Comets 

Editor: This is "Comets" by Sabin Balasa, done with oil paint, although the date is unknown. It strikes me as both ethereal and unsettling, like figures suspended between worlds. What's your interpretation of this painting? Curator: That’s a great starting point. Looking at Balasa's work through a historical lens, one might see it engaging with the renewed interest in classical mythology within Socialist Romania, though filtered through an intensely personal vision. The figures almost resemble caryatids – architectural supports in female form – but detached and floating or perched precariously. Does this imagery reinforce or subvert established ideological frameworks within the Eastern European artistic landscape of the time? Editor: That's fascinating, I hadn't considered the architectural element! Are the "comets" of the title perhaps alluding to figures falling from grace, in a way? Curator: Potentially, and we can see this reflected through the themes in Romanticism too. The figures' nude state contrasts classical ideals. Romanticism sought beauty through introspection. How does that play with a Socialist political structure which values social and cultural equality? Editor: It sounds as though they wanted to pursue freedom of speech despite an controlling system. That pushes me to investigate into its cultural background! Curator: Exactly! And this single painting acts as an important reflection on Socialist Romania and Europe as a whole.