Hollyhock 2007

Curator: Mihai Sârbulescu’s "Hollyhock," painted in 2007, strikes me as a visual poem about ephemeral beauty. Editor: The texture alone makes me want to reach out and touch it, feel the layering. So tactile. Curator: Absolutely! You’ve nailed one of the first things one notices, the heavy impasto. It's almost sculptural, a real testament to oil paint's versatility. The process, the act of applying the paint, seems central to its meaning. Editor: Right, it is pure process. Looking at the thick application, I wonder about Sârbulescu’s plein-air practice here; working directly en plain air adds an element of chance, dealing with the vagaries of changing light, breezes. A true challenge to fix a subject so vividly, when its vitality resists freezing still! It creates this dialogue between nature and maker, with the end product showcasing what they created in tandem. Curator: I think you're on to something; those imperfections, almost like a whispered conversation. The loose brushstrokes give such vibrancy to this simple flower! A single stem seems so deliberate – like it encapsulates both fragility and tenacity. There's something inherently hopeful. Editor: The flower's upward thrust, combined with that hazy, impressionistic rendering, creates an almost ghostly presence, yet remains physically manifest, through the volume of paint, of course. How it materializes nature while recognizing its temporal nature—both present. It certainly resonates with me now, after we've dealt with a similar threat to public health in past years. It emphasizes resilience, through artistic process and image alike. Curator: Its vulnerability transformed to art! It's like the hollyhock reminds us not only about fleeting time but about seeing the magic that can happen, the sheer gorgeousness, if we simply linger on the way it all exists, if even briefly! Editor: Absolutely, let’s hope Sârbulescu inspires others to pause and appreciate a passing glimpse.