Meridional City 1971

Vasile Dobrian made "Meridional City" with flat blocks of warm earthy hues—oranges, reds, and yellows that remind me of the Mediterranean. It’s like a puzzle or a map, pieced together with simple geometric shapes. I imagine Dobrian carefully layering each color block, adjusting the composition as he went along. What was he thinking about while making this? Maybe the warmth of the sun on ancient walls, or the quiet stillness of a small town square. The paint is applied thinly, allowing the texture of the surface to peek through, giving the painting a slightly rough, aged feel. There’s a deliberate, almost naive quality to the composition. Painters often look to each other, building on the ideas of the past while forging something new. This piece seems to be in conversation with the early Modernists. Ultimately painting is about embracing uncertainty, allowing for different meanings to emerge over time.