Houses in Poiana Mărului 1972

Horia Bernea made this painting, Houses in Poiana Mărului, with what looks like pretty direct strokes, like he’s wrestling with the forms and colours. There's a real urgency in how he’s laid down that red, it's almost sculptural, like he's building the roofs right there on the canvas. The surface has this great texture, like crusty icing, and the paint is thick enough to see every decision he made. The red, especially, feels like it’s been troweled on, full of emotion. And that little green patch on the side of one of the houses, it’s like a tiny burst of relief, a counterpoint to all that red intensity. It reminds me a little of Guston, in that direct, no-nonsense approach to painting, laying it all bare. Bernea’s work often deals with these simple, almost archetypal forms, and it’s cool how he manages to make them feel so loaded with feeling. It's a reminder that painting is always a conversation, and the best art leaves plenty of room for us to join in.