Iconostasis 1988

Horia Bernea made this painting, Iconostasis, with oil paints and what looks like a real urgency to get the image down. The heavy blacks and grays are punctuated by small sections of white and pink, like the artist is building the image from the inside out. The paint application is pretty raw, which I like, with the marks and gestures all visible. The pillars in the middle ground are particularly evocative, like repeated stabs of the brush loading layer upon layer of meaning. Bernea is obviously a kindred spirit, interested in artmaking as a process of intuitive searching, rather than simply describing what he sees. There’s an honesty here, reminiscent of the work of Giorgio Morandi, with its modest subject matter and focus on the act of painting itself. Bernea’s work invites multiple interpretations, embracing ambiguity.