Dynamic Universe 

Editor: Looking at Romul Nutiu's "Dynamic Universe", made using matter-painting, acrylic paint and impasto techniques, I'm struck by the textures and the energy it conveys. What's your perspective on the impact of the materials used in achieving this effect? Curator: The layering of materials in this piece – the matter painting, the acrylic, and the impasto – speaks volumes. It highlights not just the aesthetic outcome, but also the labor involved. We have to ask, what does this almost visceral application of paint communicate about the artist's process, and even their state of mind? It challenges a traditional view of the artist as purely intellectual. Editor: So you're saying the physical act of painting itself becomes part of the narrative? How does that connect to abstract expressionism? Curator: Precisely. Abstract expressionism, in its heyday, was very much about the gesture, the mark, the very physicality of the artist wrestling with the canvas. Think about Pollock and his process-driven work, almost performance art. Nutiu's “Dynamic Universe” evokes similar questions around the means of artistic production and expression. Editor: That's interesting. So it's less about what it represents and more about how it came to be? Does the use of acrylic, a relatively modern material, suggest anything about contemporary artistic practice? Curator: The choice of acrylic paint, a manufactured medium available widely, pushes us to think about art in the age of mass production. The artist engages not only with the tradition of painting but also with consumer culture and the industrial production of art supplies. Editor: I see. Considering the "Dynamic Universe", I didn't immediately consider the socioeconomic aspect of making the piece. I'll definitely keep an eye out for those types of material choices going forward. Curator: That's precisely the point - by thinking critically about how it's made, we can better understand the artist's statement, and where the artwork fits within both art history and material culture.