Symbols (from the Memory Pyramid series) 2010

Symbols, made by Romul Nutiu, is like a joyous explosion. You can almost feel the artist's hand moving quickly, confidently, across the surface, laying down these bold strokes of colour. It’s a real party of yellows, blues, and reds. I wonder what Nutiu was thinking when he made this? He was part of a generation of Romanian artists who were trying to find ways to express themselves under very difficult political conditions, so maybe it was his way of breaking free. I can imagine him in the studio, wrestling with the canvas, each stroke a kind of rebellion, a celebration of pure, unadulterated expression. Look at the surface. The paint looks thick in places, almost sculptural, which gives the painting a real physical presence. That slash of white, bisecting the canvas, feels like a lightning bolt, cutting through the visual noise. And the way the colors vibrate against each other… wow! It reminds me a little of Joan Mitchell, all that energy and emotion poured onto the canvas. Artists like Nutiu, and Mitchell, they’re all in conversation with each other, across time and space.