Garden 2001

Constantin Flondor made this garden scene with loose strokes of greens and purples, which makes me think about how painters build up an image, bit by bit, searching for the right colors and forms. I can imagine him outside, squinting at the light filtering through the trellis, trying to capture not just what he sees, but what he feels. It’s like he’s wrestling with the chaos of nature, trying to bring some order to it on the canvas. Look at how he handles the paint: it's pretty thin and washy, which helps give the scene an airy, dreamlike quality. The light, dappled marks on the trellis and the trunks of the trees feel playful and fleeting. I like the way he doesn't try to smooth everything out, but leaves some rough edges and raw patches, like he’s not afraid to show his working. This reminds me of other painters like Bonnard, who were also interested in capturing the fleeting effects of light and color in their gardens. There's a conversation happening here, across time and place, about how we see and experience the natural world. Ultimately, painting is not just about representing something, but about creating an experience.