The Alphabet for 60 yo Children 2007

Iurie Matei made “The Alphabet for 60 yo Children” with oil on canvas. It’s got this dreamy, surreal quality, like a half-remembered Renaissance painting dripping into a modern nightmare. The surface has this interesting tension between smooth glazes and these almost violent drips of blue. Look at how the blue paint cascades down, like tears or rain. I am also curious about the flatness of the ground versus the sculptural quality of the candlesticks and figures. It’s thick in some spots, thin in others, revealing the canvas's weave and obscuring it. Then there are the letters scattered around, like fallen leaves. It reminds me of Sigmar Polke's playful use of text, but with a darker twist. The piece refuses to be pinned down. It's a conversation between the past and the present, a mix of beauty and unease. A lot of art embraces ambiguity, and this one really invites you to get lost in its layers.