Visual artist and graphic artist. He designed the State Coat of Arms of the Republic of Moldova, the coat of arms and flag of Chișinău Municipality and the design of the Moldovan leu, hence the nickname “the Father of the Moldovan leu”. Order of the Republic in 2010.
Gheorghe Vrabie (21 March 1939, Călinești, Bălți County – 31 March 2016, Chișinău) was a visual artist and graphic artist from the Republic of Moldova, the author of the State Coat of Arms of the Republic of Moldova, of the Coat of Arms and Flag of Chișinău Municipality, and of the design of the national currency, the Moldovan leu. Because of his contribution to the design of the national currency, he was nicknamed “the Father of the Moldovan leu”.
Education and training
Between 1962 and 1967 he studied at the “I. Repin” Academy of Painting, Architecture and Sculpture in Saint Petersburg, having made his artistic debut in 1961.
Book graphics
Over the course of his career, Gheorghe Vrabie illustrated numerous volumes of Romanian and world literature. Among the authors who inspired his work were Mihai Eminescu, Ion Druță, Grigore Vieru, Dante, Longus and Paul Valéry. His book graphics stand out through the confidence of the line, the precision of the composition and the refinement of the execution.
The artist produced the cycle of works entitled „Hipismul” [Horsemanship] and, together with his wife, Dorina Cojocaru, created numerous works of monumental mosaic. One of his most representative creations is the mosaic at the „Fântâna Doamnei” spring, set in his native village of Călinești, which has become a true emblem of the locality.
Exhibitions
Gheorghe Vrabie held solo exhibitions both in the Republic of Moldova and abroad. Among the institutions that hosted his exhibitions were the Writers’ Union, the National Museum of History and Archaeology, the House of Nationalities, the Embassy of Romania in the Republic of Moldova, the National Library and the „Constantin Brâncuși” Exhibition Centre of the Union of Visual Artists. He also exhibited at the „Casa Cărții” Art Gallery in Iași, at the Central House of Writers in Moscow and in the Central Hall of the Union of Visual Artists in Odesa.
He took part in numerous exhibition events held in Bucharest, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Bratislava, Vienna, Washington, Alma-Ata and Plovdiv, as well as in several cities in Romania, among them Bacău, Botoșani and Moinești. Over the years he was invited to creative camps, workshops and symposia held in Romania, the Russian Federation, Latvia, Lithuania and Hungary.
Honours and awards
For his artistic work he received numerous awards and titles, among them First Prize for graphic art at the competition organised by the Academy of Art in Saint Petersburg (1964), the prize of the competition for the design of the State Coat of Arms of the Republic of Moldova (1990) and the Prize of the Union of Visual Artists of Moldova (1999). In 1998 he was granted the honorary title of Master of Art, and in 2000 he was awarded the „Mihai Eminescu” Medal.
In 2010, Gheorghe Vrabie received the highest distinction of the Republic of Moldova, the Order of the Republic.