Born in Romania in 1984, raised in New York City, Serban Ionescu’s work spans across sculpture, painting, design and architecture. With his distinctive lines which emerge from his drawing practice, vibrant use of color and cartoonish gestures, Serban infuses his works with anthropomorphic shapes and a constant intuitive play on shifting scale and form.

Incorporating elements of drawing, sculpture, and architecture into his practice, Serban Ionescu is known for boldly-colored, playful, anthropomorphic forms that blur the boundaries between the sculptural and functional. Born in Communist Romania in 1984, Ionescu moved to New York at the age of 10. In talking about his childhood, he recalls being overwhelmed by the color and abundance of his adopted country. Ionescu has also spoken about how drawing enabled him to communicate as a child before he was able to speak English. Today, these early memories and influences are clearly manifest in Ionescu’s creative explorations and in his use of vibrant color and range of scale.

Serban has presented solo exhibitions in Los Angeles at Marta Gallery, New York at R & Company and Larrie Gallery, Tokyo at Nanzuka and in Antwerp at Everyday Gallery. His work has appeared in The New York times, Wallpaper, Architectural digest, Dwell, Damn magazine, and New York magazine. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute and taught as an adjunct professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s School of Architecture between 2010 and 2016.

Large-scale projects such as Room For A Shroom, Chapel For An Apple and Tower For An Hour mark his return to architecture, while his practice continues to expand across disciplines. His book of colorful steel sculptures and furniture pieces, A thing on a table in a house, was published in 2021, and his book of drawings, 148 oblique drawings, in 2023, both by Apartamento.

Serban Ionescu has been invited by Us by Night to speak about his practice as a painter, designer, and sculptor at the upcoming edition, taking place from September 25 to 29.