Nova Mihai Popa

Nova Mihai Popa, the well-known sculptor and a resident of the East End for the past 36 years, died on March 28 at his second home in North Hutchinson Island, Florida, after a quiet day spent working on an upcoming book. According to his wishes, his age remains undisclosed by survivors, but, as he liked to say, he had “accomplished a number of years.”

Born in the small, agrarian village of Abrud in Transylvania, Romania, he later moved to Bucurest, where he graduated from the Institute of Bella Artes with a degree in painting and monumental art. He became a rising young star on the Romanian art scene, and was sent by the government on cultural exchanges to Russia, Hungary and China, but was never permitted a visa to visit western Europe or America, which was his dream.

Eventually, at great peril to his life, he made his way from Romania to Yugoslavia, Italy, France and, ultimately, to the U.S. in 1966. According to survivors, this difficult adventure left physical scars but did nothing to daunt his indomitable spirit.

After arriving in New Orleans, Mr. Popa exhibited his paintings at the New Orleans Museum of Art and the A.L. Lowe Gallery before moving to New York City, where he began making sculptures of wood and steel in a midtown loft. It was here that he also began building room-size models of his three colorful, ecological “cities of the future,” which will be on display at his Water Mill art complex in 2010.

In 1973, Mr. Popa bought a small cottage in Southampton. His desire to make large public outdoor sculptures led to his move to a property in Water Mill in 1986, where he established a studio and constructed a curvilinear residence that came to be known as the Elliptical House, his hand-crafted, ecological, sculptural home.

In 1993 he founded the Ark Project, Inc. to express his concept of “Integral Art,” a unification of sculpture, painting, architecture and philosophy. Several years later, he also founded the TerraNova Foundation to train emerging artists in the principles and creation of Integral Art.

“He was the whole package,” said friend and fellow artist Paton Miller. “He had an interesting personality and his art was one of a kind; not just anyone builds a round house and 30-foot tall sculptures.”

The culmination of the artist’s efforts is the Ark Project Sculpture Park, which Mr. Popa saw as a “territory of spirit” for the public. It was here that his Integral Art found its setting in the context of the animals and the natural world he adored. Sheep and horses now graze around and under Nova’s massive sculptures set in meadows and rolling hills.

Several of the sculptures have names that reflect his constant desire to decode the laws of the cosmos and his fascination with worlds beyond: “Unus,” “Galaxy,” “Milky Way,” “Orion,” “The Astronauts,” “Gaia,” “Matrix Series,” “Fractals.”

Survivors said that Mr. Popa’s creativity seemed to have no bounds, noting that visitors to the Ark Project are amazed by the power of the works. Mr. Popa said he felt like a conduit for some creative force that was expressed through him. He was in his most brilliant, blissful state when he was creating.

Mr. Popa was a private person who was engaged in his work most of the time. Survivors recalled that he was also a charming and colorful character, who always saw the best in people. He could often be seen wearing his distinctive peasant hat, zipping along Millstone or Guyer Road in his saffron-colored golf cart on his way to his workshop to share new designs with his team of art assistants.

Late into the evening, and often until sunrise, passersby glancing up at the second floor windows of the elliptical house might catch a glimpse of him in a glow of warm light in deep concentration at his worktable.

This summer Mr. Popa’s sculptures will be exhibited at the Pratt Institute Sculpture Park, ArtHamptons, Jane Eckert Gallery in Kent, Connecticut, Brooklyn Bridge City Park and, as always, at the Ark Project Sculpture Park.

Mr. Popa is survived by a sister in Romania, and by his two devoted partners of many decades, Tundra Wolf and Luna Shanaman. In addition, he is survived by the 150 aspiring artists who had the opportunity to learn from and work with him.

A memorial service and celebration of life is planned for late summer on the Ark Project Sculpture Park grounds. Details will be announced in a future edition of The Press.