Ileana Parvu

PD Dr. Ileana Parvu serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Arts, Media, Philosophy at the University of Basel's Philosophical-Historical Faculty. She specializes in the history and theory of modern and contemporary art, with particular expertise in sculpture, materiality in art, and Eastern European contemporary art. Her academic career spans multiple prestigious institutions across Switzerland and Europe.

Dr. Parvu completed her studies in art history, classical archaeology, and modern German literature at the Universities of Basel, Paris IV Sorbonne, Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, and École des hautes études en sciences sociales EHESS Paris. She earned her DEA in art history in 1997 and completed her doctorate in 2002, receiving the University of Basel Faculty Award for her doctoral work.

Her research focuses on the history and theory of sculpture (1760-1990), sculpture by painters around the turn of the century, Cubism, theory of genre transgression, object concept and examination of materiality in 20th and 21st century art, 20th century artist writings, contemporary art of Eastern Europe, and artistic making in conceptual and post-conceptual art. Her work bridges historical analysis with contemporary artistic practices.

Dr. Parvu has received significant recognition for her scholarly contributions:

• Faculty Award from University of Basel for doctoral degree
• Multiple Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) grants (1997-1998; 2004-2006; 2009-2010)

She has held teaching positions at the University of Basel (2003-2005, current), University of Geneva (2005-2012, 2014-2017), and has served as Associate Professor at HEAD – Genf since 2012. Currently, she leads the SNF research project "Le faire comme cheminement. La technique artistique à l'épreuve du refus du métier dans la pratique contemporaine," which examines artistic techniques in contemporary practice where traditional notions of craftsmanship are challenged.