington National Cemetery
.
In the summer of 2008 (May 27 through July 27), Independent Curator Vivienne M. Lassman presented the well-researched Noche Crist: A Romanian Revelation for the American University Museum
at the Katzen Arts Center
. Lassman recreated Noche’s pink boudoir installation in the center of this posthumous retrospective and incorporated edited video and audio DVD
s of interviews with Crist and her friends.
Craiova
Craiova , Romania's 6th largest city and capital of Dolj County, is situated near the east bank of the river Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximately equal distances from the Southern Carpathians and the River Danube . Craiova is the chief...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
- May 17, 2004 Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
) was an American artist. Her eclectic mix of paintings, prints, installations and sculptures throughout her long life was unique.
Life
Brought up by a delicate mother, Juliet, who suffered from ill health and her capricious aunt, Mamoutz, whose husband encouraged her to paint as a very young child, Noche survived two World Wars both in BucharestBucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
and the Romanian countryside where the family had a small estate.
She married Serban Grant in 1938 and divorced him in 1946.
After leaving Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
in 1947, Crist continued to paint and write in Washington, D. C. using a complex iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
, much of it based on her life in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, until a few months before her death at the age of 95.
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
. He attended one of Noche’s art shows there, after buying one of her watercolors, he insisted on meeting the artist and they fell in love.
As his fiancée, he arranged for her to travel to Washington from Bucharest, just prior to the Communists taking over the Romanian government, and they married in 1947.
Noche Crist accompanied her husband on his military assignments to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and various European countries while developing her distinctive artistic style with little or no formal training. She exhibited in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and elsewhere before settling in Washington DC in 1963.
After several exhibitions in different venues, she co-founded Gallery 10 in 1974, and appeared there in both group and solo shows during the next two decades. The gallery became known for promoting and showcasing new artists under her influence.
Ograda
Ograda is a commune located in Ialomiţa County, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Ograda....
, near Ploesti. Her works depict dreamlike, surreal scenes of partially-dressed women posing seductively in opulent, sometimes fantastical, settings. In other paintings and panels, she portrays bare-breasted women and felines sensually intertwined. Crist embraced silkscreen printmaking
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
and experimented extensively with the medium. Her works gained a following among art patrons, including Olga Hirshhorn, one of Washington's leading art collectors.
In 1984, at Gallery 10 simultaneously with her autobiographical art exhibition based on her Memoires about her childhood and life in Romania, she published a catalogue of these stories. Again in 1986 at Gallery 10, she continued this format with Memoires Part II. When her beloved husband, retired Air Force Col. David Crist, died in 1988, she recovered from this loss with the help of a supportive circle of friends. Later, she continued writing her memoirs as the basis for short theatrical productions in 1989 with The Decadent Child and 1992 with The Ladders of Hell at the Washington Project for the Arts
Washington Project for the Arts
Washington Project for the Arts, founded in 1975, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the support and aid of artists in the Washington, D.C. area.-History:...
.
In 1995, the Washington Project for the Arts
Washington Project for the Arts
Washington Project for the Arts, founded in 1975, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the support and aid of artists in the Washington, D.C. area.-History:...
held a retrospective of 50 years of Mrs. Crist's work called "Noche Crist: Boudoirs and Lupanars". In 2002, the Millennium Art Center
Millennium Center
The Millennium Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the city of Vršac, Serbia. It is the home ground of basketball club KK Hemofarm and has a capacity of 5,000 spectators. The arena is also used for concerts and other live entertainment....
in Washington opened an installation of her artwork called the "Pinck Room" (Noche thought this spelling looked more Romanian), a boudoir setting featuring her two- and three-dimensional artwork. Her last years were spent writing, drawing, and making small paintings at home where she had had a studio for over 40 years. Surrounded by a circle of devoted friends for whom she was a catalyst, she died peacefully at home. Mrs. Crist is buried next to her husband at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.
In the summer of 2008 (May 27 through July 27), Independent Curator Vivienne M. Lassman presented the well-researched Noche Crist: A Romanian Revelation for the American University Museum
American University Museum
The American University Museum is located in the Katzen Arts Center at the American University in Washington, DC. It is a three-story, museum and sculpture garden located within the university’s Katzen Arts Center. The region’s largest university facility for exhibiting art, the museum’s permanent...
at the Katzen Arts Center
Katzen Arts Center
The Katzen Arts Center is home to all of the visual and performing arts programs at American University and the American University Museum. Located at Ward Circle, the intersection of Nebraska Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue, the Center sits atop Embassy Row in Washington, DC, one of the highest...
. Lassman recreated Noche’s pink boudoir installation in the center of this posthumous retrospective and incorporated edited video and audio DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s of interviews with Crist and her friends.
Reviews
- Washington Post review of Romanian Revelation
- Washington Times review of Romanian Revelation
- American University's CAS Connections review of Romanian Revelation