Untitled 1950

Alexandre Istrati, a Romanian-French abstract painter, made this painting with oil paint and a steady hand. The colours are muted, like faded memories, mostly ochre and a kind of dusky rose. The paint is applied in layers, one over the other, almost like a slow conversation between the artist and the canvas. You can see these little squares of blue-grey where the paint is thin, and it feels like a breath of fresh air. The lines aren’t perfect, and the shapes wobble a little, giving it a real sense of human touch. It’s this blend of colours and geometric forms that draws you in. Istrati’s work is often about this balance of colour and form, a bit like Josef Albers, but with a more relaxed feel. This piece invites us to see the world not as fixed, but as a fluid exchange of ideas, always open to interpretation.