Kettle With Flowers 

Here we see "Kettle With Flowers" by Constantin Piliuta, an artist who lived much of his life under the Communist regime in Romania. Piliuta’s paintings of simple, everyday scenes are a striking contrast to the politically charged art often favored by authoritarian regimes. What might seem like an innocent still life can be seen as a quiet act of resistance, a focus on the personal and beautiful in a world demanding conformity. The flowers, rendered in bold red, burst forth from their humble container, a symbol perhaps, of life and beauty persisting in unexpected places. One might consider how the act of painting such a scene allowed Piliuta to express a sense of freedom within constraint. What do you feel when you consider the act of making art under political constraint?