Iosif was born on October 8 1962 in Marghita a small city in the historic region of Transylvania in western Romania perhaps best known throughout the world as the setting for the historical gothic novel DraculaAs a child he found that drawing was something that came naturally and he could sketch with ease anything he saw His love of visual expression continued from then on and he graduated with a Bachelor of Art degree from the Ion Andreescu Art University in Romania several years laterHis early work was often done outdoors in an impressionistic style but as time passed the work eventually veered toward semiabstraction and abstract impressionism Today his paintings still carry the fingerprint of the places where he was born of familiar villages between the hills with their poppy fields and sunflowersAfter the regime change in Romania in 1989 it became possible for him to exhibit his paintings abroad He began collaborations with galleries in Hungary having many exhibitions in the cities of Budapest Debrecen and Keszthely In addition to Hungary and Romania his permanent collaboration with Koncz Gallery and Hungallery his art was presented in exhibitions in Western Europe Japan and the USAIn 2004 he moved to Canada and had his first solo exhibition in Windsor Ontario in June 2006 Iosif is represented in Ottawa Ontario by Koyman Galleries