Route of the Snail 2010

Romul Nutiu made this painting, called Route of the Snail, with paint, and with a real sense of what paint can do. The surface is a record of its own making, of dragging and pushing and layering. Look at that juicy dark green as it drips and pools, those bright red interruptions! There's a real physical conversation happening between the colors, they blend and bleed into each other, creating new and unexpected hues. It’s like watching different emotional states collide and merge on the canvas. Take the lower left corner, with that opaque white cutting across the dark green, like the flash of a thought. Nutiu lets us see the history of that thought, each layer and decision visible. He reminds me a little of Joan Mitchell, the way he uses color and gesture to create an all-over composition that's both chaotic and harmonious. Painting is always a route, and Nutiu shows us the joy in getting there.